By the time the sun began to rise fully, the forest had already started to thin out behind me, and the world ahead slowly shifted into something that felt unfamiliar in a way I could not immediately name. The trees gave way to open land, the scent of earth and moss fading beneath something sharper, something artificial, something distinctly human.

I didn’t slow down.

Not because I wasn’t tired, but because stopping meant thinking, and thinking meant going back to everything I had deliberately left behind.

The deeper I moved toward the city, the more the world changed around me, and yet none of it made me feel any safer. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

If anything, it felt wrong.

Not dangerous in the way the forest was, not alive with instincts and hidden threats, but disconnected, as if I had stepped into a place where I didn’t belong and never truly could.

By the time I reached the outer edge of the human city, the sun was already high enough to cast long, pale light across the streets, illuminating buildings that rose in clean, sharp lines, so different from the organic chaos of the forest.

Cars moved along the roads in steady streams, their sounds constant, mechanical, predictable in a way that felt almost unnatural.

People passed by me without a second glance.

And for the first time in days— I was invisible again.

I should have felt relieved. Instead, something inside me tightened.

I walked through the streets without a clear direction, letting instinct guide me even in a place where instinct had very little to hold onto. The scents were confusing, layered, overwhelming in a way that made it difficult to separate anything clearly, and the noise never truly stopped.

There was no silence here. Not even the kind that hides danger. Just a constant hum that made everything feel distant.

I stopped at a corner, watching people move past me, each of them carrying something—bags, phones, conversations—each of them grounded in a world that made sense to them.

I wondered what that felt like. To exist somewhere without constantly questioning your place in it.

My wolf shifted faintly inside me, restless, unsettled by everything around us.

This wasn’t her world. And if I was being honest— It wasn’t mine either.

I found a small café without really thinking about it, drawn more by the need to sit than anything else. The warmth inside contrasted sharply with the cold air outside, and for a moment, the simple act of stepping through the door felt like crossing into yet another unfamiliar territory.

No one looked at me twice. No one noticed.

I ordered something I didn’t really taste and sat by the window, watching the street outside as if it might eventually start to make sense. It didn’t. Instead, my thoughts drifted back.

Not to Kael.

But to Rowan.

I hadn’t expected that.

If anything, I should have been focused on what I had escaped from, on the bond that still lingered faintly in the back of my mind, on the Alpha who would not let things end quietly.

But that wasn’t what stayed with me.

It was Rowan’s voice.

His steadiness.

The way he had looked at me, not as something broken or inconvenient, but as someone who had simply made a choice.

The memory surfaced before I could stop it.

His hand around my wrist.

The vision.

The way he hadn’t let go immediately.

I exhaled slowly, looking away from the window as if that might help clear my thoughts.

It didn’t.

The problem wasn’t just that I had left. It was how I had left. I hadn’t given him a chance to respond. I hadn’t stayed long enough to see what he would choose if I didn’t remove myself from the equation.

And that bothered me more than it should have. Because it meant that, in some way, I had taken the decision out of his hands. I had decided for both of us.

Just like Kael had once done for me.

The realization settled heavily in my chest.

I didn’t like it.

A sudden shift in the air made me freeze. It was subtle. So subtle that a human wouldn’t have noticed. But my wolf reacted instantly.

Alert. Focused.

Something wasn’t right.

I lifted my head slightly, letting my senses stretch beyond the noise, beyond the crowded street, searching for something familiar in a place that offered nothing but confusion.

And then— I felt it.

Not the bond.

Not Kael.

Something else. Something darker.

Rogues?

My grip tightened around the edge of the table.

No. That didn’t make sense. Rogues didn’t come into cities like this. Not openly. Not where humans could see them. But the presence was there.

Faint but real.

I stood slowly, my pulse quickening as I stepped outside, the cold air hitting me instantly as I tried to locate the source.

For a moment, I saw nothing. Just people. Just movement and just noise.

Then— A figure across the street.

Still. Watching. My breath caught.

There was something off about the way he stood, something in the way his eyes fixed on me without hesitation, without confusion, as if he already knew exactly who—and what—I was.

My wolf growled low. Not out loud but inside me. Recognition danger.

I took a step back instinctively. The man tilted his head slightly, a slow, almost amused movement that sent a cold feeling down my spine.

And then— He smiled. Not like a human, not even close. My heart began to pound harder.

Because suddenly, the city didn’t feel like safety anymore. It felt like a trap.

I turned quickly, forcing myself to move, to blend into the crowd, to put distance between me and whatever had just locked onto me.

But the feeling didn’t fade. If anything— It followed.

Closer. More focused.

My steps quickened, my senses sharpening as I moved through the streets, turning corners without thinking, letting instinct take over in a place where instinct shouldn’t have worked.

And yet— It did. Because this wasn’t just the human world anymore. Something had followed me here.

Or worse— Something had been waiting.

I didn’t stop until I reached a quieter street, my breathing uneven as I pressed my back lightly against the wall of a narrow alley, listening, waiting, forcing myself to stay still.

For a moment— Nothing.

Then— A voice.

Low. Close.

"You really thought you could just walk away?"

My entire body went still. Because that voice—

Wasn’t Rowan.

Wasn’t Kael.

And somehow— That made it worse.

I turned slowly.

And this time— I wasn’t alone.