Chapter 7

• The autumn air nipped at my cheeks as I stepped out of the university's imposing Gothic architecture, its spires casting long shadows that stretched across the campus like spectral fingers. One week. Seven days since I crossed the threshold into a realm where the line between human and monster blurred – the manor, with its secrets buried in moonlit whispers.
• My life before was a monochrome palette, devoid of the supernatural hues I now knew painted the world. The thrum of life around me, students chattering about exams and weekend plans, seemed so mundane, yet I craved it more than ever. A part of me longed to be just another face in the crowd, not the girl entangled in a web of werewolves and hidden truths.
• "Serena!"