lla

adbare tunics and pants provided by the institute. That

ded, but the image was still clear. It was me and Caleb, my twin brother, taken the summer before everything fell apart. We were sixteen, sit

eeing him, without hearing his voice. In the darkest moments, when the silver prods scorched my skin an

he only thing that had kept my inner wolf from shattering completely. I carefully

man with a permanent scowl. He tossed a brown pa

ton dress and a thin cardigan. They had been washed so many times they were nearly whit

a strange comfort. It was a symbol. I

he other rooms all tightly shut. But I could feel their eyes on me through the sm

now that the girl leaving was n

is finger tapped an impatient rhythm on his bicep. Dr. Price, my primary physician, stood beside him-a slender man with thin, gol

ered more "treatments" than I could count. The man who watched me scream under silv

fingers before slipping it into his jacket pocket. Plain white pills. No markings.

is lips stretched into a pro

ou again." He paused, his smile tightening just a fraction. "But you kn

my spine. My stomach clenched as I remembered the feel of the silver-laced prods

et them drag me back here. But I did none of that. Instead, I filed his face aw

or, refusing to give him the

interpreted it as a sign of my instability. It c

e sharp. He turned and strode

tep was a victory, a movement away from the

, raising a hand to shield my eyes. For the first time in three years, the air didn't tast

the wind touch my face. Three years of artificial light and recycled

t the curb, a silent testament to the

in, not even glancing back. He didn't hol

ore reaching for the handle

the

ke a whip crack

ion, hot and sharp, washed over me. I wasn't his

ng. I walked around the car, opened the rear

shut with a hea

d away, the imposing facade of the Crest

be delivered to another. A much pr