ground was damp from last night's mist, and the trees rustled gently, the forest sighing like an old friend. For the first time in

s fre

d, terrifyi

er strength flickering like a candle in wind. The pain in her stomach came and went, sharp and sudden, a

loak in a chest and used it for warmth. There was no firewood, no water source, nothing but a roof an

ival wasn't

d little knowledge of the terrain, she couldn't afford to grow comfortable

rse -

her hand without warning. Water from the stream near the ravine froze instantly when she touched it in pani

woken with one

dy needed meat. The child needed nourishment. So she clutched the sharpest broken

s pa

rabbit. Noth

tly. Her knees buckled onc

t rustling of paws in dry le

ed low, ey

brush, its ears twitching. Smal

ok around the m

ught of killing s

aste of dirt in her mouth, the sting of ev

th

The spear missed an

the dirt. "I can't even do thi

a new scent reached her -

ok

race, riding the w

. Smoke meant fire.

l people w

over dry leaves and fallen branches. The forest thinned sligh

had ma

den behind a t

leather. Their movements were slow, deliberate. They stirred a pot ove

ell better than

was no

tood, tiltin

m voice said. "You've been steppin

ed under

raised a hand. "I'm not pack. I d

ade he

as r

e could sense - and yet... power hum

m behind the tree, her

ned fully t

en bronze. A scar ran across his jawline, and his hair was tied back with leather

like hell,

inch. "I've be

eding?"

r head. "No.

ngr

er, but her sil

d some soup into a bowl, placin

said. "If I wanted you dead, I

asked, still not

h a rogue band. Got out. Too much blood,

happen to be

said, voice even.

he bowl of food,

u drug

"You really think I'd

a tired laugh e

but something in

before. You've got that look in your eyes. Like someone's cha

tepped closer

ia," sh

a death sentence o

ing lik

from a man...

hesi

ot

long moment. Then he

," he said, "you

hy

ead toward the

owing your scent. And t

round, hear

had shift

nters were

rustled, branches swayed, and that dreadful energy - sharp

ooning another portion of soup into the bowl. Calm,

lowing me?" she asked,

e. Two of them. One is tracking from downwind, the

an you

hunters, assassins - they all move the same way. I

ched from her last surge of power. Her stomach felt too empty, too fragile. But she couldn't r

asked. "If they find me, they

olden-brown eyes unrea

e air. Close no

th caught i

about the way he moved - deliberate, graceful, prepared -

dged blades. "You got a choice," he said to her. "Stay and stand

e murmured. "If I run again, I w

"Then stand. But

d, not just from fear, but from something else. Her veins glowed fa

rough the trees, follow

a massive black wolf with scars along h

re

t trusted warriors.

ed mid-air, landing in his humanoid f

nning. "Didn't expect you

stiff

her, casually flipping

oing anywher

d. "Who the

swer. Instead,

flashing in the moonlight. Aria backed away as s

scream, a second hunt

dn't announ

raight for

t in time, but

der, tearing into skin, s

th it, the light in

orn power explode

backward, hitting a tre

just as Jarek

ng him by the throat and s

est wen

blood dripping from h

unconscious wolves

d quietly. "And if you don't learn how to