Chapter 288. I Came to Find You

Elizabeth’s POV

“Look what we’ve got here,” a deep, gravelly voice drawled from the shadows.

The sound sliced cleanly through the forest air, sharp enough to make every instinct in my body snap to attention. I straightened slowly, my senses flaring as five figures stepped out from between the trees. They moved with the loose confidence of men who believed they already owned the outcome of whatever came next. Their shoulders were broad, muscles thick beneath worn clothing, eyes gleaming with the predatory amusement of rogues who had crossed borders before and lived to brag about it.

Coen’s growl rumbled low and dangerous beside me, vibrating through the ground. It wasn’t fear—it was fury. The kind that came from a warrior who knew his land had been violated.

“Don’t waste your energy, kid,” one of the rogues sne