Chapter 212: Guilty
Jacob~
I don’t remember ever being this nervous in my entire existence—and I’ve existed for a long, long time.
The trees of Tiger’s forest blurred past us as Natalie and I ran in our wolf forms, swift and silent through the underbrush. Neither of us spoke—not out loud, not through the link. We didn’t need to. The guilt was too loud. It gnawed at us with every pounding step. I’d failed her.
Easter’s voice still haunted me from the vision—cracked, trembling, whispering my name like a prayer that never got answered.
Natalie’s thoughts were a whirlwind beside mine, a storm of shame and sorrow. She was usually fire and sharp edges, but now she was ash—muted, broken.
We didn’t teleport to Tiger’s house. We could’ve. It would’ve been easier, faster. But we needed the run—needed the wind in our fur, the sting of branches against our skin, the rhythm of paws hitting earth—to ground us, to clear our heads before facing Easter.
As the cabin came into view through the trees, we slowed, shifting back into our human forms just beyond the clearing. The transition was smooth, practiced, but even in human skin, the ache lingered.
Tiger’s cabin stood ahead, tall and solid, its golden logs weathered by time and sun. The forest wrapped around it like a secret. Normally, it brought peace. Not today. Today, it felt like a place of judgment.
We had come alone. We’d left Bubble and Eagle behind to clean up what was left of Zane’s estate—what little there was after the chaos. Fox had gone ahead, splitting from us an hour ago to begin the search for Shadow and find out where he’d taken Griffin.
The cabin door creaked open.
Tiger stepped out.