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We are looking at a vast, open plain. There’s nothing for miles.

“Now what? No matter where we go, they’ll track us down. We won’t be able to get far enough away before they find us.”

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I hear shouting. Bright lights suddenly flood the dark plains, and I realize our absence has been noted.

Shit.

“Run!” I scream. “We have to run!”

But he doesn’t listen. He takes one step forward and looks around.

“What are you waiting for!” I shout at him. “Don’t make things easy for them, you idiot! Run!”

He ignores me, and when I try to hobble away, he pulls me back, shoving me behind him. When I look at his face in disbelief, ready to chastise him again, I notice that he’s focused on something in the distance. I follow his gaze and see large wolves running in our direction.

Twenty? Forty?

No, now they seem to be in the hundreds.

“We are so fucked,” I mumble, dread creeping up within me.

He turns to look at me, and his body begins to shudder. His transformation is slow, and I see every inch of it: bones breaking, skin disappearing under fur. It’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever witnessed—and the most fascinating. I saw Finn, Leanna’s son, shift multiple times as he was growing up, but his transformation was always very quick.

Then I realize what this shifter is about to do. I block his path, my arms wide open. “Are you crazy? You can’t take them all on! Look at the state of you!”

He grunts, nudging me aside with his nose. There’s bloodlust in his eyes, a fierce glint as he looks over my shoulder at the approaching wolves. It makes me wonder if he’s after a slice of his own revenge.

“Wait!” I pat my pockets. There was something else I took when I left the lab earlier. Something I completely forgot about. It’s a blue vial, containing a liquid similar to an energy drink. Ihad been planning to give it to him once he shifted back, but it slipped my mind with the way it all happened. If he’s going to fight the wolves that are gaining on us, he’s going to need all the help he can get. I unscrew the top and hold it out toward him. “Open your mouth.”

He doesn’t hesitate, immediately obeying my command. I throw the liquid into his mouth and toss the bottle aside. He glances at me before breaking into a run. He lets out a howl, and I gulp.

I take a few steps away from the door we came out of, not wanting someone to attack me from there. Turning around, I finally take in the building I’ve been held captive in for more than six months now.

It’s a mansion. A sprawling, Victorian-style mansion. We exited through what must have been the servants’ entrance. My voice gets stuck in my throat as I try to call out to the silver wolf getting farther and farther away from me. There are shifters in this house who will drag me back inside if I stick around here any longer.

As I move, trying to follow the wolf, I feel agony with each breath. I’m sure I’ve cracked my head and injured a few ribs, considering how Quentin was tossing me around.

The silver wolf has already started attacking the enemy.

I don’t know why nobody from the mansion is giving chase. When the lights came on, the alarm clearly spread.

At some point, my strength gives way, and I fall down. The dizziness is overpowering.

Despair fills me. How am I supposed to escape when I can’t even walk? What if the silver wolf decides I’m not worth helping? What if he leaves me behind?

I’ve tried so hard to remain positive, to stay determined through these past six months. I’ve held on through sheer fucking will, refusing to let my circumstances consume me,believing I would escape. But as soon as the taste of freedom is on the tip of my tongue, I feel myself faltering.

Still on the ground, I crawl now, moving toward the fighting happening ahead of me.

The silver wolf is fast and strong. Despite how weakened he is, he’s holding his own. He is a vicious fighter, bulldozing through the enemy like they are nothing but annoying gnats. I watch with bated breath, realizing that the difference in their strength is astronomical.

He has to win. I’ve done what I can. Everything else is up to him now. Hopefully, he remembers me and will take me with him.

My heart is beating rapidly, each pulse thundering between my ears as I watch him. He moves fluidly among the enemy, like a dancer. There are no abrupt moves, no hesitation. He aims to kill.

And suddenly, they’re gone. He’s the only one still standing.

I crawl up to him. He takes a step away from me, and I say weakly, “You can’t—You can’t leave me behind.”