I didn't look back.
The hedges fell away behind me, and I burst out onto the open strip of grass, my legs pumping as I hurled myself forward.
The forest loomed ahead, its trees like dark sentinels against the sky. I didn't hesitate. I leapt across the last stretch of open ground and vanished beneath the heavy canopy.
Branches clawed at my sleeves. Roots snagged at my slippers. The forest swallowed me whole, its damp breath wrapping around me, smelling of moss and earth and rain-soaked bark.
Every instinct in me screamed to shift, to call on the strength and speed of the wolf. My body ached for it. My bones felt like they were straining against invisible chains. Deep inside, my wolf stirred - restless, agitated, pressing against the thin barrier that kept her locked beneath my skin.
I'll kill them all, she seemed to snarl, pacing in the cage of my chest.
But I couldn't.
