Chapter 19
My speed didn’t increase to match Dakota’s initial sprint but she didn’t leave me. Instead, the other female tugged at my sleeve and swore at my failings as I woozily followed her lead between thickets of trees and bare bramble stalks. The fuzziness I’d expected when the needle first pricked my skin now descended upon me like a leaden weight, while behind our backs a werewolf howled.
Or, no, wait. That was a dog. To track us as we stumbled toward our waiting vehicle? In response to the newfound danger, I tried and failed to pick up my pace. But it was simply impossible to move faster when shoes dragged across damp leaf mold, every fourth step catching on something that slowed my already snail-like stride.
“Calisthenics morning, noon, and evening,” my boss muttered in reaction
