POV: Marcus Blackwood
The ground shook under a thousand paws.
I led my entire pack through the dark woods, running faster than I had in twenty years. Behind me came every single wolf from Pine Ridge - mothers carrying pups, elderly wolves who could barely keep up, teenagers who had never seen a real fight.
"Alpha Marcus!" called my beta, running beside me. "The children's call is getting weaker!"
I could feel it too. The babies' cry for help was fading, which meant they were running out of strength. We had to reach them before it was too late.
Hold on, little ones, I thought, pushing my old legs to run faster. Grandpa is coming.
When I saw Ember's cabin through the trees, my heart nearly stopped. The place was surrounded by more enemies than I had ever seen. Shadow wolves with glowing red eyes formed a thick circle around the small house. Their dark fur seemed to swallow the moonlight.
