a's

stand in my way when I turned

n us, and I slipped outside before an

to your lungs with every breath. My wolf stirred restlessly, urging me forwar

was quiet

he further I walked, the more the packhouse noise faded behind me-the laughter, the music, the warmth-until there was noth

was fol

was c

hat. I'd known i

k was supposed to gather, witness it, and celebrate it. Afterward,

There was no use thinking about things that weren

he clearing, pulling back to reveal a deep, star-scattered sky. The moon hung full and bright above me

a moment, fingers closing ar

al. Soli

le longer than I need

t my clothes hit the ground-sharp, immediate, unforgiving. I barely felt it. M

sed m

nt, nothin

it

e. My knees buckled, and I went down hard into the snow. My body locked, then jerked violently, bones cracking

e snapped back. What little air I had

and spreading through my chest and down every limb until I couldn't tel

will it

mething

o something else entirely. Power. Surging upward through the bu

racked open

re deep in the trees. The cold air was suddenly carry

ned m

thing was brighter in a way that felt more

my weight

ws in t

cognized it before my mind caught up. It felt like r

oked

ight, catching the moo

oroughly unimpressed. "At least

ompletel

hat?" I

said, and paused. "I was about

flicked

wolf?" I asked, sti

"Congratulations. Took y

everything happening at once. I hadn't expect

ed. "How else do you think w

ing to understand

our name?

ggested she was deeply re

rted. "Did the Moon

ewhere I couldn't explai

le

At least you didn't say Shadowfang. Th

ir sh

apping forward, muscles pulling tight, eve

ved to the

ng stoo

temperature, in this cold, everything breathed visibly. It just sto

u

y spine that had nothi

not-" I

, her voice lower n

it. It watc

years ago, at the edges of smoke and fire and a pair of red eyes that

s us,"

e sharpness had gone ou

lin

gure w

turbed the snow at the tree line. Just-g

rd, searching for a scent,

th

se," Tala s

ghtened. "W

said. "And I don't

than anything else

afraid of u

greed. "Def

ver that was, it hadn't stumbled across me by accident. It

would c

uld go,

e returning to her voice. "Making d

. I gathered my clothes and ran-snow kicking up beneath my paws, the forest

didn't fade wi

harp

aid. "Specifically

iet for a l

ation. Just silence, sitting heavily between us as

s the most frighteni