I stagger toward the plume of smoke rising above the trees.
I have been in this forest for days, ever since my pack was wiped out.
I was destined to be a luna.
Now I'm just lucky to be alive.
"Someone's approaching!" a voice calls.
I look up. Guards.
They stalk down the hill toward me.
"Who are you?" they ask.
"My name is Victoria," I say.
"Where did you come from?"
"The mountains."
They look skeptical.
"Wolves don't travel alone," the guard says.
"And it's a long way to travel for such a small woman," the seconds adds.
"My pack was killed," I say.
"Killed? All of them?"
A lump rises in my throat.
I do not want to think of the c*****e I left behind.
My mother.
"Yes," I say.
"How do we know you are not a spy?" he says.
"A spy?"
"We have just been attacked by other wolv
