The silence after the council left was unbearable.
Evelyn stood still, barefoot in her white dress, the iron pendant cold against her chest. The air had shifted—the trees no longer rustled. Even the insects were quiet, as if nature itself was waiting.
Watching.
She heard him before she saw him.
A step.
Not heavy. Not clumsy. Controlled. Confident.
Predator.
The trees parted like they feared him, and then—he appeared.
Silas.
The beast.
Evelyn's body locked in place, eyes wide as he stepped into the ring of candlelight.
He was even more terrifying up close.
Massive. Covered in dark fur that shifted like smoke over muscle. His shoulders were broad enough to block the moon. But it was his face that nearly undid her.
His features weren't grotesque—they were unfinished. Like someone had once sculpted a man and left the monster to finish the job. And his eyes…
Silver. Luminous.
Not empty like a predator.
Aware.
---
"You're not running," he said.
His voice was low, gravel-filled, but strangely calm. The kind of voice you didn't argue with. The kind of voice that didn't need to raise itself to own a room—or a person.
Evelyn forced her own voice through the lump in her throat. "Should I?"
He tilted his head, studying her. "They usually do."
"I'm not like them."
Silas stepped closer.
She held her ground.
The scent of cedar, earth, and something ancient wrapped around her like fog. Her instincts screamed to move, to bolt into the darkness and never stop—but something deeper held her still.
Maybe it was the part of her that didn't believe she'd survive the woods even if she tried.
Or maybe it was the part that saw the pain in his eyes and wondered what had put it there.
---
"You're angry," he said.
"I'm terrified," she whispered.
He came closer, and she saw how tightly his hands curled at his sides. As if he was holding himself back.
"You're right to be," he growled.
Then, suddenly—he turned.
Not away in dismissal.
But in restraint.
Like a man standing at the edge of hunger.
"Come," he said, without looking back. "The forest does not like outsiders. I won't protect you twice."
Evelyn didn't move at first.
But then she did.
Because deep down, a terrifying truth was settling into her bones:
> It wasn't the beast she needed to fear.
> It was what the beast was protecting her from.
---