Chapter 4

The soft creak of my bedroom door made me freeze, my hands still buried in the small backpack I'd been packing. Luna, already so withdrawn she was barely a whisper in my mind, didn't even stir at the intrusion. I turned slowly, expecting to see one of the younger pack members with some trivial message, but my blood turned to ice when I saw Valeria standing in my doorway.

Her dark eyes swept over my belongings with predatory interest, taking in the folded clothes, the dried provisions, my mother's silver pendant clutched in my trembling fingers. A slow smile spread…