The forest seems to hold its breath.
No wind.
No movement.
Just tension—thick, coiled, waiting to snap.
Jack’s arm instinctively shifts slightly in front of Samantha, a silent barrier.
“You’re not doing anything to her,” he says, voice low and dangerous.
Lauren doesn’t react to the threat.
“If I wanted to hurt her,” she replies calmly, “I wouldn’t ask permission.”
That doesn’t ease anyone.
Samantha places a hand lightly on Jack’s arm.
“Jack.”
He doesn’t look at her. “No.”
His answer is immediate. Final.
“You don’t know what they’re asking.”
“I know enough,” she says quietly.
Now he does look at her.
And there it is—
Fear.
Not for himself.
For her.
“They want you to let that thing out,” he says. “The same thing we’ve been trying to contain.”
Lauren speaks again, steady,
