Chapter 33: Shadows Between Us
The city breathed in silence, but Vivi felt its pulse like a drum against her chest. Haken stood beside her at the palace gate, his form shadowed by the dim moonlight, and yet impossibly familiar — the wolf in a man's body, the man in a wolf's.
"I thought… I thought I lost you," she whispered, the words barely escaping the chill wind.
Haken's eyes, amber as molten gold, softened for a fraction, but he did not speak. He had secrets too, and the weight of them pressed against the air like a storm waiting to break.
"You know we can't trust the Queen entirely," he said finally, voice low, a growl beneath the words. "There's more to this prophecy than she's told you."
Vivi's hands trembled as she clenched them at her sides. "Then tell me, Haken. Tell me everything."
He shook his head, stepping closer. "Not yet. We survive tonight first. The city is not safe — not while Viper moves in shadows."
From the palace walls, a torch flared, casting long, jagged shapes across the courtyard. Soldiers whispered, and distant howls echoed — wolves? Or men? Vivi could no longer tell. The line between human and monster blurred like ink in water.
"I hate this," she said, almost to herself. "I hate not knowing who will live, who will betray, and who I… who I can trust."
Haken's gaze softened, fleeting, like the sun breaking through clouds. "Then trust me enough to survive. That's all we can do for now."
And beneath the silent sky, a single thought gnawed at Vivi: love was not enough. Not if destiny demanded more than her heart could give.
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