What Growls in the Dark

The growl comes again. This time I saw him. A wolf steps out from between two trees. Dark gray. Big. Teeth are already out.

I don't move. Every part of me wants to run but something stops me. You don't run from something like that. It'll chase you down before you get three steps.

"Easy," I say, and I keep my hands up so he can see them. "I'm not here to fight you."

He doesn't answer, because he's a wolf, not a person. But his ears go flat and his lip pulls back more, and I get the feeling this isn't some animal that wandered up on me by accident. He's working. This is a patrol.

A man steps out from behind him. Tall. Heavy gray coat, collar turned up against the cold. Maybe thirty years old. He looks at me like he hasn't decided yet if I'm trouble or just a headache.

"That's Grimwood land you're standing on," he says. "We don't get a lot of folks climbing out of the dirt at sunrise."

My stomach drops. He saw the grave.

"I don't know what you saw," I say, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "I woke up out here. Don't remember how I got here. I'm not trying to cause trouble."

"You got mud and blood all over you, half your dress torn off, and there's a fresh hole in the ground right behind you." He crosses his arms. "So forgive me if I want an explanation first."

The wolf growls again, quieter, waiting on him.

"My name's Selene," I say. "Selene Voss."

Something changes on his face. Not quite recognition. More like he's heard the name before and can't place where.

"Voss," he says. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"Should it?"

He looks at me for a while without saying anything. I try to breathe normal even though my heart's pounding hard enough I figure he can hear it too.

"There was a Voss family that used to run trade through here," he says. "Haven't heard that name in years. Guess you don't remember much, with everything going on."

"No," I say. That part's true, anyway. "Don't remember much of anything."

The wolf sits down. His shoulders relax. The man crouches next to him, rests a hand on his head, but he's still watching me.

"Name's Torin," he says. "Run patrol out here. Lucky it was me that found you and not somebody with less patience."

"Thank you," I say. I mean it, even with the fear still sitting in my chest. "I need to get to Rook Territory."

He raises an eyebrow. "Long walk from here. Not exactly a friendly place either, for a stranger with no pack and no papers."

"I don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice," he says. "Some are just worse than others." He watches me for a second. "You got family there? People waiting on you?"

The question catches me off guard. I think of Cassian's face the day they took me. Not even looking at me. Jaw locked tight. Saying nothing while they dragged me out of the courtyard.

"Someone I used to know," I say. "It's a long story."

"Isn't it always?" He stands, and the wolf gets up with him, shakes the dirt off his fur. "Can't walk you there myself. Grimwood doesn't cross into Rook land without being asked. The last time somebody tried it, it turned into a whole fight over grazing rights. But I can point you toward the road. And get you something warm, since what you got on is barely hanging on you."

Something loosens in my chest. "I'd appreciate that."

He takes me through the trees to a small cabin I hadn't even noticed, smoke coming up thin out of the chimney. Inside, the warmth hits me right away. He hands me a wool cloak and boots close enough to my size. I wrap the cloak around me and for a second I actually feel like a person again.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks while I lace up the boots. My hands won't stop shaking. "Rook Territory isn't known for treating strangers kindly."

"I'm sure," I say. I'm not, really. "I have to find out what happened to me."

"Well," he says, "whatever you're looking for out there, hope you find it before it finds you."

I don't know what to say back, so I just nod. He walks me to the edge of his land and points down a dirt road cutting through the trees.

"The checkpoint's about two hours that way," he says. "They'll stop you long before you get close to Blackridge House. Their Alpha doesn't let strangers walk in without noticing."

"Thank you," I say again.

He looks at me a moment longer, like there's something else he wants to say. Then he doesn't. "Good luck, Selene Voss."

I start walking and don't look back till Torin and his wolf are far behind me. Till the smoke from his cabin is just a gray smudge in the sky.

The walk takes most of the day. My legs hurt. The boots rub blisters into my heels. I think about Cassian the whole time. His face. His silence. Four years I don't remember living through while he moved on without me.

By the time I see the stone walls up ahead, I'm about out of nervousness.

That's when I hear hooves behind me, coming fast. Someone shouts something I can't make out.

I turn around. Three riders heading straight for me. Rook colors on their coats. Weapons already drawn.