Chapter 16 · A Name in the Snow

The howl came again, closer this time.

I didn't stop running. My boots slid on ice-slick rock and Cain's hand locked around my wrist, hauling me forward before I could eat dirt. The trees were too thin here. Anyone tracking us would see our tracks clear as day in the snow.

"Move," Cain said. Not loud. He didn't need to be.

My lungs burned. The wolf inside me wanted to shift, wanted to run properly, but Cain had made me swear I wouldn't. Not until we knew who was out here. The howl didn't sound like a regular wolf. It sounded like it was calling my name.

We hit a ridge and Cain pulled me down behind a boulder. His hand stayed on my shoulder, pressure saying stay put. I could feel his heartbeat through his palm. Steady. Mine was trying to crack my ribs open.

"You hear that?" I whispered.

"Yeah." His jaw was tight. He scanned the tree line below us, eyes moving like he was reading a map I couldn't see.

"It's not them, right? Not the Guild?"

"Guild doesn't howl." He tilted his head, listening. "That's a shifter."

My stomach dropped. "Derek?"

"No.