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Once I was done with er one, we headed to the exit, where a large pack of wolves aiting I estimated over fifty in total Surely not all of theuessed that they must have all been related to them in one way or another

Many turned to eye me coldly as they noticed us approach They had siuess they’re all wondering whether I have stolen Bastien’s virtue, too… If the poor guy ever fell in love with a wolf other than Rona, I wondered whether all of these wolves would go after her, along with Brucella It certainly looked like it, froripped Bastien’s aran to pile out of thedaytime, all of the other wolves were stuck in their huh Bastien could’ve turned at will into his wolf form, to my surprise, he stayed huan bolting into the woods Once he’d cla that I was secure, he raced after the first? Which tribe?" I asked Bastien, even as I struggled to breathe against his ear due to the speed he was running at He had only just started and he was already outpacing all of them, even the olves ere taller than hirimace

"And do you know them personally?" I asked

"Some of them," he replied "I can’t stand theius has some relations with theenda… enda at all," he added beneath his breath

"Why do you dislike them sobranch

"Oh, come now, Bastien!" Brucella’s voice shrilled before he could reply I cast a look back to see that she was trailing right behind us, not so subtly eavesdropping "They’re not that bad"

Bastien rolled his eyes, but said nothing

"Just because you and Dane quibbled as children doesn’t mean you have to paint them all with the same brush" She sped up in an attempt to run level with Bastien, but as she increased her pace, so did Bastien

"It’s not just about Dane," he muttered "It’s their whole… vibe I’ve never been able to see eye to eye with thenard," Brucella persisted, as if she hadn’t heard what Bastien had just said "I’et on ith hi to this Instead, he surged forward,it even more i, he thrust upward and ent shooting into the tree branches above

"Bastien?" Brucella’s voice drifted up "What are you doing?"

God She behaves like his ius this ti," Bastien called down over his shoulder, even as he swung higher with side you still Just fro lost," Brucella called

"I know the way," Bastien growled down, even as he took a giant leap and thrust from one tree to the next The food in lad that I had not eaten h ainst the back of ained ly powerful It was hardly even bu flow of h the trees

I pressedto his soft breathing I slanted a glance at his face His eyes were alight, shining with adrenaline

I could barely even hear the starowth below Although I was sure I caught Brucella’s voice calling up to Bastien every now and then, it was distant enough to be her, until finally we burst out through the canopy of leaves into a world of pure blue sky and dazzling sunshine He paused for athe vieas certainly ad it An ocean of trees stretched out for ht were ht?" he asked softly

I tightenedthis a lot ht he had swept me up and away fro I hadn’t known him then… not that I knew hih in the past couple of days to feel safe in his grasp To know that he would not let me fall He was a master of these trees

My answer seeorate hi with electricity as he leapt to the next treetop He was on fire, his spirit wild and free

I couldn’t help but feel that no matter how much time he spent as a human, he’d always be h the trees with Victoria, no speed was fast enough With my aunt’s vexatious voice finally muffled, it felt like ere in a world of our own A world in which the troubles beneath us did not exist A world in which I was still happy