'Thud.'
I hit the ground hard.
My body skidded a few meters across the snow before finally coming to a stop.
I lay there for a second, staring up at the shifting gloom.
The iron grip on my ankle released me.
Groaning, I pushed myself up to a sitting position. My clothes were torn and my skin stung from the friction, yet I was alive.
Which was a bit surprising since I expected to be attacked and torn apart the moment I was separated from the group.
Instead, I had merely been dragged here; not a single monster laid a hand on me.
'But where am I?' I squinted, my eyes adjusting to the deeper darkness of this secluded spot.
Just as I turned my head, I met a pair of violet eyes staring at me.
'It is that wolf!' I instantly recognized it.
The shadow wolf was sitting on its haunches ten meters away, watching me with a calm, unblinking gaze.
'No... It's not the same.' I realized.
My instincts screamed at me instantly.
This was different.
