sed, sending restless shadows crawling

with careful precision above a long table. Bundles of dried herbs hung from the rafters, their bitter, earthy scent thick i

t this place

e. Of someone who had spent decades prepari

him, my fingers curled tightly around the w

still lingered between

know wha

sting open across his knees as

a moment, voice quiet but stead

dry when I spoke

d to mine, anci

nt has always been a th

across its pages. Wolves massive and monstrous were locked in violent combat. Their bodie

ane continued. "To protect the balance between wolv

tightened

ade them superior to the wolves that came af

sted as I stare

ey had been created

ed the p

ever hea

settled into m

ted quietly. "

is face something caught betwee

made certain

nother leather-bound book from a high shelf. Its spine was cr

he returned. "Born directly from the Moon Goddess he

text with car

t stared back at me. An ancient lan

rations needed

female figure wrapped in moonlight. Their eyes burned w

thought. Capable of healing wounds that should have been fatal. Th

aze ha

uld shape moo

rept along

ire packs wiped from existence. The earth

s the weight of it

. She stripped them of their immort

ent except for the

" he finished

book with a sof

ed years, they wer

roared i

t extinct,"

" he

eld mine wit

ould hunt you without hesitation. That seal placed on your

outh

lo

ned

Zane continued when I said

scraped its wa

asked bitterly. "By letting them mock me? Letti

ashed behi

whi

e p

e s

rejec

ieve it," I said, my voice

try to soft

the price t

seated any longer, my chest tight wit

rd the window before I ev

orest stretched

nd it lay Silve

ho

ow, relieved that the embarrassment of my fai

t they'd forced into

demanded, turning

s he lowered himself i

ever did it possessed tremendous power. Someone wh

n plain sight within a pack tha

ooded m

mily,"

ce was ans

a moment. "Though it's unli

into the darkness

rmured. "All this

he fire conti

d that the life I'd lost tonight had