Chapter 20

AUBREY'S POV Knox's scent pulled at me like an invisible thread, drawing me closer to the forbidden grounds despite every instinct screaming at me to run. The ancient stone markers seemed to watch my approach, their worn surfaces covered in symbols that pulsed with a strange inner light. I should leave. I knew I should leave. But something about Knox's scent seemed... different and troubled. And without Aria's guidance—our connection still severed from our earlier fight—I felt almost blind, working on instinct alone. A twig snapped beneath my paw, and I froze. The sound seemed impossibly loud in the unnatural silence of these woods. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath here, the leaves perfectly still on their branches. "I wouldn't take another step if I were you." The voice made me whirl around, my heart leaping into my throat. Gray stood among the trees, his massive frame blocking my escape route. Even in human form, he radiated alpha energy, his stern face carved from stone. I sh