Epilogue

Callista

M y smile faded as I stepped out into the crisp afternoon air, my boots crunching against the gravel. I made my way to where my Jeep waited patiently, and as I reached the door and inserted the key, a sudden wave of exhaustion crashed over me. It was as if every ounce of energy had been siphoned from my body in an instant. The joy from moments before evaporated, replaced by a bone-deep fatigue that made my shoulders slump forward involuntarily.

"Keep it together," I muttered to myself, fighting against the invisible weight pressing down on me. The sunlight seemed dimmer now, the shadows stretching long and ominous across the empty street. My movements grew sluggish, each action requiring monumental effort as though I were wading through mud.

I rolled up my sleeve and inspected the cut along my forearm. It still hadn't healed. Why the hell hadn't it healed?

I dropped my head on the steering wheel, memories of Nathan binding my wrists. Of forcing the dagger against my skin.

That was why I'd stolen it. After that night, when he'd coerced me into his home, I knew I couldn't leave it in his possession. But now? I wondered if that was what he'd wanted all along.

Not him, I reminded myself. The darkness.

That was what I called him. The being I'd sensed in the shadows. The one I knew had been watching in the woods when Rowan defeated Nathan. The one who still had the precious relic.

I could feel its dark whispers at the edge of my consciousness, a haunting melody that promised power but threatened to consume me whole.

I gripped the wheel, taking in slow, measured breaths, then forced myself to confront the mundane reality of my Jeep's interior. I didn't want to leave, but the conflicting desires churned like a tempest inside me. The dagger's dark allure was intoxicating.

You know where it is.

My wolf whined, curling up and burying her head.

The scent hit me then, sudden and intrusive. It wound its way through the slightly ajar window, bypassing the mundane odors of pine and asphalt. My nostrils flared involuntarily, the wolf within roused by the unfamiliar trace lingering on the breeze. It was subtle but distinct.

I shouldn't follow. I should start the Jeep and drive away from this place, from the siren call that beckoned me into the wilds. But the fragrance stirred something primal within me, a yearning that was not entirely my own.

The cut on my arm burned.

I pressed the start button, and the engine roared to life beneath me. The road ahead blurred as I drove.

I was going home to Blake and Celeste. I was going to the pack meeting tomorrow. I was going to work with Blake, Rowan, and Evelyn to blend Black Lake with Kitimat. I was…

I blinked, the road suddenly looking less familiar. Had I turned? I glanced back but couldn't see a road that I'd missed.

An ominous chill crept over my skin as dusk cloaked the world in shades of gray. My grip on the steering wheel tightened, knuckles straining against the leather.

Come to me, Callista.

I'm waiting.