_Rylan's POV_
The road curved endlessly before us, winding through forest and fog. Shadows crawled across the trees like fingers reaching from some other world. The deeper we drove, the tighter my chest became. Every breath I took felt heavier and denser.
Jared sat in the passenger seat. His arms were crossed and his jaw was tight as we followed the directions Alexandra had given us to the Shadowrune Pack. The silence in the car was thick, heavy and pressing in from all sides. Neither of us spoke. The tension felt alive, like something crawling under my skin, waiting to explode.
I gripped the wheel tighter.
Avarok, my wolf, stirred in my mind. "You're not calm."
"How can I be calm?" I whispered back. "She is there. And she thinks I betrayed her."
"You didn’t. You never would."
"But
