Chapter 7. The Mark Evolves

Selene did not truly sleep.

She drifted instead, suspended in a slow, luminous current that carried her somewhere between waking and dreaming. Her body lay still beneath the furs, breath steady and calm, but beneath the surface her wolf paced restlessly, circling with quiet agitation as though testing the boundaries of a new, unfamiliar space. There was no fear in it—only alertness, a sharpened awareness that refused to settle.

When her eyes finally opened, the fire was still burning low. Ash glowed softly in the hearth, casting a dull, amber light that stretched shadows along the stone walls of Alaric’s den. The air smelled of earth and iron, leather and smoke—a place shaped by survival rather than comfort, never meant to cradle softness for long.

She pushed herself upright slowly, careful this time. The furs slid dow