VOWS TO THE DEVIL

did not

ple while her peers shivered and stretched and became wolves. She had watched their bones reshape. Watched fur sprout f

ever

en times. Seventeen times she had stood at the edge of the crowd, wrapped in the gre

ddess did n

ck made certain s

*

and scattered it across the clearing, turning the night air to liquid pearl. Ancient runes spiraled up the columns-blessings, warnings, h

ainst her skin, a constant reminder of her station. The unshifted wore grey. The worthy wore silver. The distinction

quietly and take up as little space as possible. It was survival. The p

n with the rising

e was ancient-older than anyone in Silverfang could remember-her face a map of wrinkles and her eyes

rt. "Tonight, we welcome new wolves into our pack. Tonight, the Goddess bestows her bles

ck's golden boy-broad-shouldered, arrogant, with a smile that made young wolves swoon and older wolves nod in approv

e girl's either. They were strangers to her, as most of the pack was. She had learned lo

der the new moon. She spoke the ancient words-the invocation that called the wolf from

breath of the Moon Goddess, awaken, chil

rming, fur sprouting from his skin in waves of dark brown. The crowd gas

across her form as she dropped to all fours, her new wolf's eyes gleaming with intell

was Rona

deep breath. And when he opene

e of a predator born to hunt. His wolf was enormous, a beast of black and silver fur with eyes like molten metal.

iled. "The Goddess h

pride. She watched the pack cheer for him, the future Alpha of Silverfang.

ever looked

*

the crowd, heading for the edge of the clearing where the trees grew thick and the shadows offered refuge.

the ridicule fo

for your wolf

-cocky, condescending, dripping w

perfectly arranged, his dark hair tousled in that careless way that made the young wolves sig

hing. Silenc

e. The other wolves in the clearing were too far away to notice. Or perhaps they simply didn'

, his smile sharp. "Or maybe you should pray to

embling-she hated that she was trembling-but she couldn't stop it

intimate. He leaned in close, his breath warm against her ear. "I could help him. Find you a husband in some dis

er. It was meant to be reas

ou a wolf," he murmured. "Or maybe he'd

That buried presence she had tried so hard to ignore. It slammed against her r

of night. The d

uilt and built until she thought she would shatter. And in that moment, she saw something in he

me

an empty sky. Lyra's blood went cold even as the heat in her chest burned hotter

fe

the rough bark of a fallen branch. Ronan was staring down at her, his expression f

ll was that?

d. "Nothing. I-I t

was pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. She di

he darker woods that bordered Silverfang's territory. She ran until her

her knees in th

*

was still full overhead, pouring silver light through the canopy of black pines. She

was dangerous after dark. But she was

hift. You can't even defend yourself. You let him t

s against her eyes a

ce came

e not p

head sn

en so clear, so close. Not the whisper of wind through th

ere?" she

le

e shadows, searching for movement, for the gleam of eyes,

th

ss of the ceremony. The humiliation at Ronan

ay back toward the village, she couldn't s

her chest, the caged

spered. Soon