CLAW MARKS ON LANE NINE

my mothe

back of the truck, and held the passenger door open. Up close, I could see the faint

rs. Get in, Ivy. We have about two hours before sun

er was offering me a ride in the dark. But my wolf stirred, warm and ce

o tunnel through it. Marla didn't fill the silence with small talk. She just d

watching fo

y you'd mention the weather. "The council has eyes ever

ow abou

making you small. That cost

y over in my fingers.

o a dirt road barely wide enough for the truc

y an old running track swallowed by weeds. The lane lines had faded almost to nothing, and the bleachers

ined here in secret. I've kept it up since she di

ke it had been waiting for me. The lock

d a pair of battered running spikes. They were the color of

. I hadn't heard anyone say it

la said quietly. "

d walked to the starting line, and the track felt strangel

p an old stopwatch. "Four hundre

ra

re. But after the first curve, I felt it, a pressure behind my rib

the watch and frowned. "Sixty-one seconds. Th

her pu

her back." Marla st

pe, it had ended in laughter. Because the one time I truly

itted. "If I let her run and it stil

wolf said softly. And

name settled over me like a c

loud. "Okay, Sab

atch. When she dropped her hand, I stopped

hed the ground. Every cruel comment, every year of laughter, every night I'd cried into a pillow so my father wouldn't hear

ld slow down. When I finally turned around, Marla was standi

s it?" I

numbers glowed in t

never gone under 47.6. You just did it on your second try, in borrowed spikes, on a track with no lanes.

e, and I didn't care. I had run faster than anyone in my pack

forest we

n someone has just walked in. Every bird s

ar

front of me, her hand dropping to som

. I would have known the way he moved anywhere. Kael Ashford walked onto

said, his voice low and r

," Mar

face. "Every wolf within thirty miles

, a howl rose, long and cold and

re coming," he said. "And th