Chapter 57
Lenora
"You okay, Snowball?" Ronan asks, pulling me into a hug.
"As okay as can be," I whisper, letting myself sink into his familiar warmth, into his scent that's always reminded me of cinnamon and fresh air.
But I don't stay long. I stiffen, something tugging at me.
I turn.
And then I see it—my father's wolf form.
I haven't seen him like this in years.
I don't think. I run.
Mid-air, I shift. My bones snap and reform, white fur replacing skin, claws meeting soil. I crash into the massive grey wolf with golden eyes, toppling us both.
We roll, tangle, snap at each other playfully like we used to. A daughter and her father, together again in the forest one last time.
***
Ronan
I sit on the porch.
Right now, everything feels like a countdown. We're just... waiting.
From the woods, I catch occasional glimpses—flashes of white fur darting between the trees.
The wood beside me creaks and I glance sideways. Simone.
