Thor

ps unforgiving. They didn't speak, their faces grim and set. They half-pushed, ha

hem grunted, his voice rough.

the heavy bolt slide into place from t

rast to the chaos in the square. My public declaration, my vow of vengeance, echoed in my mind. It had be

ing sent

mattress. My gaze fell on the small, cluttered nightstand

other children were learning to connect with their inner wolves, I was trying to create one from a block of wood. The carving was clumsy, the li

to overwhelm me. I could curl up on this bed and cry. I could scream and beat my fists ag

hina would do, if our roles were reversed. S

was coming

the first time in my life, I was completely and utter

eager wardrobe. A few faded tunics, a pair of patched trousers, one threadbare cloak. I ignored the impulse to choose something to be buri

the kitchens years ago, after a pack member had gotten drunk and cornered me in a hallway. It had lived under my mattress ever since, a secret securit

h of dried meat and hard bread I'd squirreled away. A full waterskin from under my bed. A tinderbox. And, after a momen

er taken, years ago. Alaric and my mother stood in the center, Seraphina beaming at their side. I was on the very edge

r's smiling face. For a moment, a memory surfaced-her hand in mine, the scent

d a path through th

face down on the desk. That family was a lie. That home was

y entire life, I had watched them from this window, a spectator to a world I could never truly join. I remembered once, as a child, trying to mimic their training exercises. I'd tripped and fallen, scraping

fact. A piece of data. Weakness was a sin in

i

I would use the mind they had all dismisse

n eyes stared back, no longer haunted, but sharp and focused. They looked li

the door scraped

ed to face the door. I gave the room one last, fleeting glance. Ei

nostalgia.

ior waiting for me took an involuntary step back, his eyes widening slightly at m

get what

om the packhouse entrance beckoned at the end of the corrid

ight of my n

urn back. N