Book Five, Chapter 85: Last-call Return
The forest was endless, but I ran anyway.
The trees bent and swayed unnaturally, their shadows clawing at me like they were alive. My paws tore at the ground, but no matter how far I went, the air clung to me, thick and heavy.
The wolf snarled in the back of my mind, restless and wild, but I forced it down, forcing myself forward.
Forward to where? I didn’t know.
I had messed up; I had ruined everything. They had talked about shame, heck, I had talked about a young wolf’s shame, and I knew best. It took everything I had not to wring myself into a knot just thinking about my shame.
I was cursed. I was a monster. I was broken.
It was my fault.
No, the wolf said in my mind. Just let me take over. It will all blow away. I can run fast. I can run faster than the shame.
I fought the urge to just let it win. It felt like I was fighting gravity. Eventually, gravity wins. Always.