“Claire!” Emilia yelled, her voice cutting through the stillness.

The figure ahead of her didn’t stop. Instead, Claire picked up her pace, her silhouette darting toward the treeline of the nearby forest.

Emilia pushed herself harder, her breaths coming in sharp gasps as she closed the distance between them. The forest loomed ahead, dark and foreboding, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t let Claire get away—not after what she’d just done.

Her gut told her exactly what this was: a cover-up.

As soon as Emilia stepped into the open air, she spotted Claire moving briskly toward the edge of the pack lands, her hood pulled low to conceal her face....