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Prologue

The wolf’s yellow eyes glared me with deternashed at the air as it snarled a threat My body froze despiteheart

The beast took a slow, calculated circle aroundinwith the wolf’s, asthat could be used as a weapon The landscape of the Big Horn Mountains did not offer much other than a fened branches or palainst the creature this size

I bent down bit by bit and stretchedI gripped the branch tightly, its bark feeling slippery in ain My body trery, vicious face was about four feet away, one leap and I was a goner

My knuckles turned white and ached as I held the branch between us If I wanted a chance at escaping, I had to stand back up My legs shook, and my muscles screaer the wolf

When I was straightened, I shuffled round between the wolf and me However, with each step I took, the wolf inched forward baring its teeth My breath becah my body My heart thudded in my chest hard We stared into one another’s eyes--huaze pinned on the wolf I kept draggingwhat et away Crack A branch snapped underwent into slow motion I had a split second to realize that the wolf’s taunting games were over and that I would have to run for ed and I screah the air A heavy crash behind h pine trees and decaying branches, they whipped across rowls taunted me--too close There was no way I could out run it--we both knew that

Whirling around another batch of trees, I skidded to a stop at the edge of a cliff My eyes shot to the botto through the forest as if it kneas out of space A glint of victory flashed in its eerie eyes; our gazes locked I felt like a gazelle staring down a lion Awill it take them to find my devoured corpse? Will they even find me? I’m about to be eaten alive Did I mail the electricity payh the mountains and reverberated in my eardrums My attacker perked its head to one side and listened When it looked back, soed in its eyes The beast rushed forward, and out of instinct, I stepped back My feet slid off the ledge and then I was slipping over the edge My ar I could to keep froht die from the fall and not be eaten alive But the wolf’s teeth sank intoit froed back The flesh pulled froainst the bone I scrambled to use ainst the solid ground before I stopped, tears strea

The beast released ular and cutting off rowl sounded next to us The wolf released me and rolled on its back I didn’t have ties of my vision were blurry fro down my arht now

"What have you done?" a man asked His voice sounded muddled to my ears

"I’m sorry" The words forizing to--one into the mountains alone There had been multiple animal attacks the past month, I knew better than this

"I’ll let you have first dibs," a fele bubbled up --woozy hallucinations Peeling an eyelid open, I stared at two naked bodies The woth brown hair that brushed her skin as the wind played with it The man had wavy, honey-colored locks Both of theer and thea few times, I searched for the wolf that attacked rowled When my eyes didn’t find the beasts, I wondered why thenearby andI feared for their safety So for the opportunity to strike the couple