For the first few moments I really thought that the world was going to end. I had never felt the ground shake so fiercely. The first mistake I made was getting up—the intensity of the quake and the drowsiness from sleep threw me back onto the ground. My legs were sprawled out beneath me, my left hind-leg in a painfully twisted position I couldn't change.

And then, just like that, the tremor stopped.

What the hell was that?

Where did it come from?

It ended only for a few seconds until a second tremor shook through the earth, less fierce than the first one. A third followed. It ended for good after the fourth.

We should get the bloody hell out of here, Emmet said with trepidation laced in his voice. Agreement flowed through the link and in a matter of seconds, we all got onto four legs and started running. Kendra and Emmet along with Cora were both flanking my left while Derran was on my right. Reece led the way with Jarred next to him. The trio that included Holden, Shyla and Tyler followed suit in the back, sharp on our heels. Jaxxon, Leana and Debrova were in the middle section with the rest of us.

Panic and fear hovered between everyone. I could feel it coming from everyone but one person. Kendra.

Why wasn't she scared?

Kendra's raven screeched above us. Leaves whirled into the air as we ran through the forest, skilfully dodging the thin trees that reached high into the sky. If we weren't running as fast as we were, I would have taken the chance to look up and see whether the sky was clear above us. But, unfortunately, the short interruption of concentration might turn into a crash of wolves—something that would break a lot of bones. One wrong step and our Rukhs' would be broken. I wondered what that tremor had been. Had it been the earth itself or something heavy falling onto the ground? It had been hard to tell. Neither of us had ever experienced anything like it back in Everett Valley.

Stay focused, Jarred reminded, addressing my brief moment of distracted thoughts.

I let him know I acknowledged him by sending understanding through the link and focused on keeping my legs in sync with the others.

Breaking the Rukhs', the enchantingly perfect sync of a run, would end in a disaster. There had been enough incidents in the past where it had been disrupted and countless wolves had broken several bones. Leana, a female wolf that was currently running alongside her sister Debrova, had even struggled with internal bleeding and almost died when she misstepped once.

We ran for hours through Everett Forest until Reece finally announced a break. He peered through a blanket of leaves and branches hanging from above and said, We'll hunt now. And afterwards we talk about what the hell that quake was.

The excitement rushing through the link was exhilarating and several stomachs started growling with anticipation. There was a sense of foreboding that dampened it, however. What the hell had caused the earth to shake like that? And why wasn't Kendra afraid because of it, like the rest of us were? Did she know something we didn't?

Alpha Reece and Beta Jarred lead the hunt, as was custom. I watched as Reece lowered his body, Jarred quickly followed his lead, and snuck through the thicket. The rest of us spread out. There was a deer family at the end of a small meadow in the forest, cluelessly nuzzling each other. They were surrounded by small, white Samin flowers and posed for a picturesque scene.

Emmet and I, along with Jaxxon and Debrova, flanked Reece and Jarred's left while the others closed in from the right. Kendra, a skilled huntress, circled entirely around us to cut off the deers if they'd sensed us in advance. Although she hadn't spent nearly as much time in her wolf skin as I had, she was extremely fast and strategic when it came to hunting. She'd proven her capabilities multiple times in the monthly pack hunts. She'd always strived to impress her grandmother. It was a mystery to me that she'd gotten the Warrior title instead of the Hunter one, that suited her skillset better. Her raven circled above her and although I couldn't see her, I knew where she was.

My heart pounded against my chest.

Now, Reece announced, his voice booming through my mind and then, everything happened fast. The two leaders jumped out from the thicket and charged with full speed towards the three deer while the flanking wolves, me included, ran in from the sides. Kendra was still nowhere to be seen.

It was over before I knew it—the deer reacted almost instantly, all three of them bouncing off into different directions. Debrova, however, lifted herself off of the ground just in time to latch onto the small deer's neck. The other two deer were caught by Kendra and Reece.

☼

After the hunt all of us had been looking forward to, despite the vulgar aspect of eating raw meat directly from the source, running with a full stomach rather than an empty one turned out to be advantageous. As much as I hated to admit it—the hunt had been good for us. Energy coursed through my veins and I felt renewed. Though at the back of my mind there still lingered a hint of fear, I tried to overrule it with the sense of fulfillment. We'd already come such a long way to be stopped by the elements—as strange and fierce as the tremors had been, we couldn't stop to ponder for long. We needed to get going. Who knew how soon it would be until the council sent their Protectors to retrieve us. There was no doubt in my mind they would as soon as they'd learn of our absence. It was merely a matter of time.

I didn't even want to imagine what they would do to Reece or Jarred.

Emmet, do you have any idea what could cause tremors like that? Reece asked before we were due to leave.

Emmet shook his head. Maybe landslides from the mountains or an avalanche in the summits. It's hard to tell. Whatever it was, we need to get moving as fast as we can. It means we need to hurry up and get out of here.

As soon as the first light dipped into the valley, the big ball of fire standing high in the horizon, we searched for a suitable spot to rest for the day. No one had opposed Emmet as most of them already knew that if anyone knew anything, it was Emmet. None of them were aware of his gift but masking intelligence didn't come easy to Emmet. He was known to be the smartest scholar in the Iarhus but managed to keep it at a semi-normal level.

We found a spot to rest at a tiny opening, from which I could see the summit of one of the Great Mountains. Although we were getting closer to the mountain we needed to cross in order to leave Everett Valley for good, there was still a much longer journey ahead of us. If the earthquakes were really due to avalanches, we were going to have to avoid climbing and much rather finding a way through. A cave or some kind of walkway. Anything.

The small section of grass was a pleasant change of scenery, even if it was a small one. I enjoyed the soft grass brush against the skin of my paws. It was a good contrast, one I welcomed, to the sticky leaves and sharp branches that stuck to the soles when we ran through rough thickets. There were tall trees all around us. This patch of grassland seemed a safe haven within the forest. A rare find, which made our stay that much more enjoyable, short as it would be.

Kendra, who sat next to me with her furry face tilted to face the rising sun, experienced the same sense of relief. She'd been quiet during the entire night, all of us had been. We'd been nervous however, and so her calm behavior made me weary of what it was she refused to share.

Considering she hadn't answered Emmet's question as to why she had decided to come in the first place, I wondered if it had anything to do with the fact she wasn't afraid of the earthquakes.

My bones and muscles were aching. We'd been running for at least three days straight. That we were still in Everett Valley territory only made matters worse: it meant we had to be extremely cautious. The possibility of immortals catching up with us wasn't as slim of a chance as we wanted it to be. Despite the constant uncertainty, we developed a routine that would hopefully keep us safe.

We'd sleep at the edge of openings during the day and as soon as the sun set, we'd be back on all fours, running in the same constellation every time. Once sunlight crept into view, we knew we had to find another place to get rest. Reece slept on the left side of our semi-round circle, Jarred on the other end while the rest of us cramped up in the middle.

Whilst the runs were always very peaceful and uneventful, the few hours of morning when the Rukhs' was over and everyone was physically able to communicate again, nobody ever did. Strangely enough, Holden and I didn't exchange much of anything. A few glances, but other than that, there was nothing.

What was even more strange was that I stopped caring completely.

Looking at him now, all I saw was a dirty blond wolf who stood clumsily on his legs, acting curious whenever he knew I was watching. He was more secretive than I'd remembered and something about the three of them didn't sit well with me.

But then again, I had never liked Shyla or Tyler.

Holden had always been the one who'd shown me kindness and affection. The others were just plain weird. My promised had changed me without my consent. I would have to scold him for it when I'd see him again.

Something inside me assured me I would. It was like a tiny, wordless sound that crept through my mind, giving me a sense of certainty. We were promised, after all. Our souls yearned for each other, no matter if the mind agreed or not.

I do miss having a bed right about now, Debrova said, one of the two red wolves that were laying beside Jaxxon. I could feel Leana's agreement pass through the link, internally almost groaning at having to listen to a conversation that didn't concern me.

One of the downsides of the link—it was active as soon as other shifters were in close proximity and whatever was said in that link was audible for all shifters within that radius.

The principle of it was exactly the same as our human hearing and mundane conversations, just that we were wolves that spoke through a mystical connection of thought words rather than spoken ones.

Tell me about it. I would kill to eat some cooked food again! Leana's answer pulled me out of my thoughts and back to the present.

Jaxxon asked, I wonder when we'll reach the border?

What if we find moorland and can't continue?

I nearly scoffed at Leana but kept quiet.

We're wolves, not birds. We can still swim, Emmet commented.

Yes but maybe not all of us can swim good, Leana argued.

What if those landslides come crashing down on us? The snow from the summits?

Debrova was definitely the more sophisticated of the two and had a valid point. Jaxxon was quick to add to that and said, We'll just have to go around the mountains maybe.

That'll take us even longer though, won't it? Leana exclaimed.

Well, what if we don't make it far enough to even see the Denhid Forest? I mean I can't even imagine crossing that one unscathed! A huff carried through the link with Jaxxon's raspy tone. They continued with hypothetical scenarios and nearly drove me insane. Thank the gods Jarred finally decided to end their hopeless dreaming by cutting through their conversation with a clear, strong voice.

Has anyone in the past ten generations been outside Everett Valley to document how long it takes to first exit the territory and then how long it will continue until we reach the Denhid Forest? Oh, yeah, and about getting through the Denhid Forest? Everything we've ever heard about Espheros is hearsay, myth or downright invented. We have close to no facts at all. So stop pondering things you know nothing of and we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

And with those truthfully spoken words that Jarred uttered, the link grew silent.

Finally the tiredness caught up to me and I drifted off into sleep, despite the pain that seared through my muscles.

I awoke what seemed like minutes later, although judging by the sun, it was already around noon. There was movement beside me as I sleepily tried to pry my eyes open.

I was tired as hell.

Seeing Kendra rise from her sleeping position and trotting off into the woods caused me to stir.

Suddenly, I was wide awake.