The forest was quieter than the town ever was. No traffic. No buzz of lights. Just the steady sound of the wind brushing through the pines and the crunch of her boots sinking into the damp earth.
She shouldn’t have been there.
She had told herself she wouldn’t go. That whatever happened last night had been a mistake born out of late hours and dangerous heat. She’d promised herself she would avoid him at all costs.
But when his message came — one word, Come — her body had moved before her mind could protest.
The deeper she went into the forest, the heavier the air felt. His scent was everywhere, thick and warm, wrapping around her lungs until she felt dizzy. Pine. Smoke. Something animal.
Branches cracked ahead of her.
She froze.
He stepped out from behind a thick tree, tall and broa
