Page 49

Seren

It was the third night in the healer's cottage.

The world outside had slipped into darkness, the trees casting long shadows across the pale walls of her room. The stillness was deeper now, more aware - as if the forest itself was beckoning.

Seren sat on the narrow bed, her legs tucked beneath her, the blanket bunched at her waist. In the low candlelight, she examined the fresh scar running the length of her forearm. A thin line of red, healing cleanly from wrist to the crease of her elbow.

It bisected the pale, ghostly remnants of her bonding mark - once vibrant, now faded like forgotten ink. The goddess had spared her life, but not without cost.

The first time she'd awoken and found silence in her mind, she had panicked.

The hum of the wolf bond-the soft, background song she hadn't realized she'd grown used to-was simply gone.

Had the goddess changed her mind?

But by morning, it had returned. Softer, more distant. Blunted .

She was still Lunara, the healers said, affectionately calling her little moonlight as they marvelled at how she lived. She should have died. The blood she lost should've claimed her. But her healing gift had held fast.

She nodded politely. Said little. Her thoughts were elsewhere.

The plan was already set.

Hagan would be back soon. She could feel the tension of his presence every time he approached, even before the door creaked. She wasn't ready for him again. Not tonight.

Only one person had managed to reach her.

Veyr.

He'd visited earlier, stepping into the candlelit room like a silent sentinel. He stood at her window with his arms folded and a rare crease between his brows.

"Why did you do it?" he had asked, his voice low.

Seren's answer had been simple, her voice brittle.

"Because I had no choice. "

Now, as the stars wheeled over the forest, Veyr waited - this time outside the window. He didn't speak when she opened the shutters. Didn't question it when she jumped from the first floor, cloak gathered around her like wings.

He caught her effortlessly.

Their hands touched. And Seren knew instantly - no spark. No pull. No breathless ache.

It was like touching a brother.

She suspected Veyr felt the same.

Which was a shame, really.

He was striking in the way carved stone could be-cobalt eyes, black hair, tall and broad. A warrior to the bone. But his touch did nothing for her. Unlike...

They walked through the edge of the forest in silence, moonlight threading through the branches. Ahead, the dark curve of the woods opened to a familiar grove.

Her things were waiting .

A hollowed tree trunk cradled her pack-camera, laptop, phone-all untouched, protected by her forest companions. A red squirrel chirped sleepily as she pulled the flap shut, a vole sniffed her boot before scampering away. A robin rustled on a low branch above.

Veyr's voice was quiet beside her. "You talk to them, don't you?"

She nodded. "I understand them. Always have."

He looked sideways at her. "Is it your gift?"

"One of them," she said. "The healing is a gift as well. But I gave up my Sight... and the ability to fuel Hagan. It was part of the deal."

He was silent for a moment, jaw tense.

"You should never have had to pay that price."

She shrugged. "Freedom has a cost."

They kept walking until they reached the boundary - a dirt path where Vargrheim ended and the unknown began.

There was another presence nearby .

Seren slowed, her eyes scanning the undergrowth. She didn't have to look far.

Brown eyes gleamed from between the trees. Her bear.

Human now.

Watching. Waiting.

Veyr tensed instinctively, shoulders rising in readiness.

"It's okay," Seren said softly. "He's a friend. He won't hurt you."

"He's been following us the whole way," Veyr murmured, frowning. "Doesn't feel like a friend."

"He's cautious. But loyal."

The bear-man remained in the shadows. Still. Alert. But he made no move to step forward.

Seren turned to Veyr. "Thank you. For helping me."

He looked at her for a long moment.

"You're not done," he said quietly .

"No," she agreed, smiling a sad smile of goodbye. " We'll meet again."

His expression didn't change, but something flickered behind his eyes.

He stepped closer, and bent his head slightly. "Take care, Little Lunara."

Seren smiled, eyes shining with unshed tears. "You haven't seen the last of me."

Behind her, a pair of headlights blinked on in the distance, cutting through the dark.

A car idled near the edge of the road.

Talis stepped out.

He'd grown taller. His shoulders broader. The awkward boy she knew was now a young man-dark eyes full of worry and fierce relief.

"You came," she breathed, examining hie new form.

He nodded; voice soft. His eyes swept over her like a physical touch. "I've been coming every night for a week. I didn't know what was happening. I just... kept hoping. "

She turned once more to Veyr.

A farewell passed between them in silence.

And then to the trees.

She caught a final glimpse of the bear - still half-hidden, half-feral, his brown eyes steady on hers.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Take care of them."

She opened the passenger door and slid inside.

The car turned, the tyres crunching softly over gravel.

And Seren left Vargrheim behind-headed toward the world of the Hairless Ones.