#Chapter 144: Unfurling Shadows

Nathan In the dim light of the living room, I lay sprawled on the couch, dozing lightly when a familiar scent suddenly overwhelmed me—Olivia’s wolf. The sensation was too strong, too intimate, and I felt myself involuntarily shifting, a growl threatening to form deep within my chest. Olivia was near. Without conscious thought, I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her like a lifeline. Her familiar warmth soothed the uneasy stirrings of my wolf, and for a moment, everything felt right. But as I held her close, a moment of lucidity washed over me. My mother’s untimely death, the mysteries surrounding her uncharacteristic venture out to Edward’s Gulch, her voicemail, and my father’s strange behavior with Jenifer, were plastered in my mind. The realization that there were still pieces of the puzzle missing, unanswered questions about my mother's fate, haunted me. “I need to go,” I whispered into Olivia's hair. She didn’t stir. She had already fallen asl