et your first
e memory always finds its way back, like blood risi
in mud and dried blood that wasn't mine. I'd torn through barbed wire, shattered a streetlamp, and left claw marks on my father's graveston
ght I wa
sed and bleeding but breathing, I was start
arn
ll out there, and we w
retending ever
death and rumors of missing pets and strange sounds in the night, folks still smiled in the gro
stashed from years ago, a double lock on the cage in the basement. Eira helped when sh
't compl
d. "I've had worse," she said, echoing the
n't p
Where did you learn
ade her still in a way that w
s a witch. A real one. Not the potion-
our fa
Just pulled the zip
't ask
he garage roof, watchin
. I stuck to coffee. The night was cool, and the stars were s
it?" she asked, not lo
a sarcastic comment or some rugged silence. But the
I said. "A
ed. "Tha
ou
am
eyebrow. "Yo
hunted by enough of your kind
oward her.
wolves. S
as supposed to comfort me or
rom this?" I asked.
quiet a
said. "I don't know what yet. But
cked again two
't a pet or a lone
ed over my radio like thunder. He didn't say much, but I coul
nly the youngest survived. Eight years old. Found in the laund
t? Torn
uties cleared out. Maddox didn't see
ike a fist. Blood.
ra whispered. "This
ot feeding. It's
d to me.
r couldn't. Was the rogue taunting me? Tryin
This time, they were deepe
said. "Your kni
d. "But no
d stared a
we fin
ay, the to
pretending. Doors were double-locked. Kids were pulled from school. Th
e stopped mee
always a little... strange?" "Never seen him
s closing in. Suspici
ake much to t
told Eira that night,
silver wire and star
er me, that's one
me how to su
n't your
. But I'm
jaw. "If I l
stop
terly. "You t
er voice was calm, bu
ow I
o her eyes.
me-I beli
ght, we
deep. We followed the old game trails, moving in near silence, weapons strapped to our backs.
dn't
The leaves didn't rustle. Ev
we he
snarl that twisted up from
oved
from the brush li
s missing-revealing pale, scarred skin beneath. His eyes were yellow and bur
think-I
ls. He was strong-stronger than I expected. But I had contr
is ribs, then slammed h
ss his thigh. The rogue howled and thrashed, catching
him again, this tim
en-he
bubbling lips. W
e too
fr
, blood in
're c
" I g
ac
wn-hard-on somethi
se of magic be
st. Bone cracked, fur burned, and his fles
back, breat
over, bleed
ll was that?
out," I muttered. "
from getti
, heart
the pack
?" she
ok my
whispere