*Constance*

My body turned ice cold, my breath frozen in my chest, and my feet rooted in place. I stared in abject horror as the gate to the interior courtyard fell open with a great gust of speed. The warriors posted around me took up their positions. I joined them, but still, I felt alien among them.

Through the gate, a great mist arose, carrying with it a dozen or more enemy warriors, all of them wolves except the one who stood in the middle. As the mist cleared ...