The Shadow Within

Vane Silas Adler's Pov

Lost in thought, elbows draped against my desk, I stared absentmindedly at the sketches scattered across the polished wood. Each sheet bore the same image: a grotesque creature, half-wolf, half-shadow, eyes like burning coals. Its outline clawed at the edges of my mind until I swore it could crawl off the page and wrap its talons around my throat.

Some nights, I blacked out