Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
I flinched as the second wolf growled, its teeth glinting in the moonlight as it snatched at the thing draped over my heart, and a spurt of warmth coated me. It shimmered black in the darkness as the sharp scent of blood struck my nose.
I tore my gaze away from the wolves, focusing on the carcass they’d placed on me.
A hare.
A dead hare with its belly torn open and flesh jagged from killing teeth. Still warm. Still bleeding.
With its silver-dusted black fur, the larger wolf licked my chin, then nosed the carcass toward my throat.
I...I don’t understand.
I’d waited for them to eat me, not...feed me.
A third wolf sat on its haunches by my feet, raising its majestic muzzle to howl at the moon as if impatient with my lack of understanding. A fourth padded above my head, its giant paws catching in my overgrown dirty hair as it bent over me from above, clutched the hare in its fangs, and dropped it squarely onto my mouth.
Floppy legs and long ears draped over my cheeks.
It suffocated me as its death shot up my nose, making my own demise that much sadder.
I groaned and used energy I didn’t have to try to lift an arm. I needed the bleeding corpse off my face. I wanted to die with fresh air in my lungs, not the musky terror of a dead hare.
Another wolf joined the smaller one in a howl. My ears rang. My eyes watered. And the hare’s blood slipped past my lips and onto my tongue.
I choked on the metallic liquid, still warm from its torn-out heart.
And for a moment, my stomach revolted.
I retched and blacked out, leaping into the fog that’d stalked me far more successfully than these strangely behaving wolves. But as I tripped between living and death, the hare’s blood rolled over my tongue, cascaded down my desiccated throat, and pooled into my emaciated belly.
A spark.
A light.
A flicker.
Life roared through me.
Fierce and ferocious.
The hollowness of missing someone I couldn’t remember was filled up with blood, erasing the ever-present grief I carried, replacing it with hot instincts to survive.
My body moved with primal need.
Shaking arms soared upward.
Trembling hands clamped on the dead hare.
And my teeth, which hadn’t eaten anything in so very, very long, tore into the cooling flesh, ripping off strips and swallowing them down before I had a chance to chew.
Primitive noises echoed in my chest. Noises I didn’t know I was capable of making.
Growls and grunts, snarls and savagery.
With each bite, I felt stronger.
With each swallow, death faded and let go.
And by the time I’d eaten my fill and the bloody bones of the hare glistened in the moonlight, I opened my eyes and saw clearly for the first time in so long. No starvation haze. No dehydration delusion.
I had enough power to push my still-shaking, blood-covered body into a sitting position.
Moonshine hair and eyes glowing with the sun; her laugh caused flowers to bloom—
I tripped forward as the vision buckled me.
I blinked at the ring of spiral-horned wolves.
They blinked back.
They licked their lips.
They glanced at the rivers of blood coating my chest, arms, and hands.
Whatever I’d seen faded beneath forgetfulness, and for a heartbeat, I feared they’d fed me so I’d have the energy to fight. That they intended to revive me just enough to provide sport as I bolted from their pack only to be slaughtered as I ran.
The largest wolf stood and padded toward me. The alpha. A male so large and powerful he blotted out the moon, towering over me like a fur-covered mountain. His nose touched mine.
He stared into me.
I felt no fear.
Only...friendship.
Reaching out to thank him, I paused as the alpha stiffened. My blood-drenched hand trembled as he sniffed my fingers, snorted a great gust of warm air, then lowered his head just enough for me to touch.
I shivered as my hand buried into his thick ruff.
I swallowed in awe as the mighty beast licked my nose.
And it was only natural for me to press my weight into the powerful bulk of my rescuer, stumbling to my feet, keeping my hand on his fur as my body slowly remembered how to stand.
If my body could recall such things, perhaps my mind would follow.
The alpha twisted his giant head to look at me. His horns spiralled into the sky. His fangs white and sharp. With a huff, he shook his muscular bulk, and I felt a bond form between us. A link that went past species and into a realm I didn’t understand.
I swear his lips shifted into a canine smile before he growled softly, his yellowed eyes shifting over his moonlit pack. My fingers vibrated with his snarl, his fur tickling my arm.
As one, the pack slinked into the shadows, looking back as if to deliver the invitation to follow.
For a breath, I didn’t move.