Josh’s POV

The storm didn’t stop.

It followed me through the forest, tearing the night apart in flashes of white and thunder that shook the ground. Every drop of rain felt like a needle against my skin, washing blood into the mud, erasing any trace of the fight behind me.

I moved through it anyway one step, one breath, one heartbeat at a time. The river was a ghost at my side, whispering through the dark, guiding me north. My arm burned where the wolf had bitten me, the flesh swollen ...