Midnight Noises

The evening settled over the pack grounds like a slow-moving fog, cloaking the stone walls of the estate in soft blue shadows. Somewhere in the distance, a howl echoed—deep, haunting, and long. It raised the hair on the back of my neck, reminding me that this place, no matter how well-guarded or structured, was still a home to monsters.

After the bruising encounter with Cian, I wanted nothing more than to sink into a hot bath and forget every pair of eyes that had watched me stumble, every laugh that still echoed in my skull.

But of course, peace was not something this place seemed keen on giving me.

Inara didn't say much as she led me through one of the quieter hallways that coiled around the west wing of the pack house. The walls were lined with paintings—portraits of previous Alphas, warriors mid-battle, scenes of wolves under blood moons—and the silence was filled with the distant murmur of voices and the occasional crackling of torches.