infully against her ribs. Her breath misted in the cold air as she gla

teen years. The tall watchtower, where she'd once been lashed for speaking out of turn. The barracks, where w

br

into something deeper-an emotional rot she couldn't scrape away. His mark

e stolen bread, dried meat, and small knife within. Her fin

wasn't just e

g a fate she ha

escapi

-

d offered to distract the guards for a few minutes after midnight. A stolen map from the archives. H

e els

ikely Ryder would sniff her ou

wasn't

this mi

eing dragged back by Ryder's men and caged

n't let t

*

eak from lack of full transformation, stirred in her chest. It wasn't strong enough to shift yet, but it could le

he darted through the woods, breath ragged, leaping over fallen logs and ducki

e heard

l sound that fr

ano

anot

ad fou

r lungs burned, but she didn't stop, not when she heard paw

aybe five

be

ignia of Redclaw territory. It should be just ahead. She could almost smell the faint scent of unf

ch it, something slammed

r shoulder erupting in pain as she rolled thr

her, massive and silver-eyed, dr

lun

all knife in her han

hest. It yelped and reeled back, givi

and ran, blood from her ar

ehind, jaws clamping down on her calf. She screamed and kicked,

rs and pain, but the stone-

sperate push, La

Redclaw side, gaspi

mmered like heat in the air between them. She could hear thei

they turned and vani

*

he pain might overwhelm her. Blood pooled beneath her leg.

e had

ad es

beneath her ski

laugh. Or so

ld do was whisp

led back, and dar

*

ke to

tne

er body felt like it had been torn apart and stitched back together. Her le

through the ha

s wak

eyes flut

. He was handsome, but it wasn't the kind of beauty one admired from afar- it