Eva’s training session ended late that night, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up with her. She wiped the sweat from her brow, her heart still racing from the intensity of her sparring. She had been trying to push herself harder, to stay sharp in the face of everything that was coming. But even with all the focus she could muster, something kept tugging at her thoughts—something she couldn’t shake.
Max had been distant lately, his presence a constant reminder of the tension between them. But there was something else—something darker. And Eva had been feeling it. That sense that something was off, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
She stopped for a moment, staring at the ground, trying to steady her breath. It was then that she felt it, her eyes narrowing in on Valen, who had been standing off to the side, watching her closely.
His eyes shifted then, just for a split second—his pupils dilated, his irises turning an unnatural shade of red, and his fangs flashed out from his mouth. Eva’s breath caught in her throat as the familiar pang of unease bloomed inside her chest.
“Valen…” she whispered, her voice trembling despite herself.
He immediately blinked, the moment passing as quickly as it had come. His gaze softened, and the dangerous edge seemed to disappear, replaced by a familiar warmth. But Eva knew what she had seen.
She shook her head, pushing the thoughts away. It was foolish to make assumptions. But there was no denying that the way Valen had looked at her, the brief flash of something predatory in his eyes, stirred up memories of things she wasn’t ready to face.
That night, she went to bed with her mind racing, her thoughts tangled in confusion and fear. She tossed and turned, unable to escape the unsettling feeling that had settled deep in her gut. It wasn’t just Valen that bothered her. It was everything—the prophecy, the weight of the pack, and the growing sense that there was something dark lying just beneath the surface of everything she knew.
As she drifted into a restless sleep, a shadow filled her dreams. She saw a black-clawed figure standing over her, towering and menacing, its presence cold and foreboding. Its eyes—if they could even be called eyes—glowed with an unnatural light, staring into her soul.
Eva woke with a gasp, her heart pounding in her chest. She shot up from the bed, drenched in sweat, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The vision of the black-clawed figure still lingered in her mind, haunting her.
“Danielle?” she whispered into the darkness, as if speaking the name out loud might make the nightmare go away. It’s the woman who kept her, Tiana, and her mother locked up in the dungeon.The unease that had settled in her chest only deepened. Something was coming. Something terrible.
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