The direwolf allowed her no mercy.
Dawn shattered across the ice fields in shards of gold and crimson, and already Reign was running. Her lungs burned with each ragged breath, her legs screamed protests that went unheeded, but the ancient creature showed no sign of slowing its relentless pace.
It streaked ahead like living winter made flesh, silver fur catching the early light as it navigated treacherous terrain with supernatural grace. Every leap across crevasses, every bound up ice-slick cliffs demanded that she match its impossible standards or be left behind.
"Keep up," her wolf spirit snarled from the depths of her consciousness, its voice growing stronger with each day of brutal training. "Or die forgotten in the snow."
They chased mountain elk across precipices that would have t
