I let out a loud, pained howl for the first time in years. I’ve been staying in hiding, concealing my identity for so long that I haven’t truly howled to the moonlit sky since I was a pup.
But the sensation of Bethea’s venom sinking into my flesh is like holding a hot coal to my skin. The pain is almost unbearable. I have to ignore the agony and fight back. She caught me by surprise, but I can’t give up. I can’t let her win.
So I tense up every muscle in my body and leap up, throwing our bodies backward against a nearby tree. We collide with such force that it seems to make the entire forest shake. I can feel Bethea’s body crushing under the pressure, her bones breaking and the wind leaving her lungs.
The shock of the impact doesn’t keep her down for long, though. Her bones start to kn
