Chapter 1 - The Fraying Thread
The sound of snapping nylon was louder than the howling Alaskan wind.
Titan’s jaws, built for tearing through debris and subduing combatants, worked relentlessly against the thick paracord binding my wrists.
The icy spruce bark scraped against my bare skin, but the cold was already a merciful anesthetic.
Snap.
The tension gave way.
I collapsed forward into the powder, my frozen hands entirely useless.
I couldn't even use them to brace my fall.
Titan was instantly over me, his massive black frame blocking the brunt of the blizzard.
He didn't bark—he knew better.
Instead, he shoved his scarred snout under my neck, forcing my head up to keep my airways clear of the suffocating snow.
My heart, the same heart the naval surgeon said was failing, hammered a desperate rhythm against my shattered ribs.
Julian.
My husband.
He hadn't just abandoned me; he had orchestrated my execution.
I had to move.
If I stayed in the snowbank, Sylvia’s cruel prediction would come true.
"Up, Titan," I wheezed, my voice barely a rattle.
I used my elbows to drag my upper body toward the base of the tree.
The paralyzing cold was creeping from my extremities to my core.
I grabbed Titan’s heavy leather harness with my teeth, using his upward momentum to pull myself onto my good leg.
We were completely blind in the whiteout, but Titan’s nose was to the wind.
He bumped my hip, urging me away from the logging trail and into the dense, dark timber.
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He had a direction.
I had no choice but to follow.
