The wolf stood where Callum had been, towering and terrible. His fur was dark as midnight, shot through with streaks of silver. Muscles coiled beneath his massive frame like a storm held in flesh. But it was his eyes—those wild, gold-silver eyes—that told her it was still him.
Ava's heart thundered. Fear twisted her stomach—but it didn't win.
She took a step forward.
"Ava!" a voice cracked through the trees like a whip.
A young man with a rifle burst from the underbrush, mud-splattered and wild-eyed. He leveled the gun at Callum. Ava turned, throwing her hands out.
"Wait, don't!" she shouted.
The man ignored her. "Get down! It's one of them!"
"I know," she said, voice shaking. "But he hasn't hurt me."
"He will!" he snapped, eyes darting between her and the creature. "They always do."
Callum growled low, the sound vibrating through the air. Not at her—at him.
"Don't make me shoot!" the man warned.
Ava moved between them, heart slamming against her ribs. "You're not going to shoot anyone!"
Callum's massive head tilted. He looked at her—not as prey, but as if he were remembering.
The man cursed under his breath and slowly lowered his rifle. "You've got no idea what you're doing," he muttered. "That thing's a Marrow Wolf. A killer."
Ava turned. "Who are you?"
"Leif Vance," he said. "Ranger… or what's left of one."
"I don't need saving."
"You're in Black Hollow, sweetheart. Everyone needs saving."
Callum gave a low, wounded noise and turned from them, crashing into the forest.
"Callum, wait!" Ava cried, but he was already gone, vanishing into shadows like a ghost.
She took a step to follow, but Leif grabbed her arm.
"Let him go," he said. "You don't chase wolves. Especially not that one."
Ava yanked her arm free. "Why not?"
Leif looked at her like she was crazy. "Because that's the Alpha of the damned Marrow Pack. And if he's taken an interest in you, you're in more trouble than you can imagine."
⸻
Later That Night…
The cabin felt colder than before. She wrapped herself in a flannel blanket, but it did nothing to stop the chill inside her. The things Leif said echoed in her skull:
Marrow Pack. Alpha. Killer.
But that wasn't what she saw in Callum.
She remembered the way he looked at her—like she was something he'd been searching for. She didn't know why she wasn't terrified.
Instead, she was drawn.
A thump outside snapped her head up. Ava grabbed the fire poker and edged toward the door.
Another sound—closer now. A scrape. A breath.
She swung open the door—
—and there he was.
Callum. Human again. Barefoot, shirtless, wounded. Blood streaked across his ribs, drying in black lines. His eyes were dimmer now. Hurt. Lost.
"I didn't mean to scare you," he rasped.
She stared at him. "Why are you here?"
"I had to make sure you were safe."
"You left bleeding into the trees."
He gave a faint, grim smile. "You looked more scared of the hunter than of me."
"Because I know you're not what they say."
Callum stepped forward. The porch light caught the fine tremor in his hands. "Ava… this is only the beginning. You came back to Black Hollow for a reason. You just don't know what it is yet."
"What are you saying?"
He met her gaze. "I'm saying you're not just involved. You're part of this. And it's waking up inside you."
She blinked. "What is?"
He swallowed hard. "Your blood. Your past. The wolf. The curse."
And then softly, like a secret:
"You're one of us."