Page 63 of Wolf Desired

There’s another way. There’s always another way. I’m just too tired to find it.

But my exhaustion and my grief were stronger, and I now knew the truth. That voice was just the last of my foolish hope, a hope that would have me continue to suffer.

Too tired to pay attention to where I was going, I stumbled into a narrow, shaded alley that reeked of rotting food and piss. At the end, sat a large wheeled bin with its lid hanging open and garbage spilling out. Someone had painted an uneven white circle on the bin’s dented metal side and the ground in front of it was littered with broken bottles and ceramic jugs.

Guess even in this realm there were alleys like this. Not that I’d ever been to an alley like this in my realm. I’d only seen them on TV and the internet.

I turned to head back out onto the street, but the sight of the light at the end of the alley and the idea of taking another step was too much. I was exhausted just thinking about moving one more step. I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep.

Maybe when I woke this nightmare would be over.

I huffed to myself.

Who was I kidding? It would never be over and it didn’t really matter where I stopped anyway.

I slid down the alley wall, hugged my knees to my chest, and closed my eyes. Staying here with the broken and discarded things was fitting for a broken and discarded shifter.

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