C239 WHERE DESIRE BECOMES DESTINY

The clearing did not breathe.

It held its breath.

Aria felt it in the way the air pressed against her skin, heavy and eager, as though the world itself had paused to observe what would unfold next. The moon hung low, bloated and pallid, its light streaming over the figures gathering like a silent judgment. Wolves ringed the area now—bloodfed werewolves, their bodies lean and muscular