Tessa didn’t know where she was running anymore.

Her legs moved on their own—small, frantic steps that couldn’t match the chaos inside her head. The image of the iron still burned behind her eyes like it had been branded into her vision. Grayson’s scream still echoed in her ears, even though she had already left the house.

She couldn’t breathe properly.

The world felt… wrong. Tilted. Too loud.

Then… A sharp bark cut through the air.

Tessa froze mid-step.

From the side of the narrow path, a large dog had broken loose from its chain. A Rottweiler, massive and muscular, foam gathering slightly at the corners of its mouth as...