An hour? Two? It didn’t matter. He’d searched aimlessly in vain for what seemed like forever, running through the trees like a creature possessed, all to no avail. Ali was long gone.He should have known better than to think he’d be able to find her. No one could ever find Ali while they played hide-and-seek when they were young, and no one had been able to detect her trail when she’d abandoned her pack all those years ago.Brad’s claws arched in and out of his forepaws as he walked, head hung low, sniffing the ground for the slightest scent that would lead him to her. His muscles burned with exhaustion.The sun hadn’t yet made its way across the horizon, but the moon had begun its descent, and the pale silvery beams that had been his constant companions since he’d begun his pursuit had drifted away into nothingness. Dark, gloomy shadows slithered on the ground, taunting him, whispering bleak words that spoke of betrayal and cunning deceit. But most of all, they mocked him with memories of his own weakness, his inability to face reality head-on.Memories best left forgotten slid across his mind.
