The forest closed around us like a living entity, the trees standing sentinel with their gnarled branches reaching toward a sky I could barely glimpse through the dense canopy. My feet moved with quiet certainty along the worn stone path that had guided countless others before me.
Landon stayed close, his massive presence both comforting and constraining. I could feel his eyes constantly flicking between me and the shadows dancing between trees. He was on edge, every muscle coiled and ready to shift at the slightest threat.
"You're tense," I said softly, breaking the heavy silence.
"This place..." he hesitated, his gray eyes narrowing as they swept across the dark undergrowth. "There's something wrong with it. My wolf is restless."
