CHAPTER 24

Isla's POV

The air in the woods was thick with tension as I moved quietly through the woods, the night air cool against my skin. My wolf was the one guiding me, alert and curious. There was something strangely familiar about the scent we were following, though it was faint, almost indistinguishable from the earthy smells of the forest.

"Do you smell that?" I asked my wolf, wondering where I had smelt this before.

"Yes, keep following it. We are close," she responded, her voice a low growl.

I didn’t question her. I trusted her instincts more than my own. My heart raced, and my mind swirled with too many questions, and too many doubts.

As I moved closer to the source of the strange scent, something caught my eye: a glass vial half-buried in the grass, shimmering under the moonlight. I bent down, brushing the dirt away with trembling fingers. It was completely used up. But still, the traces of its contents clung to the edges of the vial. Perhaps someone left it in a hurry. Or maybe they forgot to clean it up.

 "Isn’t this...?" My thoughts raced. "The strength-enhancing potion that Sylvie had mentioned."

That's when my eyes fell on a piece of fabric lying at a short distance. I recognized it immediately. Elara’s. I still felt the need to check it with the belongings of Elara. I took it out of my backpack and when I matched them, it was the same as those charred pieces of Elara's clothing.

"Why would Elara have needed something like this?" I muttered under my breath, my mind racing. Elara had always been strong. She never needed help. And yet... how do I explain this?

I picked it up, my fingers tightening around the soft material. As my eyes lingered, to see if I could find anything else. I saw something purplish that didn't belong here, nestled in the grass. It was a withered light purple mandrake flower.

My heart skipped a beat. "A mandrake! Why was this here?"

I knew enough to recognize it immediately. It could be used to enhance physical abilities like strength, speed, and agility. It was sometimes even used to control others. But it was rare, powerful, and could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

"What the hell was Elara doing with something like this?" I whispered under my breath, confusion twisting in my gut. She wasn’t the type to use potions. She was always perfect on her own.

"Was she being controlled by someone?" I muttered about its possibility. But given her nature, it was definitely impossible. So my thoughts wandered as I began to wonder whether Elara was the one using it to control someone. Who? Or maybe it was just an ingredient for the strength-enhancing potion. I so wished it to be true.

"Something’s wrong," my wolf muttered, her voice tinged with unease. "This doesn’t add up. We need to examine these."

I nodded in agreement, slipping the vial and fabric into my backpack, my mind spinning with questions. Elara wasn’t reckless. I wondered what she was involved in that made her use this. She wouldn't do it without a strong reason.

I checked once again to ensure I wasn't missing anything else. After I felt satisfied, I was about to leave. Just then, I felt a presence lurking in the shadows. But before I could react, a presence, fast and predatory, rushed toward me from behind. I spun around to stop or dodge, but it was too late. The force slammed into me, knocking me to the ground. The impact left me breathless and surprised, and I found myself pinned beneath a heavy weight, a firm hand gripping my waist.

I gasped, the world spinning for a moment before I focused on the figure above me. Adrian.

Why was he everywhere that I was? We were already becoming these inseparable beings.

His eyes were intense, burning with anger, frustration, maybe even confusion. But there was something more primal, needy, wanting that made my heart skip in my chest.

And despite our situation, my eyes hovered over his face, basking in his handsomeness. His face was only inches away from mine, making it impossible for me not to appreciate his sharp, striking features even more pronounced in the dim light. His eyes, those impossibly dark eyes where you would want to get lost, bore into mine as if he could see my soul. His jaw was strong and chiseled, with a light stubble that only added to the ruggedness of his appearance. Maybe he didn't get time to shave with everything happening so fast. His tousled dark hair framed his face perfectly, and his plump, inviting, supple lips were pressed into a hard line... were inches from mine. I gulped hard, feeling a knot forming in my chest.

I hated how beautiful he looked, even when he was furious. The strong lines of his face, his high cheekbones, the way his dark hair fell slightly into his eyes—everything about him was painfully perfect.

But it wasn’t just his looks that got to me. It was the way his presence consumed everything. The heat radiating from his body seeped into mine, making my heart sync with his. And the way his scent, oaks and cinnamon, intoxicated me, made it harder for me to stay focused.

I hated myself for the way my body reacted to him. Why did he have this effect on me? He was always so mean, so full of resentment whenever he looked at me. Yet here I was, unable to control my feelings just because he was my mate.

"Isla, what the hell are you doing?" my wolf’s voice cut through the haze, snapping me back to reality. "He is not here to be your friend. Remember that."

But it was hard to think clearly when he was so close. His hand was still gripping my waist, his fingers pressing into the fabric of my shirt. And anywhere our skins touched, it felt alive, electric.

For a brief second, I even wished, ignoring my wolf's warnings, that he would look at me differently. That he would see me the way he had seen Elara. With love, not malice.

Adrian’s eyes flickered, something unreadable passing through them as if he was shaking away whatever emotions were clouding his rationality. His eyes narrowed, focusing on mine.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice low, but sharp with suspicion.