ra

, desperate for an answer, for some flicker of huma

face w

o regret. Not

from the braided man and turned hIs back to me

If I survIved thIs, I swore, I would come back for hIm. One da

ing, snapping around my wrists and ankles. Eac

ngers grabbed me, holding me down wIth unflinching

, I'd survi

er it got. I had no clothes to shield me. No wolf inside me to warm my blood.

trembling. U

t like a blade,

to It despIte its stench, grateful for even the smallest comfort. My skIn burned from the wounds I'd colle

nked me from the truck and threw

re I could brace myself, he dumped the stinging liquid over my open wounds. It burned throu

barked, grinning. HIs teeth were yellow, rot

usIng to give hIm the sati

a mask of indifference, like this was

ed the blanket over me again. And we kept going, deeper into the unknown.

cry. I

side, I was unraveling. Piece by piece, something in me was

could live her life, and I could live mine. But her actions had unleashed ni

p, the air growing sharper, biting at my skin. We were heading north. I

forests or breathed its ice-laced winds. Only heard w

silver that burned like slow poison, seeping into my fle

have slipped into a fitful sleep, only to wake again, shivering under that sa

felt heavy.

I imagined the possibility that I might never escape. The farther we

ow and relentless. Even without my wolf, I coul

the truck jol

ne of th

eet hit snow. A scream bloomed b

y light of a full moon, its glow painting pale shadows across a lifeless landscape. Gone was the warmth of the greener

g, someone yanked the

Ha

o my knees as pain flared sharp and instant. I gaspe

look

llowe

ste of fear was t