u

avy to move, my throat was scratchy and dry, and my head was pounding. But beneath me was warmth-solid, constant warmth. And a smel

re okay. You

. Steady, lo

he softness of a firm yet unexpectedly cozy bed beneath me. It had a subtle earthy a

wood ceiling with uneven, rough grain. The aged floors were illuminated by a tiny beam of daylig

in my body. As the previous night's events came

The rogues.

d

ghtly as if in deep thought, and his elbows resting on his knees. Sharp, defined, but not harsh, his features danced in the fire

t as he said, "I was beginning

he said. I hadn't felt t

question was hardly a

ed himself. "I found you at th

quickly. Kai put a hand on my shoulder and

've lost a lot of blood. An

I held onto the edge of th

distance outside the rogue area. This is a safe place f

along with whispers of a village where humans and

id you help me

s lips quirked. "You

y, but all I saw was quiet, steady truthf

g my legs off the bed. I ignored the

ed, "Wait. At least eat somethin

tay. If th

Nobody enters this place without a reason, and nobody

calmed my tr

ped room. I didn't realized how simple it was until now, with its rough-

es outside the door, the slight buzz of a l

upper was waiting on a table. Tea, bread, and

to the bowl and added, "I m

was herbal, strange but comforting, and

had accepted me without asking any question. He had a certain qu

wolf?" At la

he replied. "My mom was

fore. My pack dislike them, they called them weak

eside here?

year

Wh

. "This place is... quieter. It's easier to be who yo

to that. More

~

rustic, life existed here. Human and half-wolf children raced by us. The roadw

but not with ill intent. Unlike my pac

one structures and declared, "This is the old square.

middle, its water glistening in t

ed, "It's

as a tiny smile lifted

ed for the firs

he town's edge, where thick wo

," Kai remarked. "They pose

"I've already

ied," he answered,

der. The pack. The secret that is developing inside

eye on me. "Who ar

shut them again. The

angerous,"

nod as if it was

ge as the sun began to se

f Ashbourne settling down in the distance while I gazed at the

K

d pull toward Kai was gettin

nything else, th