For a few breathless seconds, my brain refused to accept what I was hearing. Growls rolled clearly through the air, and Caleb and Keegan went outside to check on what could possibly be going on in the darkness of the early morning.
I peeked out the window and saw wolves in formation, their shapes layered against the shadows. Orc silhouettes stood farther out along the tree line. They looked broad and immovable.
And yet, in the middle of it, at the edge where the yard blurred into the woods, the figure stood as if he’d always belonged there.
Cloaked. Hood up. Still.
The outline was too big to be my mom or the Priestess.
My stomach tightened. It wasn’t from fear alone but from the sheer impossibility of what I was seeing. I’d been bracing for any number of disasters tonight. I’d been prepared to face the consequences of my mother’s letter, the questions that kept clawing through me, and the way my mind wanted to sprint into the dark and drag her back by force of will.
But I knew that wasn’t an option.
And here I thought the dream with Gideon would be the worst of things.
As I stared into the shadows, my head throbbed behind my eyes and settled into a dull ache, and my stomach felt hollow and furious at the same time.
I watched the figure stay still.
Whoever it was had thought better of a dramatic entrance. There was no shadow flare or theatrical flourish.
But there was plenty of presence.
And that was when it hit me.
Oh.
Keegan stood a few steps away. His posture was steady, but he was ready to spring into action. I watched the muscles in his shoulders pull tight beneath the moonlight.
Caleb hovered near Keegan with his eyes fixed on the tree line. His weight was balanced like he could become a wolf again in a heartbeat.
“I think…” I looked over at Keegan. “I think that’s Gideon.”
Keegan angled his head toward me. “Gideon.”
I nodded once. “He came to me in my dream tonight. I would have told you, but everything else seemed to blur its importance.”
Caleb’s gaze flicked to me, sharp and assessing. Even in human form, he had that wolf way of listening.
“In the Hedge,” Keegan echoed, quieter.
I looked out to see the figure remain at the edge of the yard. A hood shadowed his face, and he wasn’t close enough for me to see his features clearly. But I didn’t need to.
My bones knew.
Keegan’s voice was low, careful. “A dream?”
“Yes. He had something to give me, or so he said. He looked exhausted, but he told me that being near him for too long would bring danger to our doorstep.”
“Then what changed his mind?” Keegan lifted his brows.
“I don’t know.”
Keegan’s jaw flexed, and I saw the flicker of something protective in his eyes.
“Why would he tell you it’s too dangerous to see you and then come to the Ward?”
It was such a practical question that I couldn’t help but wonder what the answer was.
