Page 116 of The Last Sanctuary

She thought of Zachariah, his generosity and kindness. Of Damien and his choice to offer her mercy, so she could live. And of her parents, their frailties and their virtues.

The world was ugly. It was cruel and broken, savage and unfair. And yet. There was grace, too. And beauty.

She understood now in a way she never had before: a few good people made all the difference. Between isolation and connection, between despair and hope, between death and life.

Raven knew her purpose, now. She was going to search the whole shattered world if she had to, she was going to find her mother.

But first, she needed to find a tribe of good people. She and Shadow needed a pack of their own. They couldn’t survive alone, not on the perilous journey that lay before them.

Perhaps she might find Damien again someday, too.

Either way, she would start right here, right now, with these three strangers. Maybe they were the ones, maybe they weren’t.

There was only one way to find out.

She would follow them at a distance until she was certain of the right moment.

And then they would rejoin the world together, Raven and her wolf.