A P

awing, cramping empt

felt like walking through a museum after hours. I found my way to the ma

table was laden with a feast: platters of fruit, baskets of pastrie

iped her mouth with a linen

t some scraps," she said, her v

a single plate held a congealed lump of scrambled eggs and a

d out without a word. I w

ical gear, his face grim. He was flanked by two of his pack warriors. He saw me, gave

ast me. "Alpha is leaving for the border patrol," she whisper

as leaving me here, in this gilded ca

passive victim

air of old jeans and a worn-out t-shirt. I slipped out the back door

rritory. It was wild, untam

it wa

o spot threats and resources, scanned the forest floor. I identified edible mushr

using a vine and a bent sapling, constructed a simple but effective snare. My

ng a second tr

ry. Thin an

the sound, silent as a ghost, my heavy body gliding through the

even or eight, his leg caught in the rusty jaws of a bear trap

t had attract

a hungry growl rumbling in its chest. It wasn't a werew

terror, silent tears s

row was perfect. The rock slammed into a tree trunk just to the w

l the tim

shocking, even to me. I didn't run at the wolf. I r

with all my weight, striking the wolf's back l

d, snarling, an

ce. As it passed, I reversed my grip on the branch and jabbed t

h the forest. The wolf, blinded and cr

t took less tha

ay," I said, my voice calm and stead

om my shirt, found a patch of yarrow-a natural blood-clotting agent-and ch

but this body lacked the stren

only one t

boy. I positioned myself,

y iron trap. My muscles screamed in protest,

ful step, I carried him out of the