After my mother was murdered, I decided to leave him

“Miss Holly, we have found a body. The features match your mother. We need you to come to the pack hall for identification.”

My smile, reflected in the polished metal mirror of the bridal hut, shattered with a single message delivered by the patrol runner.

When the healers pulled back the hide-covered shroud, her body was hardly recognizable. Her eyes were gone. Her core and organs torn out, as if some creature had fed on her life essence.

I fell to the ground, screaming until my voice broke, and the world faded into darkness.