Chapter 60

Isla POV

I fell into the dream before I even realized I was asleep.

The ground beneath me wasn’t ground at all… it was cold and jagged, like shattered glass hidden under green grass.

My bare feet scraped and burned as I moved. Trees surrounded me, tall and bone-white, their branches bent like arms that were stretching to grab me.

The bark creaked with every gust of wind, nearly giving way under the heavy breeze.

The air smelled sharp….filled without iron, rain, and smoke.

Each breath scorched my lungs. I clutched at my chest, but my fingers slipped on a sheen of dampness, like mist and sweat combined.

Above me, the moon shone brightly, the white light casting shadows on the trees.

Shadows pooled around my feet, curling upward, brushing my ankles like hands.

Then the sound started, scaring the shift out of me … howls, hundreds of them, weaving into one another.

It didn't just come from wolves.

Some were shrill like glass breaking, some guttural and deep, others almost human in their anguish.

The chorus built until my chest felt tight, my heart beating so hard I thought it might crack my ribs.

Confusion swirled in my chest as I slapped a hand over my ears wishing that the noise would stop.

And then I saw him.

A lone wolf, larger than any I’d ever seen, his fur darker than midnight.

His eyes burned molten gold, steady and unblinking while he stood in the distance at the edge of a clearing, his presence magnetic and striking.

I tried to move toward him, but my legs were heavy, sinking into roots that snaked from the ground, holding me in place.

I opened my mouth to speak but my throat closed up. I even wanted to scream, but no sound left my lips.

The wolf’s mouth opened, and a growl rolled through the forest. It vibrated through my body, my bones trembling with it. The sound wasn’t just noise…. it felt like it was coming from inside me, around me, a pulse echoing from the ground to the sky.

Choose.

The word wasn’t spoken.

It was felt, reverberating through me like a jolt of energy.

What did the voice mean?

Choose what?

Choose who?

Tristan? Kieran? Myself?

I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. “I don’t understand!” I tried to shout, but my voice came out strangled, swallowed by the rapidly growing wind.

The wolf tilted its head, stepping closer, eyes bright as firelight.

His growl softened into a whisper that curled around my ears like smoke: You have to decide.

The shadows around my feet tightened, brushing my calves, my waist, crawling up like vines.

It was soft and tentative at first, but with each moment I hesitated, it started to harden.

My chest heaved, my heart hammering. The forest’s howls turned to whispers I couldn’t make out… questions, threats, promises. I clawed at the roots, leaves tearing under my nails, my lungs burning as if I’d been running for hours.

The wolf’s eyes blazed brighter. The whisper became a snarl, a command.

Choose now.

And then the ground cracked beneath me.

I fell - no, I was yanked down, pulled into darkness.

My own scream tore through the air as the moonlight shattered like glass.

I woke with a gasp, bolting upright in bed, my nightgown damp with sweat.

The moon still hung outside my window, pale and heavy, spilling its cold light across my room. My heart pounded against my ribs, a wild animal desperate to escape.

Jumping up from the bed, I first noticed Tristan's absence before I ran over to the window with trembling hands, locked it, then checked the door, the shutters, even the floorboards as if something could crawl up through them.

Nothing could get in. Nothing was there. And yet I couldn’t shake the sensation that the dream had followed me out of sleep, clinging to my skin like a film I couldn’t scrub off.

“What are you trying to tell me?” I whispered to the empty room before looking towards the sky, as if the moon goddess would speak back.

But no answer came.

By morning, my nerves were raw.

I dressed carefully, my fingers stiff as I laced my gown.

Maybe putting a meal in my stomach would ground me as I hadn't recovered from that dream.

I barely closed my eyes throughout the rest of the night, scared that I would once again appear in that dream that felt so life-like.

The brief walk to the dining hall wasn't enough to make me forget my dream and the event of the previous day, but I tried, pretending to look composed as I sat down.

The dining hall's air was filled with the aroma of cooked meat and polished oak.

Tristan sat at the head of the long table, speaking quietly to Darius, his Beta.

Vivianna arrived late, much to my surprise, as I wasn't expecting her to have breakfast with us, her silk gown whispering against the floor, a lazy smirk already in place.

I tried to focus on my meal. Tried.

It was hard to do so when my mate was ignoring me, even though he was a few steps away, and Vivianna kept making loud chewing noises while scraping her fork along the plate in an annoying manner.

But I was so focused on her movements when the knock at the door made me jump.

A young sentry entered, bowing stiffly. “Luna Isla. Alpha Tristan. I have a message for you.”

My food paused halfway to my mouth as I looked over Tristan, whose brows had come together in confusion. “Let me see that.”

On command, the sentry placed the rolled-up paper in Tristan's hand, who wasted no time breaking the crimson wax seal.

His eyes flicked across the parchment as he read its contents, his jaw tightening.

“What is it?” Darius asked.

“An invitation,” Tristan said finally, voice clipped as he went over the letter again. “To meet on neutral ground. Whoever it is, they claim it’s for peace talks.”

Darius snorted. “Peace talks. Of course.”

Tristan rose from his chair, shoulders squared, instantly tucking the letter into his jacket.