I woke to sunlight streaming through the windows of the abandoned cabin. For a moment, I can't remember where I was or why I was wrapped in a musty blanket on a stranger's couch. Then everything came flooding back, the escape, the fight with Victor, my desperate flight through the forest.
I sat up slowly, my body aching in ways I'd never experienced before. Fighting in my wolf form had used muscles I didn't know I had. Every movement reminded me of claws and teeth, of the desperate struggle in that gas station parking lot, but I was alive. That was what mattered.
I looked around the cabin in the daylight. It was even more run-down than I thought, one room with a small kitchen area, a bathroom that probably didn't work, and not much else. But on the shelves, I found some canned goods that were still sealed and a jug of water that seemed clean enough.
The bigger problem was clothes. I couldn't travel naked, and my dress had been destroyed when I shifted. I searched through the cabin and finally found an old jacket that was too big and some rope I could use as a belt. It wasn't much, but combined with the blanket wrapped around me like a skirt, it would have to do.
I ate one of the protein bars from my bag and drank some water, trying to keep my limited supplies. Then I studied the dusty map I found tacked to the cabin wall. It showed the surrounding territories, and if I was reading it correctly, I was still dangerously close to Silverwood.
The Nightshade Pack territory was marked on the map, far to the west. If I traveled only at night and stayed in the forest, it would take me weeks to get there. Weeks of avoiding hunters, finding food, and staying hidden.
I could do this. I had to do this.
spent the day resting and planning, gathering what little supplies the cabin offered. As sunset approached, I prepared to move out. Travel at night was safer, fewer people to see me, and my enhanced senses made the darkness less of a problem.
Just before I left, I noticed something scratched into the wall near the door. Names and dates, carved by previous visitors to the cabin. On impulse, I found a sharp stick and carved my own message: "Nessa was here. She survived."
It felt important somehow, marking my existence. Proof that I'd been here, that I was real, that I mattered.
Then I stepped out into the growing darkness and started walking west.
The next few days blurred together into a rhythm of walking, hiding, and surviving. I traveled only at night, sleeping during the day in whatever shelter I could find, caves, hollow trees, abandoned structures. I rationed my food carefully, supplementing it with berries and edible plants I found in the forest.
My wolf helped identify which plants were safe to eat and which streams had clean water. She was always present now, not hidden away like before. We were becoming one entity instead of two separate beings fighting for control.
I practiced using my powers as I walked, learning to call the silver light more easily. I could create barriers of light that would stop small animals, could make myself fade into shadows, could sense other wolves from a distance. Each day, I discovered something new I could do.
But using the power exhausted me, and I never knew how much I could safely use before I'd pass out from the strain. It was like having an incredible gift that came with no instruction manual.
On my fourth night of travel, I was moving through a particularly dense section of forest when I heard voices ahead. I immediately laid low, extending my senses to figure out how many people and what they wanted.
"...said she came this way," a male voice was saying. "Victor's got a bounty on her now. Five thousand dollars to whoever brings her in."
My blood ran cold. Victor had put a price on my head. That meant every rogue wolf and hunter in the region would be looking for me.
"Five thousand?" another voice said with a whistle. "He wants her pretty badly. What did she do?"
"Don't know, don't care. I just want the money."
There were three of them from what I could tell, rough-looking men who smelled like they hadn't bathed in days. Rogues, probably, willing to do anything for money.
I carefully backed away, trying to put distance between us without making noise. But a branch snapped under my foot, and all three heads whipped in my direction.
"You hear that?" one of them said.
"Could be her. Spread out. If we find her, we split the money three ways."
I ran. No point in trying to hide now. I crashed through the underbrush, using my enhanced speed to put distance between us. Behind me, I heard them shift into their wolf forms and give chase.
They were fast, but I was faster. I leaped over a fallen log, ducked under low-hanging branches, splashed through a stream without slowing down. My heart pounded but my mind was clear. I'd gotten away from Victor's trained hunters. I could get away from these rogues.
But there were three of them, and they were spreading out to try to flank me. I could hear them communicating in wolf-speak, coordinating their attack. They were going to try to drive me into a trap.
I needed to fight, not run. I couldn't keep fleeing every time someone came after me.
I stopped in a small clearing and turned to face them, letting them think they'd cornered me. All three emerged from the trees, circling me with their lips pulled back in snarls. They were mangy-looking wolves, all teeth and aggression.
"Shift back," one of them demanded, his voice rough even in wolf form. "Victor wants you alive, but he didn't say we couldn't rough you up a little first."
I didn't respond. Instead, I called on my power, letting the silver light build beneath my skin. I'd learned over the past few days that intimidation was sometimes better than actual fighting.
The light burst from my body, illuminating the clearing like a second moon. I felt my body shift, transforming into my massive silver wolf form. I was easily twice their size, my fur gleaming with an otherworldly glow.
The rogues hesitated, suddenly unsure. They'd expected an easy target, not whatever I was.