No great speeches heralded our purpose that night. Nor did any follow early the next morning, when my Pack rose well before the break of dawn and began making our preparations to depart.I spent the night wrapped comfortingly in Cillium's arms, feeling his gentle breath cascading down the back of my neck -- and for a just moment, I could almost forget the gnawing dread that waited just over my shoulder. I was at peace... and yet I slept fitfully. Panic lurked just beneath the surface of my most pleasant dreams.The first task of the morning was getting food into everyone's bellies and shaking the cobwebs from our heads. Thankfully, our supplies still allowed for a hearty breakfast, which I'd attempted to plan for from the beginning. I decided to let us warm up whatever we could by rekindling our small fire from the previous night. At this altitude I wasn't very

Everything happened slowly at first. Then, like the tumbling rocks themselves, things began picking up speed, until they had reached – and even seemed to surpass – their normal pace.For me, anyway. As a Pack, we took off down the mountain like a box of explosives starting to crackle all at once.The result would be loud, chaotic... and with any luck, deadly.*Run! For the Alpha!!!* Surry cried. The chant was quickly taken up by the others."For our HOME" I breathed.Our feet ransacked the snow and gravel in a torrential pounding. Ahead the gr

My face hit the snow with tremendous force. For a moment, my world went too dim for sight or sound, but I vaguely heard a ringing in my ears and felt the large mass pressed against my body ease up somewhat, then redouble in its efforts to crush me.But nothing cracked. In neither my face nor in my body, nothing seemed to give way, of that I was fairly sure. Probably.I gasped for breath and struggled to keep my eyes open. Black spots danced across my vision. Instinctively, my hand began reaching out across the earth, hoping to find some kind of purchase – anything – that might serve me.The man above me dug his claws haphazardly into my neck, feeling around clumsily. His movements seemed desperate, hasty. If anything,

Chains clinked and snapped this way and that, but to Rufias it seemed that there were always more to be broken."Get yourselves to a safe distance!" Surry called as the last of the prisoners became free. "If you can't defend yourself, we will escort you! Oh, Fawn, your arm is bleeding..."Always more chains. This wasn't the first time.That didn't stop his eyes from tearing up, as Rufias embraced one after another of his beloved family, each thought to be lost, before ushering them on their way out of the old warehouse and into the sunlight.*The battle’s almost over* he whispered to his mate, *but I haven't seen any sign of the big one.

~ Cillium ~*Rayla! Rayla? Can you hear me? I'm coming! I... I'm fine!*Damnit! Why wasn't she responding? Was she hurt? Was she... 'Will you calm down a bit?' That wolfish voice inside my chest scolded me bitterly. 'You're losing too much blood as it is. Don't kill yourself just trying to reach to her, she's not worth it anyway.'I bit my lip, feeling the blood forming in my mouth. It tasted all too familiar.'