Morning came slowly to the Forbidden Forest.
Thin mist still hung between the trees when Zara opened her eyes. For a few seconds, she forgot where she was.
Then everything came rushing back.
The forest.
The wolves.
Alaric.
Zara immediately got out of bed.
She walked toward the window, but remembered Alaric's warning and decided against opening it. Through the glass, the forest looked far calmer than it had the night before.
Yet that calm only made her more curious.
Zara opened the bedroom door.
The aroma of coffee greeted her at once.
She went downstairs and found Alaric sitting in a chair near the window. A book rested in his hand, while a cup of coffee sent wisps of steam curling above the table.
The man looked exactly as he had before.
Cold.
Calm.
As if he had never fought three wolves in the middle of the night.
Zara approached the table.
“Morning.”
Alaric didn't answer right away.
“Morning,” he said at last.
Zara smiled.
“So you do know how to say hello.”
Alaric lifted his eyes from his book.
“You talk a lot this early in the morning.”
“I'm just being friendly.”
“I don't need friendliness.”
Zara pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Then just assume I'm bothering you.”
Alaric went back to reading.
Strangely, the corners of Zara's lips lifted.
She was starting to get used to the man's attitude.
Even though she'd only just met him, Alaric no longer seemed as frightening as he had when they'd first met.
At least when he wasn't transforming into a wolf.
Zara looked at the cup of coffee in front of Alaric.
“Do you drink coffee every morning?”
“Yes.”
“Don't you get tired of it?”
“No.”
“Does it taste good?”
Alaric looked at his cup.
“It's ordinary.”
Zara let out a soft laugh.
“Then why do you still drink it?”
“Because I like it.”
“So you really are hard to understand.”
Alaric didn't answer.
Zara then remembered their conversation from the night before.
“Alaric.”
“What?”
“Do you know where the Emberrose grows?”
Alaric's hand stilled.
He closed his book.
“Why?”
“I want to look for it today.”
“No.”
The answer came so quickly that Zara frowned.
“Why?”
“Because it's dangerous.”
“I'm only looking for a flower.”
“That flower grows in the deepest part of the forest.”
“I can be careful.”
“No.”
Zara began to grow irritated.
“You haven't even given me a chance.”
“I don't need to give you a chance to do something obviously foolish.”
Zara stood up.
“Foolish?”
Alaric looked at her calmly.
“Going somewhere dangerous alone is foolish.”
“I don't have a choice.”
“You do.”
“What?”
“Go home.”
Zara fell silent.
Alaric continued reading his book.
“You survived. Go home to your family.”
Zara clenched her fists.
“If I go home without the Emberrose, my little brother could die.”
Alaric didn't move.
“I've already lost so many people,” Zara continued in a softer voice. “I don't want to lose my little brother too.”
The room suddenly fell silent.
Alaric slowly raised his gaze.
There was something in Zara's eyes that reminded him of the past.
The fear of losing someone.
The feeling of helplessness.
Emotions he'd once felt as a child.
When both his parents had tried to hide him from the Grimclaw attackers.
When he'd left his hiding place and found his family dead.
Alaric immediately pushed the memories away.
“Don't go alone.”
Zara looked at him.
“So you're going to help me?”
“I didn't say that.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I'm only saying don't go alone.”
Zara smiled.
“That means you'll come with me?”
Alaric stayed silent.
Zara's smile widened.
“Right?”
“Don't get your hopes up.”
Before Zara could answer, the sound of footsteps came from outside the house.
Alaric immediately stood.
His expression changed.
Zara noticed the shift.
“What is it?”
“Quiet.”
The front door opened.
Troy entered with a serious expression.
“Alpha.”
Alaric looked at him.
“What is it?”
“Grimclaw tracks were found on the eastern side.”
Zara fell silent at once.
Troy glanced at her before looking back at Alaric.
“They haven't come too far in yet. But there are more of them than before.”
Alaric walked toward the window.
“How many?”
“At least six.”
Alaric's gaze hardened.
“And the barrier?”
“It still hasn't fully recovered.”
Alaric let out a short sigh.
“Check the entire perimeter.”
“Yes.”
Troy was about to leave.
But Alaric stopped him.
“Don't let anyone approach this house.”
Troy looked at Zara.
Then he understood the meaning behind the order.
“Understood.”
After Troy left, Zara stood up.
“Are they here looking for me?”
Alaric didn't answer.
“Alaric.”
“Not necessarily.”
“But they were chasing me yesterday.”
“That's why you can't go outside.”
Zara stared at him.
“Then how am I supposed to get the Emberrose?”
Alaric turned around.
“Not today.”
“But—”
“No.”
Zara let out an annoyed sigh.
She walked over to the sofa and sat down.
A few moments later, Alaric picked up his black coat.
Zara looked at him.
“Where are you going?”
“To inspect the territory.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“Then I'm coming with you.”
“No.”
“I can help.”
“No.”
“I'll be quiet.”
“Impossible.”
Zara glared at him.
Alaric simply turned and walked away.
But before he went out, he stopped.
“Don't leave the house.”
Zara answered softly.
“Okay.”
The door closed.
Zara let out a long sigh.
She knew Alaric wouldn't let her leave.
But she also knew one thing.
Time was running out.
And her little brother didn't have much time left.
Outside the house, Alaric walked through the trees.
Once he was far enough from the house, his expression turned cold.
He stopped beside one of the old trees.
There were claw marks on its trunk.
Alaric touched them.
A foreign scent immediately filled his senses.
Grimclaw.
But there was something else.
A fainter scent.
Darker.
Alaric frowned.
It wasn't just them.
He turned toward the trees.
There was no one there.
But his instincts told him something was watching him.
Alaric clenched his fist.
“Come out.”
There was no answer.
He took a step forward.
“Don't make me come looking for you.”
The wind blew.
Then came the sound of a branch snapping.
Alaric spun around.
A black bird flew from the top of a tree.
Not an enemy.
Yet Alaric didn't feel reassured.
There was something wrong with that forest.
Something had entered it.
And he wasn't sure whether the threat had come from Grimclaw.
Meanwhile, Zara stood alone in the main room.
She stared at the door Alaric had just closed.
Then she looked down at her hands.
She remembered her little brother's face.
I'm sorry.
She picked up her small bag.
If Alaric refused to tell her where the Emberrose was, she would find the information herself.
Zara walked toward the library.
Maybe there were books about the plants in the forest.
She searched the shelves one by one.
Books about history.
Books about plants.
Books about magic.
Until at last, her hand stopped on an old black book.
A crescent moon emblem was engraved on its cover.
Zara slowly pulled the book free.
But as it came out of the shelf—
a page tucked behind it fell to the floor.
Zara bent down to pick it up.
Her eyes immediately widened.
The page contained an illustration of a flower with glowing pink petals.
One name was written beneath the picture.
EMBERROSE.
Zara held her breath.
She'd found a clue.
But before she could read any further, the sound of footsteps came from behind her.
Zara froze.
“Alaric?”
There was no answer.
The footsteps drew closer.
Zara slowly turned around.
And for the first time since arriving at that house—
she realized that Alaric might not be the only creature inside the territory.