ELOWEN
I woke to the SUV slowing down.
"What's happening?" I blinked, disoriented. The light outside had changed — it was late afternoon now, the sun hanging low on the horizon.
"Rendezvous point," Fao said quietly. "The team from the ranch."
I sat up, wincing as my leg protested the movement, and looked out the window.
We'd pulled off onto a dirt road, surrounded by scrubland and distant mountains. Two black SUVs were already parked there, and a group of people stood waiting — six, maybe seven, all of them watching our vehicle approach with sharp eyes.
Wolves. I could tell even from here. Something about the way they held themselves, the stillness, the coiled readiness.
Our SUV stopped, and Thalia got out first, exchanging words with a tall man who seemed to be in charge. Then Corv
