Chapter Fifty-Two

Lucas stood at the edge of the wilderness, his body glistening with sweat from his early morning run, the rising sun casting long shadows across his hardened features. His transformation from a grieving soul to a person consumed by vengeance had left its mark, evident in the way he now carried himself, the dark intensity in his eyes, and the carefully blank look on his face. He had shed his former self, his once gentle nature now buried deep beneath layers of anguish and regret.

Gone was the warmth that once radiated from him and even his mannerisms, too, had taken on a feral quality, a remnant of the months spent trapped in his wolf form, where survival had become instinctual and the animal within had reigned supreme. Even in human form, there lingered a rawness, a primal essence that would set him apart from his fellow beings.

There was no room for sentimentality or the luxuries of compassion in his heart now. Only the pursuit of justice, and the thirst for revenge, fueled his every