"Come back here, you bitch!" Ember's enraged voice echoes behind me as she gives chase, her footsteps closing in fast. I grit my teeth, forcing myself to focus on the path ahead and resist the urge to glance back. Every wasted second could mean the difference between escape and capture.

I push my human legs to their limits, the branches and underbrush whipping past me in a blur as I race through the woods. Though the temptation to shift into my wolf form tugs at me, I know the risks ...