ed of moss and damp soil, thick with magic and mourning. I didn't know how long I had been running-minutes

Vanity over the Moon's will. And the worst part? No one stopped him. Not

idn't. S

hard, my palms scraping against the dirt. I stayed there, face down, body shaking. My wolf whimpered insi

ed through the canopy. Dew clung to my torn ceremonial dress. My bo

g void. The bond had been severed, but like a phantom limb, I still felt him. Ka

as stil

re, then the Moon was

pitying stares or the whispers or the elders who said nothing.

d to di

ome something else.

d by a break in the trees, where thick forest gave way to open ridges and jagged hills. I paused at the edge,

pped

pine and wild herbs. My wolf perked up faintly,

ing. Hunger gnawed at my belly, and my bare feet bled, but still, I walked. I didn't know

en I s

nd half-eaten by the forest. Smoke curled lazily from the chimney,

e live

fr

it s

I

o I approached, heart thudding, and knocked

th and the sce

My arms had been cleaned. A small wooden room surrounded me-cozy and cluttered, with shelve

ard the f

air coiled in a loose braid down her back. Her e

firm. "Good. I was beginning to wonder

t up, but my

am I?"

the old world, as some call it. You passed out on my doorste

handed it to me. I hesitated before ta

ou," I w

air, watching me. "Wha

cked on it. I hadn't spoken

head. "From the

ed. "Not

ed with something like

g out before I could stop them. "Last night. Durin

ng p

the wom

me," s

dappled sun. Herbs, fruits, even rare nightflowers bloomed in every corner. Beyond

she said. "It list

stakes, Kaia. But sometimes, the ones She c

hard. "He di

ut hesitation. "But you? You were chosen. That

el chosen,"

e. But first, you must become so

t fear. How to blend my senses with the forest. How to listen to my wolf without drowning in her grief.

nd never looked back. Of Lunas who rose without Alphas. Of power t

ed with cruelty, his words like knives. But

ay, I grew

th night that I fin

ted so deeply I feared she might never return. But under the

o," sh

I d

and then I was fur, I was teeth, I was wild again. My wolf howled

ra

es. Over rivers

trembling in the grass, Lira look

ready,"

y for

who you re