POV: Aphrodite
Fear strips away hesitation.
The attack comes at dusk, three days after Kade's retreat. We've been preparing constantly, setting traps and defensive positions, but nothing fully readies you for the moment violence actually arrives.
They don't come with full force. That would be too honest, too direct. Instead, Nightfang sends enough wolves to provoke without committing. Testing our defenses. Measuring our resolve. Trying to separate us so we're easier to pick off individually.
It's working.
Chaos erupts across our makeshift camp. Wolves burst from the tree line on three sides simultaneously, coordinated and vicious. Not aiming to kill, I realize quickly. Aiming to scatter. To break our formation and isolate targets.
I'm fighting two wolves at once when a third crashes into me from the side, knocking me off balance. My Direwolf reflexes save me from the worst of the impact, but I stumble backward, away from the others.
Away from safety.
