Fear, that was the right word to decribe what Rhiannon was feeling: fear. Perhaps, for the first time in so many years, she was afraid of something she couldn't control, something other than dying, and that was being locked up.

She didn't know if she had been minutes, hours or days in that room, but all her instincts seemed to awaken when she heard the almost imperceptible click at the door. The spongy floor helped her crawl to it in complete silence, and with the tip of her index finger she pushed it open.

She felt her heart might leap out of her chest when a small crack opened and she realized it was unlocked.

“Raksha!” she called to her she-wolf and felt her stir in her tormented consciousness.

“Are you all right?” she asked her.

“I think we might have a friend here. Look.” She felt the she-wolf's eyes emerge into hers and then jump with happiness.

“We're free...! Wait!” she paused and the two sniffed, synchronized. “Aidan's not around, I can't sense him.”

“Me neither.”

Rhiannon cr