**Lynn's POV**

Dawn breaks soft and golden over the hills behind Yanis's house.

I'm running. Finally running.

Not as human. As wolf.

Istha stretches her legs. Reveling in the freedom. The wind. The earth beneath our paws.

'This is what we needed,' she murmurs. 'To run. To breathe. To be.'

She's right. After yesterday's chaos—Timothy's attack, the frantic escape, the terror—I needed ...