Chapter 14

• The rest of the evaluation proceeded in oppressive silence. Inside the cages, the girls trembled, their fear almost palpable. Those whose blood had already been examined whispered desperate prayers, hoping they had proven "worthy" to avoid whatever horrors awaited the unchosen.
• I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, fury burning in every cell of my body. This is wrong! We are not merchandise—not objects they can sell or discard if we don’t meet their twisted expectations! The words screamed inside my head, a futile rebellion.
• The metallic tang of drying blood hung heavy in the air, nauseating and oppressive. The sight of it, the smell of it, made me sick, but my mind wouldn’t let go of the girl’s last words. Her daughter—she’d never see her mother again. She had wanted to live, deserved to live! Illness or not, she could have had more time. What kind of monsters could do this? Even wolves were never this calculated, this cruel.