Chapter 43 

Lisa’s POV_ 

Back at camp, the warmth of the fire still clung to my skin, but inside, I was cold. 

Rylan had stayed near me all the way back. He had been quiet but alert. I could tell he was on edge now. His eyes were constantly scanning the trees. He didn’t say much, but his hand never left the small of my 

back. 

Once we reached the tent, he opened the flap for me. 

“Get some rest,” he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll have guards patrol the area. You’re 

safe.” 

I nodded and stepped inside. My heart was still pounding. As the flap closed behind me, I let out a shaky 

breath. 

Safe. 

I wasn’t sure I believed that anymore. 

I lay down on the sleeping mat. I was curled beneath the blanket but sleep didn’t come easily. My mind kept replaying what I saw by the river; the shadow, the silence and the feeling of being watched. Sierra was quiet now, as if even she didn’t know what to make of it. 

Eventually, my eyelids grew heavy. The warmth of the blanket lulled me into stillness. My breathing 

slowed. 

And then the dream came. 

At first, it was familiar. The clearing in the Nightshade Pack. The soft rustle of leaves. The sky tinged with 

gold as the sun began to set. 

I was standing across from Kael. 

He looked the same. He was tall, powerful, his dark hair tousled by the wind. But his eyes… they weren’t soft like they used to be. They were hard and cold. 

“No,” I whispered, already feeling the ache deep in my chest. “Please don’t say it again.” 

He took a step closer. His voice was low and cruel. “There’s a reason I rejected you, Lisa.” 

I shook my head, tears burning behind my eyes. “Stop. Don’t….” 

“You’re cursed,” he said. 

The air around us seemed to grow heavier. 

“You don’t belong here,” Kael continued, his voice like ice. “You never did.” 

“No,” I choked out. “That’s not true.” 

 

Suddenly, two figures appeared behind him. My parents. 

My mother’s face was twisted in disgust. My father’s eyes burned with disappointment. 

“You were never ours,” they said in unison. 

“You were a mistake.” 

I stepped back, shaking my head, but their words kept hitting me like daggers. 

“No… stop… please!” 

The world around me shifted. The trees blurred. The ground trembled. 

 

I turned and saw a little girl. It was me. A small version of myself, no older than six, running into the woods 

barefoot and crying. 

“Wait!” I called. “Come back!” 

She didn’t listen. 

She kept running. 

I took a step forward, and in the real world, my body followed. 

I don’t remember getting up. 

I don’t remember walking out of the tent. 

But suddenly, the cold night air was brushing against my face, and my bare feet were stepping on sharp 

twigs and soft moss. 

I was moving through the trees, chasing the little girl I saw in my dream. 

My arms reached out as if trying to catch her. 

“Wait… please… don’t run…” 

The woods were quiet but not peaceful. The moonlight made the shadows stretch long and thin, like 

fingers reaching for me. 

Somewhere in the distance, I thought I heard a voice. 

A whisper. 

“Come to me…” 

It was low and deep. A man’s voice. But I didn’t know who it belonged to. 

Still, I kept walking. 

“Lisa!” another voice shouted sharply. 

I blinked. 

 

Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped around me from behind. I gasped, struggling for a second before realizing who it was. 

Rylan. 

His face was right in front of mine. His brown eyes were wide with worry. His hands were gripping my shoulders tightly. He was shaking me gently. 

“Lisa, wake up!” he said, his voice rough. “Look at me!” 

I blinked again. The world snapped back into focus. 

I looked around. I was confused. 

I was standing deep in the forest. The tents were far behind me and completely out of sight. 

The dream was gone. 

The little girl was gone. 

Only Rylan remained. 

“What…?” I began, my voice hoarse. “What happened?” 

He stared at me. He was breathing hard. “You tell me. Why were you wandering around the forest in the 

middle of the night?” 

I shook my head, dazed. “I don’t know. I was sleeping… I thought I was in the tent…” 

“You were,” he growled. “I woke up to take a leak and saw you walking away like a damn ghost. You didn’t say anything. Just… walked.” 

My throat felt dry. I wrapped my arms around myself. “I…I didn’t mean to. I swear, I was dreaming. I didn’t 

know…” 

He stepped back, looking me over. “Do you have a habit of sleepwalking?” 

“No,” I said quickly. “Never. Not once. This has never happened before.” 

He looked around. His body was tense. “Something’s not right. You were too far from camp. What if you’d walked off a cliff? What if someone was waiting out here?” 

“I don’t remember coming here,” I whispered. “It felt so real. The dream… I thought I was awake.” 

He stepped closer again and placed a hand on my cheek. “You’re shaking.” 

“I saw Kael in the dream,” I said. My voice broke. “He told me I was cursed. That I didn’t belong. My 

parents were there too. They said that I was a mistake.” 

Rylan’s jaw tightened for just a second, but then his features softened as he stepped closer. “Hey,” he said, his voice low and gentle. “It was just a dream, Lisa. A bad one, yeah…..but dreams lie.” 

I looked up at him, my eyes brimming. “But it felt so real…” 

 

He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His touch lingered just a second longer than necessary. “Real or not, it doesn’t mean anything about you. You belong more than anyone I know.” 

His words struck something deep inside me, but before I could speak, he tilted his head and smirked. Though, I gotta say, if this is your idea of sleepwalking, it’s pretty dramatic. Wandering into the woods in the middle of the night, looking like a scene from some tragic romance.” 

I blinked. “I wasn’t sleepwalking.” 

“Oh?” His voice dropped slightly as he stepped even closer, his eyes glinting with something unreadable. Then what were you doing out here, Lisa? Looking for someone?” 

My heart skipped a beat. “I…..I don’t know.” 

He leaned in just a little. His face was inches from mine now. “Because if it was me you were looking for…” His gaze dropped to my lips. “You didn’t have to come all the way out here.” 

I sucked in a breath. I was caught between the heat in his voice and the soft way he was still holding my 

gaze. 

Then, as if sensing I was seconds from melting, he gave a crooked smile and pulled back just enough to let me breathe. “But seriously,” he said more softly now while brushing his thumb over my arm, “you don’t 

have to be scared. Not while I’m here.” 

“I am scared,” I whispered. I was unable to hide it. 

His smile faded, replaced by something deeper. He reached out and gently pulled me into his arms, his voice low against my ear. “Then let me be the one you lean on. You don’t have to carry this alone anymore, 

Lisa.” 

But even as he said the words, I couldn’t shake the fear coiling in my gut. 

Because someone had called out to me in that dream. 

Someone who knew me. 

Someone who wanted me. 

And it wasn’t done. 

That night, I lay beside the fire again, this time on a bedroll outside Rylan’s tent. He insisted I stay close where he could keep an eye on me. 

I didn’t argue. 

But I didn’t sleep either. 

Every crack of a twig made me flinch. Every gust of wind made me shiver. 

Rylan stayed awake, too. I could feel his gaze on me. He was watchful and alert. 

But nothing happened. 

< Chapter 43 

Still, deep in my chest, I knew the truth. 

The shadow at the river. 

The dream. 

The voice calling to me. 

It was all connected. 

Someone or something was trying to reach me. 

And next time, I might not wake up in time.