Mira's POV.

I was checking the western fence line when the sky turned. One moment it was overcast, the next it was black. Thunder rolled through the valley like a warning, and I started running.

The sanctuary was too far, the main building a blur in the distance. Rain hit before I made it halfway, cold and vicious, soaking through my clothes in seconds.

The cedar tree rose ahead, its canopy thick enough to matter. I pressed myself against the trunk, breathing hard as sheets of water turned the ...