The forest was too quiet.
Snow muffled the world, swallowing sound until the only thing Liora could hear was the steady crunch of her boots. Breath frosted in the moonlight, curling into pale ghosts before vanishing into the night.
She should have gone back hours ago. But the pull was stronger tonight — a thread wound tight in her chest, tugging her deeper into the trees. She didn't need to see him to know he was there. She never did.
The curse made sure of it.
A wolf howled somewhere in the distance — low, mournful, and too close. Her fingers tightened around the dagger at her hip, its silver hilt biting against her palm. The elders always said silver was a werewolf's doom, but for her, it was something worse. Silver had made her what she was. Silver had marked her, claimed her, and bound her life to his.
Her breath quickened.
A shadow flickered between the pines. He was close.
"You're following me," she said without turning.
The snow shifted. A deep voice answered, smooth and steady as the winter air.
"You're leading me."
She turned slowly. Aric stepped from the darkness, his tall frame half-swallowed by the trees. His coat was dusted in frost, and his eyes — moonlit silver — locked on hers with an intensity that made her pulse stumble.
"It's the curse," he said. "You know that."
"I know it's killing us both." Her voice came out sharper than she intended. "Every hour we stay near each other, it gets worse."
For a long moment, neither of them moved. The air between them was thick — not just with cold, but with the unspoken truth that had haunted every meeting since the night the curse bound them.
"I could end it," he said at last. His gloved hand brushed the hilt of his blade.
She didn't flinch. "Then why don't you?"
His eyes searched her face. "Maybe I'm curious."
"About what?"
"About why the curse feels… like more than the curse."
Her heart thudded once, hard enough she swore he could hear it. The thread between them pulled tighter, humming like it was alive.
Somewhere behind him, branches snapped. The scent hit her next — musk, blood, and fur. Another wolf. Not him. Not bound.
Aric's jaw tightened. "We're not alone."
Liora's grip on her dagger firmed. Whatever else was between them, whatever words they might have traded, it would have to wait.
The hunt had found them.