Running came after dark began. Night swallowed their footsteps whole.
Five figures stood there now, fur thick under the moonlight. Wolves every one. Never before had they changed at once like this. The air hummed between them.
Sage led.
It wasn't how she saw it going. Kieran should have led - he had the path mapped, set the target, thought through every move. Yet once they changed shape and lined up, the four Alphas moved close, circling without a word. Not trailing. Close on all sides.
Off to her right moved Rhett - a broad-shouldered brown wolf, limping just enough to show the old wound still pulled at him. He stayed close, though, pushing forward because he always does. Through their link, he felt solid, not loud or bright, more like heat left in stones after sunset.
