Location from Bride by Ali Hazelwood
The deep forest territory where Weres transform — sacred pack ground where Human-shaped rules don't apply and a Vampyre definitely shouldn't wander alone.
The shifting grounds are where the Weres are most themselves — where the boundary between human and animal blurs and pack instincts take over. The forest here has an ancient quality, as if the trees have been watching Weres transform beneath them for generations. For non-Weres, the shifting grounds are unsettling. The rules of polite society dissolve here. Communication becomes nonverbal, hierarchy becomes physical, and the thin veneer of civilization that makes interspecies diplomacy possible strips away entirely. Misery's first encounter with this part of Were life forces her to confront what her husband actually is beneath the architectural drawings and the quiet domesticity.
Dense, old-growth forest that feels wilder than the tended areas near the compound. The trees are taller here, the undergrowth thicker, and the paths are animal trails rather than human-made. Claw marks on trees serve as territorial markers. At night, the sounds of the forest change — something larger than deer moves through the darkness.
Also known as: The Shifting Grounds, The Deep Forest