Greatwater Lake some women are lost in the fire, some women are built from it

She doesn’t register Damien’s approach. He remains silent as she stays on the ground, looking across the grass, but there’s a rustling in the distance and the tawny wolf shows up. She snaps back to the other and that’s when her head turns to see the dark wolf nearby. His familiar in scent but beyond that, her memory remains fuzzy. It’s short beyond her parents but she knows she doesn’t like it. Where were they, anyway?

When the dark wolf speaks—something she doesn’t understand but knows the severity—she feels her heart lurch out of her chest. A shadow casts over her and she peers up but during the silence, finds herself looking to the small female in the distance. Qilaq tumbles a few steps forward but comes to a stop a foot or two in front of Damien, uncertain if her legs will keep her up if she kept going forward.