POV: Mina (Age 17)
I dragged Rafe's body through the forest for hours.
His wolf form was massive and heavy, and I was just a seventeen-year-old girl who'd spent most of her life malnourished and overworked. Every few yards, I had to stop and rest, gasping for breath, my muscles screaming in protest.
But I refused to leave him.
I wouldn't let the scavengers find him. Wouldn't let the assassins come back and take his body as a trophy for Uncle Mordath. Wouldn't let my brother's corpse rot in some clearing while I ran off to save myself.
So I dragged him. Inch by agonizing inch. Through the destroyed forest where my scream had shattered trees. Past the river where we'd been found as babies. Through paths we'd walked together a thousand times over nine years.
Back to the temple.
Our tem
