reatened to tear the breath from her lungs. Each gust drove ice needles deep into her exposed skin,

ach step. The simple tunic that had seemed adequate within the citadel's walls now felt like paper against

lost. Without that connection to her wolf spirit, she felt hollow, diminished-like trying to breathe with only half her lungs

veil Peaks stretched endlessly in all directions, jagged spires of ice and rock that looked like the fangs of

teland had

. Reign's blood turned to ice water as she recognized the sound. Not th

at the edge of her vision, dark shapes that seemed to melt in and out of the

ish her. He'd sent his own wolves to ensure

They were boxing her in, using pack tactics she knew all too well. S

ely for any kind of cover. The ice spires jutted from the ground like frozen lightning

e

are feet. Behind her, she could hear them now-the rhythmic padding of paws on snow, th

ard or perhaps a claw-opened a gash in her leg. She stumbled, crimson spre

wild. She had minutes at most befo

ace. The cold burned through her tunic like acid, but she barely noticed. Her chest heaved as she tried t

e deep gray of storm clouds, and his eyes blazed with the golden light of pack wolves still connected to their sp

aterialized from the

personal guard-elite wolves chosen for their loyalty and their skill at violence. They moved with the coordinate

r, a sound that seemed to resonate in her bones despite her severed connection to

d the pain flared bright and sharp. But with it came something else-a s

over submission. She had endured the burning away o

ory ended, she would not

enforcers-took a step closer. His golden eyes reflected the aurora light filtering th

carrying the authority of one who had never known defeat. "The Alph

n place. Blood ran down her leg in a steady trickle, and her body shook

"that I'd rather die fr

against stone. "Oh, you'll die either way. Th

other hunters shifted restlessly, eager for their turn a

ked her as an exile, as nothing. When she opened them again, they blazed with

linting like silver kni

howl split t

t roamed these peaks. Something older, deeper, carrying a resonanc

into uncertain whines. Even Garrett stumbled in his leap, landing awkwardly in t

e, but somehow more solid than the storm around it. Silver eyes burned

at the creature emerging from the storm. Not salva

rous than any pack wolf