She was climbing out of the large cage, her knees shaking as she pulled herself upright. Her black hair was short and ragged and matted with mud, cut unevenly in a way that suggested it had not been done with any care. She exhaled a short sharp breath when she fully straightened, the effort of it visible in her face.
Sean crossed the distance to her in an instant, reaching out to take her arm. She stumbled backward with a sound of fear, words tumbling out of her before she could stop them. Sean froze immediately and held both hands up, palms open, making himself as still and non-threatening as something his size could manage. He kept his eyes on her, steady and patient, not pushing forward.
She studied him from the closed posture of someone who had learned that stillness was safer than movement. I could see how much effort it was costing him to stay where he was, to hold his wolf back and let her set the pace.
