The silence is heavy, pressing in on me like a living thing. I stand barefoot on damp earth, the chill seeping up through my skin. Darkness stretches endlessly around me, but ahead, a still lake shimmers under an unseen light, its surface smooth as glass. I don’t remember how I got here. The dream feels thick, like fog, its edges soft and shifting.

  Then—a ripple.

  It moves outward in slow, perfect circles. My breath catches in my throat. I didn’t move. I didn’t touch the water. Yet something stirs beneath.

  I step closer, peering down, expecting to see my own reflection staring back. But I don’t.

  Instead, golden eyes meet mine—sharp, untamed. A young, but strongly built wolf stares up at me from beneath the surface. Her fur is dark, thick like a storm cloud, but silver streaks catch the strange light, framing a face that is both fierce and beautiful.

  She doesn’t snarl. Doesn’t bare her teeth. She only watches. Her gaze is steady, piercing, like she’s looking straight through me.

  For a moment it looks like she might jump out of the lake at any time. Instead of seeing her jump at me, she gives a humorless snicker before talking.

  “

  “My wolf? I thought I didn’t have one…” voice drifting off as I think of what she has called me here for.

  “You’re the Watchful Protector. How did I end up having you as a wolf?”

  “

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Thinking a moment, I remember the band because it was put on me before the Rouges came.

  “I have a silver band on my wrist but from what I could tell about the Ancient Runes engraved into it, it was only meant to prevent me from shifting or bringing my claws out. But even then, I can’t read very many of the Runes because they aren’t taught to us as small pups,” I tell her.

  “

  “I don’t remember… But I do know he gave me commands as a child. He always did. Any specific commands about shifting or you are too blurry, like a memory I can’t quite grasp, if that makes sense?”

  Seeing her eyes harden, she growls. “,

  I speak up, my voice just barely above a squeak,” I understand that you’re frustrated, but what was your original reason for bringing me here?”

  “

  And with that, the water ripples, distorting the image of her, until—finally— she’s gone.

  Feeling the gravity change, I fall into the lake, head first. With my eyes closed, I feel my head emerge, my hair and face eerily dry. When I open my eyes, I’m in a dark room I don’t recognize.

  Feeling sleep pushing its way through my thoughts, my want for sleep has become increasingly greater than my need to figure out where in the hell I was. I close my eyes and fall back asleep losing track of the hours I have left before daylight.