Chapter Eleven:Whispers in the Mist

The dream bled into reality.

She woke up gasping, drenched in sweat, as if she had truly been running barefoot through the forest, the cold bite of the mist still clinging to her skin. Her fingers trembled as she touched the spot where the mark should have been.

Nothing.

No blood. No pain. No visible sign.

But it was there. Deep beneath her skin, carved into her soul.

She could still hear his voice — that low, gravelly growl threading through her veins like smoke. "You're mine, Ava…"

She pressed a pillow over her face to muffle the scream threatening to rise. Her heart wouldn't slow. It thrashed violently against her ribs like it knew something she didn't.

And then came the knock.

Three soft taps on the door.

She froze.

This wasn't the kind of knock that came from worried friends or late-night snacks.

This knock knew things.

The air thickened, stilled. Shadows curled toward the corners of her room as if listening in. Ava forced herself to sit up, her throat dry.

"Who's there?" she croaked.

No answer.

She reached for the lamp, but before her fingers touched the switch, the bulb exploded.

Darkness swallowed the room whole.

And then came the whisper — not from outside the door, but from inside the room. Right beside her ear.

"You can't run forever."

She scrambled back, nearly tumbling from the bed. Her breath came in broken sobs, her nails digging into the mattress as she searched the blackness for movement.

But nothing moved.

No one came forward.

Still, the air was thick with the scent of something primal. Earth, smoke… and blood.