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My body tensed.

Bay, this is Alarik. You don't need to be afraid of him.

Alarik came even closer, suddenly sitting down diagonally in front of me before eventually lying down horizontally in the wet leaves, tilting his head so that his muzzle pointed toward his back.

“You're going to climb on my back. Don't be afraid, okay?”

He couldn't possibly expect me to...

I swallowed.

He seemed... peaceful.

A howl sounded in the distance.

Alarik raised his head, looked into the dark forest that surrounded us, and pricked up his ears. Eventually, he looked back at me.

Nervousness coursed through my chest.

Shit, he was serious.

Hesitantly, I slid forward, my knees weak, but I made it to him.

With a trembling hand, I touched the fur on his belly, watching for his reaction, but he remained calm, breathing evenly, his soft belly rising and falling under my hand.

Don't be afraid, Bay.

And then, without hesitation, I leaned carefully against his fur, pulled myself up onto his back, and didn't think twice about it.

I felt his wolf eyes on me, but I was too exhausted to keep my own open.

When he moved, I clung to his warm fur, trying to hold on, hoping I wasn't hurting him.

“I'm sorry.”

I didn't know if I whispered those words or dreamed them. But eventually, I slipped completely back into my dream world.

Revolving Door

Abel Korzeniowski

I yawned, squinting at the endless candles on the brown Victorian wooden dressers and side tables in the cozy fireplace room. A fireplace room filled with bookshelves overflowing to the ceiling. A fireplace room I didn't recognize...

I opened my eyes wide and looked around frantically as the memories all came flooding back.

I was supposed to be in a room at the Copeland estate. Where else could he have taken me?

“I'll take you home.”

Confused, I stared into the flames of the fireplace.

Only now did I realize that this was not a fireplace room, but a bedroom. I was lying in a Victorian wooden bed, covered with fine brown bedding that felt soft and expensive.

The quiet tapping of keys made me turn my head.

A man dressed in black trousers, a white shirt, and a brown vest sat at an elegant wooden desk in front of a window, working on his laptop by candlelight.

“Alarik?”