Behind her was a life that tried to break her.
Ahead lay the unknown.
She didn’t look back.
Not once.
--
The forest had thinned, the trees standing farther apart now, their roots tangled like veins near the surface of the earth. The air itself felt different—lighter, sharper, humming with a warning Iva could not quite name. She felt it in her chest, in the way Avalon’s stride changed.
Without warning, Avalon slowed.
Not stopped—never that—but the wild, liberating sprint eased into a careful, almost silent lope. Her paws placed themselves with deliberate precision, avoiding snapping twigs, skirting patches of dry leaves. The shadows became allies again.
“Why are we slowing down?” Iva asked, her mind still buzzing with adrenaline and the excitement of their first run. “Is something w
