Chapter Sixteen
Ana
One week later.
I was running as if the devil himself were at my heels. Every muscle in my legs screamed in protest, and my lungs felt like they were filled with hot coals. My body was at the point of breaking down completely.
I felt my foot catch on a gnarled tree root, and I crashed to the muddy ground, the impact jarring my already bruised ribs. For a second, I just wanted to stay there and let the darkness take me.
But then I heard them—the low, guttural growls of the wolves behind me.
I forced myself to stand up. I had to keep moving.
It had been one week. One long, agonizing week. I had sat in that dark, damp room for seven days, counting every second, waiting for the sound of Desmond’s voice or the crash of the door as he came to fulfill his promise.
He h
