Chapter 3

I got up the next morning to the sounds of shouting. Immediately I was on edge, pulling myself out of bed slowly. I tried to guess what was going on by the sounds I heard outside, but it was impossible, a disorienting blur of noise.

I got dressed quickly and went to the door. I was hesitant to open it. But the sounds outside grew louder and I didn’t have a choice.

I stepped out into the hall. There were other wolves, the doors to their rooms open. They were hiding, cowering under their beds like children, or packing their belongings in suitcases.

I bristled. Something was very wrong here.

The sounds from outside grew louder and I took off down the hall. I don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t, really. I was blinded by adrenaline as I burst through the door of the packhouse.

I stopped as I saw the chaos. There were bodies on the ground and blood… Christ. I had seen blood before of course but not like this. Not these pools of darkness.

The wolves were fighting. I could tell the two sides by the colors of their fur. The enemies were silver wolves. The pack I was with had brown or gray fur, nothing like the shimmering fur of the enemy pack. But I did recognize them.

Pack Moonblood.

They were made of brutal rouges, gathered together under the loose control of an alpha who really didn’t care what other packs he pissed off. He was willing and ready to wipe out anyone who crossed him or his friends.

But what had Pack Grey done to make him so angry?

The soldiers fought around me, tearing at each other’s throats. The Grey pack wolves fought together, while the Moonblood’s fought with such fury and violence. They didn’t try to form lines or work together, they just attacked brutally.

The Grey pack was doing their best to hold their ground. But gods, there were a lot more Moonblood wolves than the Grey pack could handle. They were outnumbered two to one, and the Moonblood’s were feral with bloodlust.

This battle would not end favorably for me.

I became immediately aware of how vulnerable I was. I crouched by the wall and backed into the shadows. Maybe those other wolves weren’t so wrong to hide under their beds and pack their things to run. I didn’t blame them. No one could have expected the Moonblood’s to attack. Not here.

Which raised the question. Why? Why would they come here?

It doesn’t matter why right now, Ivy.  I reminded myself. It’s not safe here anymore and you need to run right now.

I turned to run when I tripped over a body. I flinched, pulling back, then my heart dropped into my stomach. Alpha Grey. Alpha Grey was at my feet, bleeding. Dead.

I had to be sure. I checked his neck for his pulse, almost frantically, but there was nothing. The deep gashes on his neck and chest testified to how he died. Tragically, painfully, torn apart with teeth and claws.

I was horrified. If the Alpha was dead, the pack was ruined. The battle was over, even if they didn’t realize it. The Moonbloods owned the pack now.

They sure as hell won’t own me.

I didn’t have any other plans, so running seemed reasonable. I backed up further and turned to run into the woods.

But as I did, I ran straight into the chest of a large, armored wolf with silver fur.