Chapter 36
Kora’s POV
The highlands rose before us like a jagged wall, peaks draped in mist and shadow. The path upward was narrow, uneven, the stones slick beneath our boots. Each step pulled us farther from the meadow, farther from the battlefield that still clung to my skin.
But the silence never left.
Even with the crunch of boots on rock, the hiss of wind through the cliffs, everything felt hushed. Tense. Every pack member kept their eyes low, their voices buried. No one wanted to say it out loud, but I could feel it pressing down on us all.
Witch.
The word still echoed in my ears.
Mara walked close behind me, her presence sharp as a blade. She hadn’t spoken since the fight, but I could feel her watching me, measuring me. Not with hatred, not exactly—but with something I couldn’t name.
Edward kept me at his side, his stride steady, his hand brushing mine often like he needed to remind himself I was still there. His expression was unreadable, but his shoulders were iron, his jaw tight.
When the sun dipped low and the air turned colder, we stopped at a rocky overhang that would shield us for the night. Fires were lit, small and cautious, their smoke carried quickly away by the wind.
I sat near the edge, watching the last light fade from the horizon. The mountains stretched endlessly, wild and vast. It should have felt freeing, but instead it felt like a cage of stone.
Edward came to sit beside me, lowering himself with a quiet groan of exhaustion. His hand brushed mine again, deliberate this time. “You’ve been quiet.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “After everything today, what am I supposed to say?” His gaze turned to me, steady, searching. “The truth.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even know what the truth is. Those herbs—what they did—I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t know why it happened. I don’t know how it happened.”
His hand covered mine fully now, warm and grounding. “Then we’ll figure it out. Together.”
The words together should have comforted me, but all I could think of was Aaron’s voice. One day, he’ll see it too.
I pulled my hand back, hugging my knees to my chest. “What if the truth is something you can’t accept, Edward? What if the hunters were right?”
He didn’t flinch, didn’t blink. “Then I’ll burn the world before I let anyone use it against you.” My throat tightened, and I turned away before the tears could spill.
For a while, we just sat there, the crackle of the fire behind us, the whisper of wind ahead. It should have been peaceful. It wasn’t.
Because I could feel it.
The eyes.
Somewhere out in the dark, beyond the cliffs, beyond the mist—he was watching. Aaron.
I knew it in my bones, the way the air shifted, the way my skin prickled.
And when the wind carried a faint voice to me, low and taunting, I didn’t doubt it. You can run to the ends of the earth, little wolf. I will always find you.
I pressed my hand to my belly, protective, terrified.
Because it wasn’t just me anymore.
And Aaron knew.
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