*Vador Blackthorn*
The engine of the truck hummed quietly as I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white from the tension coiling within me. The shadows of the mountains loomed over the road, each peak like a sentinel, keeping watch over our path back to the packhouse. But it wasn't the jagged rocks or eerie silence that fueled the storm in my chest—it was Ariel. Her silence felt like a shadow cast over the very air we breathed, heavy and unsettling.
Her leg tapped rhythmically against the floorboard, a telltale sign of the stress battling within her. I shot her a sidelong glance, searching for answers in her troubled gaze. Hell, I wanted to pry open her thoughts, to delve into the reasons for her sudden change. But today wasn't the day for that interrogation. I could feel th
