CHAPTER TWELVE

I am still too wiped out to make it very far, but the sound of a branch breaking has woken me up. My head is pounding, and I feel like I'm hungover, even though I didn't have anything to drink last night.

Still, I don't have time to wallow.

I am terrified that the guards are going to find me, and I know I can't defend myself against them. I'm not strong enough to take down even one of them, and there's no way I could take on all of them at once.

The Alpha was their leader.  They won't hesitate to attack me if they see me.

There's a snap of another branch, and I know I have to get away.  I don't know if it's the guards, but I can't stay here.

I get up and start running, hoping that I'll be able to outrun whoever it is.

I run as fast as I can, but I don't get far. Within seconds, I have lost my footing and fallen into a mud pit.

I feel the mud seep into my skin and clothes, and I know this is it.

Whoever, or whatever, this is, they're going to find me. I'm stuck here, and there'