Evelyn POV
As we stood in the clearing, waiting for the last rescue to be accounted for, I felt my body shaking from exhaustion.
It wasn’t just the physical toll of the mission but the emotional burden of knowing what we had all endured. The memories of the days spent in captivity, the constant fear, and the gnawing hopelessness would not fade easily.
But for now, those memories were overshadowed by the knowledge that we had survived. I had survived.
One of the she-wolves, a girl no older than sixteen, approached me with tears in her eyes. “Thank you, Evelyn,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “We wouldn’t have made it without you.”
I shook my head, a small, tired smile on my lips. “It wasn’t just me. We all fought to survive. You were strong, even when it felt impossible.”
She nodded, but her gaze remained fixed on me, searching for something. “You gave us hope when we had none left. That’s something I’ll never forget.”