Verret's Pov

It's been more than a week since I last saw her.

A week of waking up, breathing, walking, and pretending that living still made sense.

A week of going through the same pathetic cycle-eat a little, shift, run until my paws burned, shift back, stare at the sky until sunrise, and run again.

A week of pretending I wasn't counting my remaining days.

It was almost funny.

A century ago, kings feared me. Packs whispered my name like a curse. Enemies prayed I'd never look their way.

And now?

I was spending the last days of my life pacing like a lost wolf, slowly rotting away because I...