(Kiara)
The memory came back before I could stop it. I remembered running through the trees while Mama called after me. She had already been shot, and I hadn't wanted to leave her behind. She used what strength she had left to make me keep going.
Run and don't look back.
I had done what she asked because I was five and terrified. I remembered passing the stone marker and seeing the wolf chasing me stop on the other side. Several Blackridge wolves had appeared ahead of me, and I had tried to run from them too. I hadn't known whether anyone around me could be trusted.
I remembered telling Lucan my name. His face changed when I said Vale, though I hadn't understood why. I told him Dad was the Head Warrior of Silvercrest and that Mama had been shot. Then his wolves returned and told us she
