Their eyes lock the instant they meet. For the first time in four months, she is not smoking, not sneering, not grimacing, not spewing angry words and hateful thoughts. Instead, her eyes look tired, stoic, almost resigned. She is dressed only in denim shorts and a white wife beater; even as a wolf, Sam recognizes her simple beauty. And even though Sam can't hear her, he knows exactly what she is thinking.
Kisses and smiles and sunny days spent on the forest floor looking up at tree branches stretching to infinity.
Now it is snowing and the trees are dead.