Chapter 9. Her Luring Aroma

Another long week crept by, each day folding into the next until my routine felt like a slow, never-ending pulse. My new schedule had become firmly established: I no longer scrubbed the packhouse floors, which meant I no longer crossed paths with Daniel. Instead, I spent my days in town—ten miles there, ten miles back—running errands, gathering supplies, or cleaning for other pack members who lived among the storefronts and narrow lanes. The walk didn't bother me; I welcomed every mile that carried me away from the pack's compounds.

I was still weak, my body complaining at every exertion, but my Wolf had managed to scavenge and hunt a few rabbits over the past week. We didn’t feast daily, but the small catches sustained us—just barely keeping hunger from gnawing away at my sanity.

This morning’s final stop was the home of someone outside our Ravenswood pack: a member of Onyx Moon. I paused on the dirt road leading to the last street on my list and swallowed. Ra