âWe are coming, Amie,â Martin mind linked me.
âBe careful. There are a lot of them outside. I can keep the cave safe for a while if they discover it. Donât do anything foolish,â I told him. I heard the wolf outside get closer. My wolf and I both focused on the sound. I could tell the moment the wolf saw the opening, they stopped moving and I could hear them scenting the air. There was no way they could avoid catching my scent now that they focused on the opening. A growl was heard and it was accompanied by others. Oh great, they have made up in order to kill us, I thought. The moment I saw a black paw in the opening of the cave, I lunged at it and sank my claws into it before drawing back just as quickly. The paw disappeared back out and a new set of growls was heard. Next a grey wolf tried to rush into the cave. They hadnât taken the size of the cave into account and their forward movement halted as they lowered themself to the ground. I again jumped forward, and this time I swiped at their eyes with my claws. They turned their heads at the last second, but couldnât turn all the way because of the narrow opening. My claws ripped deep gouges into their cheek and I shredded their left ear. They roared and tried to swipe out their claws at me. I jumped back and due to their awkward position, they couldnât pursue me. I jumped forward again. This time I aimed my claws at their throat and shoulder. The grey wolf turned around and snapped its teeth at my paw. I withdrew it to avoid the razor-sharp teeth, but in doing so, I left my left shoulder exposed. I could feel the claws digging into it and I roared. I took a page out of the attackerâs book and bent down and sank my teeth into its paw. It was their turn to roar in pain, and I clamped down my jaw and refused to let go. They struggled against my bite, but they were only halfway inside the cave and the small opening restricted their movements. I could hear their pack mates outside, trying to push past them to help. But there wasnât enough space. I heard the bones in the paw snapping and I felt it beneath my teeth. I wanted to spit it out, it felt gross as the warm blood seeped into my mouth. But I steeled myself. As long as I had their paw, they were stuck, and the boys were safe. I growled and put more pressure on my jaws.
The grey wolf whimpered and in a desperate attempt to get free, they put weight on the paw in my mouth. The unexpected extra weight made me lean my bad shoulder against the cave wall. I growled and as I did, my opponent yanked on their paw and with a loud yelp they freed it. But it was badly mangled. Pieces of flesh and skin had been ripped from it and I spit them out. The grey wolf retreated slowly from the cave, its mangled paw held as high above the ground as it could manage. I growled as loudly as I could and inflated myself to look as big as possible. My red wolf took up almost the entirety of the cave. My growl got a response this time. A familiar growl came as a reply and it was followed by a group of others. Martin and the group of warriors he had taken had arrived. I heard the commotion when the two groups collided. A whimper escaped from the boys behind me. I put my tail over them, it was the only comfort I could provide. There was still at least one wolf outside the opening to the cave. Probably to keep me from attacking the back of the group fighting Martin. I wouldnât have joined the fight even if I could have. My duty was to keep the boys safe. If the wolf outside the cave hadnât been there, I would have tried to sneak them out while the others were distracted. But now I had to wait. The wounds in my shoulder made me less agile, and I wasnât confident I would win in a fight against the wolf guarding us. I knew I couldnât afford to lose, so I had to wait and listen to the sounds of the battle.
The air was filled with the scent of blood and death. I couldnât tell from the sound and scent who was winning. I didnât want to mindlink the ones fighting, afraid I would distract them. My ears strained to pick up sounds from the wolves that were a part of my pack. I heard a sound I wished I hadnât. Martin growled and his growl slowly faded, I could hear him struggling to keep it going, as if he refused to give in. My wolf growled and as Martinâs growl started to fade into nothing, my growl turned into a whimper.
âHe will need you. Stay safe, little sister,â Martin mindlinked me. When I tried to reply, to tell him to hang in there. I was met by emptiness, there was nothing to connect to even though I desperately tried. I needed to connect to him. I needed him to be okay. The alternative was unthinkable. My wolfâs whine turned into a howl. That is when it hit us all. The raw pain radiation from our Alpha. Finlays sorrow and pain felt like a physical punch and I was almost on my way to charge the offending wolf outside the cave. I needed an outlet for the pain and the grief.
âAmie,â Cadence said, his voice weak, full of fear and pain. It stopped my attack. I backed further into the cave to press myself against the two boys.
âIt will be okay,â I mindlinked them, even if I knew it wouldnât.
âWhatâs wrong with the Alpha? Is he hurt?â Jon linked back. I realised they hadnât understood the meaning of Martinâs growl, they didnât know.
âHe will be okay. Itâs not something that will stop him,â I said. As I said it the wave of immense pain from Finlay stopped.
He had closed himself off to stop the pain from affecting the pack. He put it on his own shoulders and isolated himself for the good of the pack. For now. He will need you. Martinâs words rang in my head. My human part desperately wanted to cry, my wolf part wanted to leave the cave and rip every single wolf outside to pieces. Neither of us did what we wanted.
Instead, I pressed my body against the boys and my wolf growled continuously in a long, deep growl from the belly. We both hoped one of the enemy wolves would dare to set a paw inside the cave. We craved the outlet of anger and revenge. As I listened, I could hear how more of our pack arrived, the intruders were soon outnumbered.
âYou can come out. The boyâs mothers are waiting on the top of the hill,â Sam mindlinked me.
âWe can get out of here now. I want the two of you to grab hold of my tail really well. When we get out of the cave, I want you to look up towards the top of the hill. Do not look down. Do you understand?â I linked the boys.
âYes Amie,â they both said as one.
Just a heads up: novel5s.com is the only place to read the complete version of this book for free. Donât miss out on the next chapterâvisit us now and continue your journey!
âYou have both been really good and done a good job. Your parents will be so proud of you,â I told them as we moved forward. It was a little awkward getting out of the cave. The boys had been inside it for a long time and their muscles were cold and stiff. Outside, I used my claws to make sure both I and the boys could scale the steep incline. I tried to make sure there were trees and bushes blocking the view below us, in case they got curious and wanted a look. Pain radiating from my shoulder, but I blocked it from my mind. There was a bigger pain in my chest and I focused on getting us safe to the top of the hill. When we got up there, the boysâ mothers engulfed their sons in tight hugs and looked them over.
âThank you Amie,â Shelly told me. I nodded at them and turned around to head down to where the fight had taken place. When I cleared the bushes and could see the forest floor below me, I would see the massacre. There were dead wolves everywhere. I tried to take stock and concluded I didnât recognise most of them. I saw Martinâs brown wolf laying a little up the hill. I steered my steps towards him. My wolf nudged him with its nose, waiting to see if its friend would stand again. When the nudge didnât get a response, both me and my wolf sighed. I looked up and saw where Finlay and Sam stood, both had their focus on a badly injured wolf. I scented the air as I walked closer. Alpha Jackson. A growl escaped me. Both Finlay and Sam turned their heads to look at me. I could see the pain and anger in them both. Finlay looked down at my shoulder.
âYou are hurt,â he linked. I shrugged, which was a bad move as the pain got worse and made me flinch.
âItâs nothing,â I told him. âWhat do we do now?â I asked.