ra

s blistered and bled, and my brothers' breath came in ragged white plumes that spoke of exhaustion nearly beyond bearing. But we did not stop. The moon climbe

in a single tangled mass. It was not a home. It was not even a proper shelter by any civilized measure. But the frozen walls blocked the killing wind, and our shared body heat gathered in the cr

ots. The air reeked of wet earth, copper, and the unmistakable stench of despair. At the edge of the clearing, guards call

st night in the dugout

ly ration from a masked guard: a single, fist-sized Stone-Tack.

ly reach out. Her maternal instincts, desperate and self-sacrificing, overrode her

ad pressed a white-hot br

ly bright with brotherly warmth, flashed a furious, humiliate

ice cracking under the weight of his shattered pride.

eing unable to provide for his Pack-being reduced to eating his mother's starving portion-was the

o my brother with icy precision, ready

ssure and my unyielding stare, the wild fury in Finn's eyes fractured. His shoulders slumped. Re

e cracks. Love and sacrifice were beautiful in the Capital, but he

," I

, glacial authority of an Alpha. I looked at my mother, my brothers, and

n rations,"

utching the bread, I didn't

, every member's survival is the priority. Anyone who gives their ration away is betraying the Pack. They will

, heavy and terrifying. It was t

a leader. Slowly, mechanically, Mason took a bite of his rock-hard ration. Then Finn. Then Catherine. Ev

d against my gums. We had food, and we had a tempor

. As the morning sun hit the permafrost, the soil would shift. Without proper rei

p and looked up at the towering bl

ing. We need to head to the tool shed near the quarry rampart. We ne