LOGINPOV: Calista RiversOutside, the midnight air made me almost freeze. A cold mist hanging low over the mountain valley, and hiding the movements of the pack as we prepared to leave the camp. Nobody spoke. The only sounds were the soft clinking of iron spears, the sliding of gun barrels into leather holsters and the heavy breathing of three hundred hungry wolves.I stood near the edge of the clearing to wrap a dry wool blanket tight around my chest with my good right arm. My left shoulder was totally numb now, I was beginning to have a heavy ache that pulsed with every beat of my heart. I had used too much magic during the battle at the wall, and my human cells felt like they were made of dry glass. One wrong move, and I felt like I would break into pieces.Kael walked up behind me. He was fully dressed in a dark combat jacket that Elena’s scouts had left in the cabin. The deep cuts on his arm from the hunting hound were tightly bound with white cloth, but I could see dark spots of
POV: Calista RiversThe smoke from the burning drone was very thick and black. It rolled across the muddy ground of the camp, and made my eyes burn and my throat feel dry. I kept my right hand buried deep in Kael’s gray fur. The wolf was still breathing hard and his chest was rising and falling against my knees. Slowly, the burning silver light in his eyes began to fade, turning back into the soft gray color.My own body felt completely empty. The silver light had snapped back inside my skin and left my muscles shaking so hard I could barely stand. My left shoulder felt like a hot iron rod was pushing through the bone.Alpha Magnus stood in front of us, his hands were covered in dark Enforcer blood. He looked up at the high ridge where the rest of the Council soldiers were running away into the dark trees. The blue fires from their cannons were still glowing against the fog, but the shooting had finally stopped. The valley was quiet again, except for the sound of people crying in
POV: Calista RiversThe first big explosion hit the top of the stone wall above us with a giant roar. *BOOM!*The ground shook hard under my muddy boots. The blast knocked two young wolves flat into the dirt. A massive shower of sharp rocks, burning wood, and thick black smoke rained down right into the middle of our camp. The air turned sour right away. It started smelling like burnt gunpowder and the sick smell of Dante’s dark magic."Get the children into the deep caves!" Alpha Magnus yelled. His voice was so loud like thunder bouncing off the cliffs. He ripped off his heavy bear fur coat and threw it into the mud. Under the coat, his arms were covered in thick gray hair. His fingernails grew long and turned into sharp black claws. "Warriors, to the ridge! Do not let them bring those cannons down into the valley"The camp was a complete mess. People were screaming and running in every direction.Kael grabbed my good right arm. His hand was tight and shaking with panic. "Calista
POV: Calista RiversThe mountain trail never seemed to end. The wet mud sucked at the bottoms of my boots, trying to pull me down into the cold earth with every single step. My left shoulder was a knot of pure agony. The tight bandages Elena had wrapped around my chest felt like an iron band that cuts off my breath every time I tried to inhale deeply.I simply kept my eyes locked onto the dark back of Jarek as he led us higher and higher into the dense pine forests of the northern hills.Kael stayed right by my side the entire time. He was like a silent gray ghost in the dark mist. His hand would occasionally reach out to grab my waist to catch my weight whenever my boots slipped on a wet tree root or a loose stone. For every time his skin brushed against mine, the thin soul-thread in my chest flared with heat.Through that invisible bond, I could feel everything Kael was thinking. His mind was no longer a chaotic mess of panic. It had settled into a heavy state of absolute focus.
POV: Calista RiversJarek turned around without waiting to see if we were following him. He walked along the narrow concrete ledge, his long wool coat flapping against his boots like a dark sail. Kael looked down at me, his silver eyes still scanning my face for any signs of collapse. He reached down with his good hand, his grip tight and warm against my freezing skin, and helped me stand up.My broken collarbone throbbed with a sickening, heavy rhythm. I forced my legs to straighten, locking my knees to keep from sliding back into the black river."Can you walk?" Kael asked, his voice low and tight with anxiety."I can walk" I said. My voice didn't sound like mine anymore.We followed Jarek through a hidden iron door built straight into the massive concrete base of the bridge pillar. We walked inside a narrow staircase climbed upward through the hollow belly of the structure. It was dark, smelling of stale water, mold, and wet dog. The loud roar of the traffic above grew louder wit
POV: Calista RiversThe river hit us like a falling brick wall.The freezing water slammed into my face and quickly made its way into my nose and mouth. The impact tore my hand right out of Kael’s grip. The black current was too strong, it spinned my body around and around like a piece of dead wood. I couldn't tell which way was up or which was down. Everything was just total blackness.My lungs felt like they were going to burst inside my chest. The tight cloth bandages around my ribs and shoulder grew heavy with water dragging my body down into the deep muck. The sharp pain in my broken collarbone was a steady, blinding scream in my mind.*Fight it* my brain ordered. *Do not open your mouth. Kick your legs.*I forced my boots to move, pumping my legs hard against the heavy pull of the river. My head finally broke through the rough surface. I gasped loudly in the cold night air and a mouthful of dirty river water. The freezing rain was still falling in hard sheets and blurring the







