When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was wood — the smooth, familiar grain of the ceiling beams, in the Alpha’s house, inside my bedroom. For a long moment, I simply stared at it, not breathing, afraid that if I moved, the world would vanish again and I would once again be sitting in that wet, cold prison cell, broken and forgotten and all alone.
The air was so warm here. It smelled of pine smoke and herbs, and somewhere far off I could hear the soft rhythm of footsteps and voices. No one shouting. No one screaming. No one getting killed.
Life.
Just ordinary life.
Home.
I was home!
I had thought that if I ever escaped the King’s camp, if Varion and I both made it out alive, everything would finally be all right in the world again. That peace would come as naturally as breat
