Blood pounding in her ears, she raced down darkened streets, the only light that of the full moon just peeking out from behind the clouds. Her breathing came in gasps, her lungs burning, her legs weak from exertion. Off in the distance, too far ahead of her, she could just see the glowing lights of Berlin, only barely starting to wake up, so early in the morning – or late at night. But without a watch, she had no way of knowing the time except by the sunrise. How far had she come? She had run so far, the kilometers had started to blend together, small villages merging into larger cities merging into farmland and back. How long had she been on the move? Her feet ached from the hard pavement. The soles of her shoes had nearly worn through from hard use.

Pausing to catch her breath, Lucie braced her hand against the concrete pillar of an underpass, leaning over and forcing herself to breathe deeply. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest; resting her back against the pillar, she sank down lower, clutching her chest, and swallowed. Finally, she let out a breath, resting the back of her head against the pillar, and ran her fingers through her long, scraggly hair.

Maybe she had finally lost her pursuers.

Over a week she had been on the run, her only plan to elude those who had to be coming after her. Her own people had turned on her – he had declared her to be a traitor to her people! All because she had said that she wouldn't bend to his will. That she would not follow his insane plan for their people. But now she was an outcast, with nowhere to go. Where would she be safe? Who would be willing to help her? The others were far too strong, far too powerful for her to fight on her own; if she tried, they would kill her, and the end result would be the same as if she'd never said anything. But she couldn't just give up and return home.

But there had to be someone who could help.

The Heroes of Paris. They had been in the news for years, the way that they had fought and stopped Hawk Moth, how they had kept their city safe. The way they had defeated that monster in the spring. Surely the Heroes of Paris would be willing to help her stop them. But the Heroes of Paris were in Paris; she was in Germany. And she didn't have the time to go to Paris on the off chance that she could find the Heroes of Paris and enlist their help. She had needed to find someone closer to home who would be able to help her stop them. And unfortunately, that only left a single option.

She'd heard stories about the metal-clad man – the Teutonic Knight. Growing up, the older members of the pack had spoken of him in hushed tones: an honorable and noble warrior, one who seemed implacable and unmoving in his convictions. And so often, his goals had been antithetical to theirs, placing them on opposite sides in the conflict. Only once had the Teutonic Knight and the pack fought on the same side. Her stomach clenched. That occasion was not a good memory for the pack – and the Teutonic Knight had conformed to it. What would happen this time? How many times over the centuries had the Teutonic Knight stood against and fought Lucie's forbears? How many of them had fallen to his sword? Why should this time be any different? Why shouldn't he attack her, the moment he found out what she was and where she came from? And yet… She swallowed back bile. He had the strength, the power to withstand the pack. And he was close. Maybe he was the one who could help her.

Unfortunately, at the moment, she didn't exactly have many other options.

Holding two fingers to her neck, she checked her pulse: back to normal. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, stretching her shoulders and arms. Straightening up, she looked back and forth along the quiet, deserted road that would take her into the city. Sighing, she started north at a brisk jog, hugging the side of the road as closely as possible. The sooner she got to the city, the sooner she might find the Heroes of Berlin.

But would the Heroes of Berlin even want to help someone like her? She was nobody – at least, compared to these heroes. She and her people were outsiders. The pack had been reviled and discriminated against for a thousand years – why should it be any different today?

Yet how many other choices did she really have?

Lucie could see Berlin in the distance, drawing closer only slowly with each step she traveled. She could move faster… but it would draw far too much attention, especially now, especially with the village around her starting to come to life. A few vehicles passed her, doubtless on their way into the city. A truck lumbered away from Berlin, and Lucie moved into the grass along the side of the road, trying to avoid notice as best she could. The road went up a hill above the highway, and Lucie's legs pumped hard as she pushed herself up, looking either direction for anyone close enough to spot her.

A deep bay sounded in the distance.

She froze, her ears perked up, and she cocked her head slightly in that direction. How had they found her?

Above all else, she couldn't let them catch her! If they did, they would kill her, and there would be no one left to stop them, no one left to save her people from this insanity! Pausing at the top of the overpass, she looked in either direction, searching for somewhere she might be able to hide. But there was nothing: a few houses on either side of the highway, a couple of trees. Nothing that she could use. A car horn blared from the roadway. Below her, traffic had picked up along the highway. Her eyes widened in realization, spotting a garbage truck barreling down the highway in her direction. Just before the truck passed beneath her, she gritted her teeth and jumped off the overpass, bracing herself for the landing, holding her legs together and bending her knees.

The smell nearly overwhelmed her. Opening her eyes, she could see nothing around her but garbage – more than she ever would have cared to see in her life. Bile came up in her mouth as the stench invaded her nostrils. She had somehow managed to land in a pile of used diapers and week-old kitchen waste at the same time. But if the smell forced her to gag… maybe it would be enough to throw her pursuers off her scent.

At least for now.

At least until she could find help.