Page 15 of The Fated Hunter Wolf

“You wanted to see,” she continued. “So see.”

Knowledge flooded through our connection. Threading through the cosmic awareness, a warning that made my soul recoil.

They know where you are. Have always known. The only reason you’ve survived this long is because your work serves their purposes.

But purposes change.

And yours is about to be redirected.

“Meaning what?” I whispered aloud.

Instead of answering, she pressed deeper into our connection, sharing knowledge. It felt like swallowing winter wind.

Do not make me speak aloud. Take the girl and run. Tonight. Because tomorrow brings visitors you’re not prepared to face. Visitors who will no longer watch from the shadows.

Mariyah released my wrist so suddenly I staggered backward. She moved toward the door, then paused on the threshold. “Such a lovely home you’ve built. Pity you won’t be able to enjoy it much longer.”

“Wait—”

When I blinked, she was gone.

Gone.Vanished without trace, leaving only the lingering scent of starlight and a sensation that made my wolf whine with dread. I stood alone in my suddenly too-quiet hut, heart hammering against my ribs, while her warnings echoed through my skull.

Tomorrow brings visitors.Purposes change. Run tonight.

Through the Crux bond, I sensed Astrid’s alarm. She was already racing back through the trees.

Strange magic, Astrid’s voice said through the bond.Really strange. What happened?

Pack your gear, I projected back, already moving to gather our few possessions.We’re leaving.

Why? What’s going on?

How could I explain that something wearing the shape of an old woman had just delivered threats disguised as casual conversation? That “forces” had apparently been watching me, evaluating my usefulness, deciding whether I still served their mysterious purposes?

That all my work for Crux might be swept away by powers that I had been trying to evade my whole life?

Just pack, I repeated.Fast.

Whatever was coming tomorrow, whatever visitors had grown tired of watching from the shadows, I wouldn’t let them take Astrid.

I wouldn’t let them take any of the lost ones I’d sworn to protect.

The sound of approaching paws reached me through the rain—Astrid returning faster than expected, her golden wolf flowing through trees that suddenly felt less like a sanctuary and more like a trap waiting to spring.

Time to go.

Time to run.

7

RHYS

The hospital waiting room looked like someone had painted sterility all over the walls. White on white on soul-crushing white—whoever designed this place clearly believed suffering should come with matching décor. I was already planning which wall I’d hit first with a massive coat of green paint when we remodeled this hellscape.

Logan vibrated beside me like a bomb counting down to zero. His wolf pressed so close to the surface that the air around us practically sizzled with barely contained violence. Through our bond, I felt his fear, his rage, his desperate need tofixsomething that might be fundamentally broken.

My foot hammered against the floor in a rhythm that probably made everyone within fifty yards want to strangle me. Good. If I had to sit in this antiseptic nightmare, everyone else could suffer too.