When he added that it was closer to three days now, her expression hardened. “Stay away. Sick animals can be unpredictable. You’d know that better than anyone.” Adrian nodded, but inside, the warning only deepened his conviction. Nature didn’t waste energy without cause. Something bound that wolf in place.
That same day, he stopped at a forester’s cabin on the forest’s edge. The old man listened silently, his weathered face unreadable. When Adrian finished, the forester spat into the fire and muttered, “Bad sign. Wolves that linger bring death. Best leave it to its curse.”