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Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this. Maybe my father was right, and I’d be back in the cell by morning, tail tucked between my legs. My whole body tensed at the thought. I turned and prepared to bolt, but then I heard something. A voice. A familiar voice that stopped me in my tracks.

“Serena?”

The relief was instant and overwhelming, crashing over me like a wave.

It wasn’t anyone from the Stormvale pack.

It wasn’t my father. It was Lila. I straightened up, heart still racing, and watched as she came into view.

She was breathless and wild-eyed, but alive and safe and exactly what I needed.

“Serena!” she shouted, her voice cutting through the dark like a beacon.

I stepped out from my hiding place, my chest tight with emotion. “Lila!”

She ran toward me, and we collided in a tangle of arms and laughter and breathless words. It felt good to have someone here with me, to know that I wasn’t alone in this. It felt right, the way nothing else had for so long.

“Where the hell have you been, Serena?” Lila's voice was a mixture of relief and frustration, her eyes searching mine for answers. “The pack was in chaos, trying to figure out who took you and where you went.”

I took a deep breath, steadying myself before replying, “It was the Stormvale pack in the mountains. I managed to escape, but I need to get out of here. I can’t let them, or my father, find me.

I had to get out, Lila. I couldn't stay there anymore. My father... he was suffocating me with his warnings and secrets. I needed to find the truth about my curse.”

She pulled back just enough to look at me, her eyes bright with questions. “I always knew you’d get out,” she said, her voice full of admiration and something else, something that sounded a lot like worry.

“Not for long if I keep running into people,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.

She punched me lightly on the shoulder. “It’s a good thing I found you first, then.” Her eyes darted around the forest, scanning for any signs of danger. “They’ll be following you, Serena. When they find out you’re gone—”

“They won’t,” I said, cutting her off. I wanted to believe it, to let myself think I’d gotten away for good. “Not if I can help it.”

She nodded, her expression fierce and determined. “Then we have to move. It’s not safe here.”

I knew she was right, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not yet. Not without knowing how much she knew. I watched her, waiting for her to say more, hoping she had answers I didn’t. “What about the curse?” I asked, my voice tight with urgency. “Did you find anything?”

Her eyes met mine, and I could see it all there before she even spoke. The truth. The lies. The tangled web I was caught in.

“Serena,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “There’s so much you don’t know.”

I pulled her into a hug, my heart swelling with gratitude and love. She’d done it. She’d really done it.

She clung to me for a long moment before pulling back, her face serious. “Your father is keeping things from you,” she said, her tone low and urgent. “Things he doesn’t want you to find out.”

I felt a sharp pang of anger, hot and bright and familiar. “He’s been doing that my whole life,” I said, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. “What’s he hiding now?”

Lila took a deep breath, and her expression was a mix of fear and resolve. “Some sort of stones,” she said. “He’s been trying to get them.”

The stones. The forbidden ones. My father’s obsession, the source of his secrets—and now, maybe, my only answer.

“Why?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.

“The curse,” she said. “He thinks it’s the only way to break it.”

I laughed, a harsh and bitter sound. “And what does he plan to do with me in the meantime?”

She frowned. “He’s scared, Serena. He doesn’t want to lose you.”

I didn’t buy it. Not for a second. “He’s keeping me in the dark so he can have it all for himself. Has he even been looking for me? He’s probably relieved I’m gone, not his burden anymore.”

Her silence was answer enough.

“Where are the stones?” I asked. I had to know, even if it meant tearing the truth out of my father’s cold, dead hands.

“The Stormvale pack,” Lila said. “He thinks they still have them. I found some old letters—”

“What else did you find?” I asked, cutting her off.

Her eyes softened. “Something about the mark,” she said, nodding toward my wrist. “There was a page missing, but...”

“But what?”

“One line stuck with me,” Lila whispered. “The celestial bond must be broken where it was made—within the stone heart of the wolf’s mountain.” She reached out and gave my shoulder a squeeze. “I think your father’s more scared than you are.”

I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to think he cared, not after everything he’d put me through. But I knew Lila wouldn’t lie. Not to me. Not ever.

She glanced around, the urgency creeping back into her expression. “We need to go. If they catch you—”

“They won’t,” I said, more sure of it than I’d been since leaving the compound. “Not if we find the stones first.”

Lila looked at me, her eyes full of questions. She nodded, and I knew she was with me, all the way. We were about to move when a noise froze us both in place.

Someone was out there, just beyond the trees. A shadow among shadows, closing in fast.

Lila’s grip tightened on my arm. “It’s them, Serena,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “They found us.”

I strained to see through the dark, my heart hammering in my chest. It wasn’t our pack. It wasn’t my father. It was something else. Someone else. A strange pressure hit the back of my neck, like the air thickened all at once. Something powerful was coming.

The forest went still. No birds, no wind, no sound—just a sudden hush, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath.

A figure stepped into the clearing, tall and imposing, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

His eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that stirred more than fear.

It was him. The Stormvale alpha. Tristan.

The tension crackled between us, electric and undeniable. He stopped a few paces away, his presence commanding and inescapable. I felt Lila’s pulse thudding against my arm. She wouldn’t run. But she was scared.

“You’re coming back with me,” he said, his voice as cold and strong as I remembered.

I glared at him, defiant and unyielding. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Tristan took a step closer, and I could feel the weight of him, the raw power that clung to him like a shadow. My wolf flinched before I could stop her, a ripple of submissive instinct flashing through me. I hated it. But I felt it.

Lila shifted beside me, her fear almost tangible. I knew she’d fight him if it came to that, but I didn’t want her to risk it. Not for me. Not for this.

“You don’t have a choice,” Tristan said, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Watch me,” I said, turning on my heel and pulling Lila with me.

I didn’t get far.

He was in front of us before I even realized he’d moved, blocking our path with a speed that made my heart jump. He moved like a predator—silent, controlled, but coiled with barely restrained violence.

The clearing seemed to shrink around him. Even the shadows shifted, bending toward him like he was the center of their gravity. My wolf bristled beneath my skin, half-cowed, half-electrified. He was danger in its purest form—and I couldn’t look away.

“This is your last chance, Serena,” he said, his voice softer but no less certain. “Come back willingly, or—”

“Or what?” I asked, challenging him with every ounce of strength I had.

“Or I’ll make you.” His words were a promise, unyielding and absolute.

I could feel Lila trembling beside me, her fear pushing against my resolve. I wanted to stand and fight, to claw and bite my way to freedom, but I didn’t know if I could. Not with him. Not like this.

Tristan’s eyes bore into me, and for a moment, I saw something there. Something vulnerable and raw. It was gone before I could place it, replaced by his usual steely determination.

“You can’t keep me locked up,” I said, trying to ignore the way his presence affected me.

“I can,” he said, stepping closer, “and I will.”

His nearness made it hard to think, hard to breathe. I wanted to push him away, but I wanted to pull him closer. The confusion and anger twisted inside me, leaving me off-balance and exposed.

Then he reached for me, and everything changed.

His hand closed around my wrist, and the world exploded into light. Our birthmarks glowed with a magical, sparkling iridescent energy, bright and blinding in the dark of the forest. I gasped, and I could feel him do the same.

It was a connection I couldn’t explain, couldn’t understand, but it was there. Pulsing between us. It was beautiful. Terrifying. I hated that part of me didn’t want to let go.

The earth beneath us gave a low, echoing thrum—like the Stormvale mountain itself had felt the mark awaken. The leaves stilled. The air grew heavy with something old, watching.

I pulled my wrist away, and the light faded. The night rushed back in, filling the space with a heavy silence. Tristan stared at me, his usual confidence shattered by what had just happened. His jaw tightened, but something flickered in his eyes. Not fear. Not anger. Something like awe.

We were both stunned, both speechless. I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew it was important. More important than anything I’d ever faced.

Lila was the first to find her voice. “What the hell was that?” she asked, her eyes wide with shock.

I didn’t have an answer. I wasn’t sure I wanted one.

Tristan took a deep breath, his expression shifting from surprise to something else. Something like hope. “Come back with me,” he said, and this time it wasn’t a demand. It was a plea. The alpha facade cracked for a second. Just a second. And I saw the man underneath.

I looked at Lila, at the forest, at my wrist where the light had been. There was too much to figure out, too much I didn’t understand. I needed answers.

“Serena,” Lila said, her voice steady and supportive. “It’s up to you.”

I hesitated, weighing the risks and the promises and the unknowns.

Going back to a rival pack’s compound was dangerous, but it might be the only way to find out what was happening.

To learn the truth about the curse and Tristan and everything that had been hidden from me.

I didn’t trust the mountain. But I trusted the way his voice steadied the chaos in mine.

“I’ll come back,” I said finally, my words surprising even me. “But you don’t own me, Tristan.”

He nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “We’ll see about that.”

Lila hugged me tight, her eyes telling me she’d be there, no matter what. She slipped something into my hand, closing my fingers around it before I could see what it was. “Just in case,” she said, her expression fierce and full of promise.

Then she was gone, disappearing into the night, leaving me alone with the alpha.

Tristan’s gaze met mine, the connection between us as strong as it was confusing. “Ready?” he asked, and it wasn’t a question.

I didn’t answer, but I took a step toward him.

I had to know. I had to find out.

No matter the cost. Because deep down, I already knew—I wasn’t walking into a prison. I was walking into fate’s fire, and something inside me was ready to burn.