ressing against the tr

ows prowled closer, its steps soundless

r body half-shifted and broken. Her wolf had retreated so far that

moon burned silver

n sound, older than memory. Lila's limp body shivered aga

ed as a shadow

nar eclipse

ething ancient s

rouching in the

n the wind. His instincts had screamed to stay away-nothing good ever followed the

atched as the girl's body convuls

It wasn't the simple shimmer of a shift. It was power-raw

s the ground ben

's name..." he mutte

It wasn't human. It wasn't wolf. It was

n she c

, like a tra

like the young wo

ursts across her body. Her wolf was bigger than any Riven had ever seen, sleek an

n't jus

someth

forgotte

e was

oo weak, too broken-was giving out even as her wolf form fully emerg

ed under h

He had survived too long as a rogue by not getting involved. Especially n

ouldn't

this

g into the clearing. His own wolf stirred restlessly under his

, a spark leapt between t

he unconscious girl. What the hell was she? W

ything, did his soul

e reached

d into an eerie twilight

er. The trees seem

asn't m

against his fingers. Without thinking too hard about it-because t

ed almost

ke she carried the

d battered from years of exile-and cradled her limp form against his b

lace that might be a

y the wars and hatred

ary of the

-

a lush cradle of life hidden deep in the mountains, wh

ft bloody prints behind him. The journey had cost him, but he

est hut, a fi

golden-brown eye

ver spoken to her before, he had heard her name whi

t him. She only saw the

ila?!" she choked out

back into human form and gently la

s help,"

er hands frantically over her wounds, whispering

kenly, brushing tangled hair from Lila's

way-an older wolf, a healer among t

need herbs-sa

to obey, scatter

worked feverishly, refusing to let

spered fiercely. "You're not leavi

at the edge of the r

ath before. He

made him feel like a child again, standi

led inside her even n

rmal. It was

. it felt tie

look at him, wiping th

emanded hoarsely. "W

hesi

er the eclipse. She shifted into...

rgue. She had felt it too-the strange

n at Lila, smoothin

ed, "she's my best friend. And I'll

ightened strang

to existence again as the las

tered ruins of her broken heart, som