a wide, silent arc, and every one of t

es about monsters under the bed. Now I understood why. They moved like a single animal, with no sound an

hard against

ispered. "The

said again, but her hand

nto the open space between me and the Enforcers, h

id. "You're trespass

ane he clearly didn't need. "Alpha Ashford. Funny, I was about to say the same to you. This i

istered Iron

Voss smiled thinly. "A wolf with no pack and no sponsor has no protection under council law. And tha

my age. The same as the ti

I curled them into fists. "I

most kindly. "That's wha

blade from her belt, and I realized she meant to

cross the clearing like a whip

Voss's smile flicker

been invoked in t

te and shows record-class speed may demand a Trial Race before the full council. Unt

"An Alpha who vouches for her a

sponso

harder than th

ou stood on that track and called me w

his face was gray with exhaustion,

hy

he only way to

idn't care who heard. "You let me crawl off that trac

is voice so only I could hear. "A rejected wolf is a failed wolf, Ivy. Nobody hunts

upposed to

pposed to hate me. Hate me all you

Sable made a small, wounded sound that I didn't understand, as if

only if the runner accepts. Ivy Calder, do you accept the Alpha's sponsorship

title, his pack, and his future for a girl

old myself. And stil

d at the Alpha's Cup, thirty days from tonight, before the f

Kael

d looked back over his shoulder, and his pale eyes settled on my face. "You hav

cold. "You k

e was soft as silk. "She ran that fast

they had come. I stood frozen, my pulse roaring in my e

whispered. "Not

had gone com

"What aren't y

pha of the Ironfoot Pack looked like a man who had been holding up