Malia’s POV
The howls were getting closer.
I held Derek tighter against my chest, staring into the darkness beyond the doorway. My heart pounded so hard it drowned out almost everything else. Every distant cry felt sharper, hungrier.
I turned to the stranger who had stood near the entrance only moments before.
He was gone.
One second he had been there, solid and silent. The next, only empty shadow remained.
“He left,” Mara whispered.
Lydia scanned the trees. “He didn’t even say goodbye.”
Another howl rose, longer and closer this time. That was enough.
“We’re leaving,” I said.
Lydia nodded at once. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”
I carried Derek inside while Lydia and Mara followed. There was no time for questions. Whatever was coming through the forest, I refused to me
