Elise’s POV
The forest closed in around me, every low branch and treacherous root becoming an obstacle I had to overcome. My hands ached, the skin red and raw after hours of pushing the wheels of my chair through terrain that seemed determined to stop me. The air was cold, but my body burned, sweat soaking the back of my neck as I kept going—one push at a time.
“Just a little more,” I repeated to myself like a mantra I wasn’t sure I believed.
The Eastern border. Riley. Those were the words that kept my mind focused on a goal. Riley was someone I could trust, someone who wouldn’t turn his back on me like the pack had. He’d help me find a new place—a pack where I wouldn’t have to constantly look over my shoulder, waiting for someone to try and kill me.
But with every meter I advanced, th
