The clearing is bathed in the soft silver of moonlight. Trees sway gently, carrying whispers of the past. Aria moves cautiously, every sense alert, yet her heart races—not from fear, but anticipation.
Then—
He appears.
Kael.
Time seems to falter.
His silhouette is unmistakable, even in shadow. Strong, commanding, yet tense—like a coiled wolf ready to spring. He hasn’t moved from that ridge, yet somehow he’s everywhere in her mind at once.
Their eyes meet.
And the world stops.
Aria’s wolf stirs beneath her skin, low and cautious. Kael’s wolf presses against him, restless, insistent. Two forces, two halves of something greater, sensing each other across space and time.
Neither dares to move first.
Finally, Kael takes a step forward.
His face—usually controlled, unreadable—softens.
