Who She Is

*Rafe*

My horse whinnies, and I pat his neck to steady him. He’s not a fan of wolf shifters. I can’t say that I blame him. It’s not like he’s been around a lot of them, and even though these folks are all in human form, not wolf, it still makes him uneasy to be around savage predatorial beasts.

Gazing through the trees, I see malnourished, dirty young people and almost laugh at myself for ever thinking to describe them that way. They are not a threat to my horse or me.

The urge to go closer, to further inspect them, is overwhelming, but I fight it. I’d just as soon stay in the shadows and let my advisors and guards handle this business. They’ve all arrived here in plenty of time to prepare for the culling tonight the best they can. My understanding from talking to King Axel is that I just need to make sure that every village sent at least twenty people and that no one runs away before this thing begins. I have guards stationed everywhere throughout the forest and around the transport