VELIN

But instead, she knelt suddenly.

My wolf stopped clawing inside me the moment I saw her on her knees, shaking, begging like she’d lost her breath. She was pathetic, but useful. I let her stay there for a while, drowning in her own tears. Fear makes tongues loose.

“Stand up,” I said, my voice low, the edge sharp even though I felt calm now. “Stand up and tell me what I need to know.”

She hesitated as if she were weighing her death. Her eyes turned red… not from fury but ...