Her fingers tightened around the drink. He was sharper than she’d given him credit for. She took a long sip, forcing herself not to gag at its strength, and then turned to face him fully.
“Why are you hunting those who’ve been… corrupted?” she asked, all traces of humor gone.
Holden exhaled, considering her for a long moment before answering. “Because we’re trying to protect our pack. The magic is spreading through the eastern lands like a disease. Every day, it gets closer.” He took another drink before continuing. “And our alpha… He can feel when it’s close. We can’t afford to lose any more of our pack to it.”
A lump formed in Evelyne’s throat. They’d lost people, just like she had. Reuben. Cillian. But Cillian was still alive, and she would not lose hope.
“What happens to them?” she asked quietly. “To the ones who go dark?”
Holden’s expression hardened. “At first, they resist. A few hold out longer than you’d think. But it always wins. First the mind goes, then the body. After that… the person they were is lost.”
Lost.The very thing the sigil had foretold. A chill passed over Evelyne. “Lost how?”
“They become something unrecognizable,” he said darkly. “Blood-fed things—swifter, stronger, and utterly mindless. There are nights when four of us are barely enough to bring one down.” A beat passed. “Your friend Reuben… He was changing. We had to act before the rot rooted deeper, or leapt to one of us.”
“That can’t be right,” she whispered, her thoughts racing.
“My brother—”
She stopped short, but the damage was already done.
Holden’s eyes sharpened. “What about your brother?”
She swallowed hard. “He was taken over a week ago, and now we are trying to find him.”
“Are we talking taken—or infected? Because if it’s the same darkness that claimed Reuben…” He shook his head. “Don’t hold on to hope.”
Evelyne bit her tongue, unwilling to let this man’s harsh realism shake her belief in Cillian. A wave of dizziness washed over her, but she pushed to her feet regardless. She needed to leavenow, before the doubt sank in.
Holden leaned back, smirking. “I’d take it easy on that ale. You don’t have the tolerance for northeastern spirits.”
“Thanks for the warning,” she tossed over her shoulder before slipping into the night.
Evelyne’s thoughts coiled in a dizzying haze of ale and revelation. Kaldrek could sense the darkness and hunted those touched by it to protect his pack. If she or Alaric had shown the slightest sign of taint, he wouldn’t have hesitated to kill them. That alone should have sobered her, but the warmth in her veins made her restless, lighter. All she wanted was to let go, to be swept into the dark and wild pulse of the evening.
She stepped toward the fire, following the drums, until she saw him.
Kaldrek moved in sync with a striking woman, her long black hair cascading down her back, her warm-toned skin illuminated by the flames. She moved like the night was hers, and those barely-there leathers hugged curves carved by temptation itself. Evelyne couldn’t help but admire her… and resent just how effortlessly she drew so many eyes.
Her gaze lingered on Kaldrek’s large hands gripping the woman’s waist, his fingers pressing firmly as they swayed. Then he leaned in, his head dipping toward her neck. The gesture was unmistakably intimate, and Evelyne felt a slow heat bloom across her skin as she watched him.
She told herself to look away, to stop staring at the way he wrapped himself around the woman with such possessive mastery. But she didn’t. Couldn’t. She only stood there, watching… wanting. And for one reckless heartbeat, she wished someone would hold her like that.
Without warning, Kaldrek’s dark gaze snapped to hers.
Shit.
She remained frozen, caught, trapped like prey beneath the hunter’s stare. But he didn’t stop moving, didn’t pull away from the woman, just watched her watchinghim.
Mortified, Evelyne spun around and walked back to her tent, cursing herself the whole way. Inside, she yanked out the map, eyes locking onto the glowing parchment, grounding herself in something real.
The map was clear. No danger in sight. She exhaled, tension easing from her shoulders. Tomorrow, they’d be on their own again. She needed that. Time to think. Time to plan. But she still had to get her weapons back. Perhaps Heidara would lend her some clothes and supplies, but it didn’t change the fact that she felt dangerously exposed without a way to protect herself.
A gravel-rough voice cut through the silence behind her. “What is that?”
Evelyne spun, clutching the map to her chest. Kaldrek stood in the tent, his tall frame blocking the entire entrance. His dark eyes flicked down to the parchment in her hands.
She forced a casual shrug. “Just a map. Planning our next route.”
