Chapter 6 The Alpha's Shadow

The alley behind the clinic was silent except for the steady dripping of rainwater from a broken gutter. Kieran locked the back door, shrugging on his coat when a sudden chill snaked up his spine. He paused. The hair on his arms rose. He turned

And saw him.

A man stood at the far end of the alley. Tall. Impossibly tall. His black coat billowed slightly though there was no wind. His eyes gleamed gold even in the shadows. "You're Kieran Vance," the man said, voice low and rough like a rumble beneath the earth. Kieran instinctively stepped back. "Do I know you?"

The man smiled, but it wasn't warm. "No. But I know her."

Selara woke with a gasp, clutching her chest. She'd felt it his presence. Kael. He had broken through the veil that separated their worlds, even if just briefly. That meant the wards around her had weakened... or someone had helped him. Her hands trembled as she pushed the sheets off and rushed to the window, scanning the darkness outside. The city lights flickered once, unnaturally. Her heart sank. Kael had found her faster than she feared. He never left tracks only a promise. A warning.

And a body.

Kieran stumbled into his apartment an hour later, pale, breathless, and visibly shaken. Selara met him at the door, the scent of Kael still clinging to him like smoke. "He's here," Kieran whispered. "He knew your name, Selara. He knew everything." She pulled him inside, locking the door behind them. "That wasn't a warning for you," she said, eyes wild. "That was a message to me." Selara's voice shook for the first time since she arrived in the human world. "He's not here to bring me back. He's here to make me suffer first."

And elsewhere, deep in the forest at the edge of Erevelyn, a creature howled. Not a wolf. Not a man. But something twisted by vengeance and ancient magic. Kael stood over a fresh grave, eyes glowing, lips parted in a cruel whisper. "You chose exile over my love. Let's see how long your new world lets you keep it."