Chapter 24 – Vanessa's POV
The room was too quiet.
Even though my senses had sharpened, the silence felt heavier than usual, almost unnatural. I paced slowly, barefoot, the necklace cold against my collarbone like a dead weight. I could feel my power simmering beneath my skin, like something alive was trying to crawl its way out. My wolf had gone quiet again—but not in fear. She was waiting. Watching. Planning.
Something was shifting in the air, something that didn't feel like it belonged to this house.
I heard footsteps again, lighter this time. It wasn't Gerald. I knew his weight, his pattern. This one moved more carefully. More calculated.
The door creaked open, and someone I hadn't seen before slipped inside. A man—tall, lean, wearing dark clothes that didn't carry the scent of this pack. He shut the door quietly behind him, turning to look at me with eyes that didn't match the rest of him. Pale blue, almost icy, and far too calm.
"You're her," he said simply.
