Chloe’s pov
The oak door closed with a quiet click as Ted walked out into the misty night, heading back toward the Red Moon border.
Inside the cottage, the air felt lighter, cleared of the heavy, suffocating confusion that had weighed on us since escaping the Dead Pines cellar. The warm glow of the hearth fire flickered across the stone walls, casting soft shadows across the rustic floorboards.
Lisa stood near the wooden table, her hands resting quietly over her apron. "He'll reach the border ridge before dawn."
"I hope Jill listens to him," I murmured, sitting down on the wooden bench by the window.
I rested my hand flat over my lower stomach beneath my wool dress, feeling the quiet, constant warmth of my baby. Everything had changed in a single evening. Ted wasn't my fated mate, and
