The silence stretched like a blade against Lila's skin, thin and sharp, pressing into her ribs with every breath. The alley was empty now, save for her and Lora, but the echo of that man's words still clung to the air like mist.
"The thing growing inside you."
Her fingers curled instinctively over her stomach, heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst from her chest.
Lora, always the first to snap into action, grabbed her wrist. "Lila, we need to move."
Lila's legs felt sluggish, her mind still tangled in the stranger's cryptic warning. But before she could respond, the low, rumbling growl came again—closer this time.
A shape flickered in the darkness.
Then another.
Lora cursed under her breath. "Damn it."
Two wolves emerged from the shadows. Not just any wolves—Caleb's wolves.
One was Rowan, one of Caleb's oldest packmates, his dark gray fur bristling in the moonlight. The other was Carter, a newer addition, younger but just as lethal.
