章 1: The beginning
Alpha Casper footsteps thundered down the cave.
The wolf within him fought for freedom; his only coherent thought, protect the pack.
His vision blurred as the wolf fought for control over his body. The wolf saw only the immediate threat; the man saw the consequences of each course of action. And right now, he needed to make sure that his immediate family was out of harm's way.
He needed to reach Evelyn, his son, and daughter.
Needed to reach them, needed to warn them, needed to save them.
He pushed his legs to run faster.
The mountain shook as the canons beat against it.
He had to get them out of the mountain; that was his first priority.
The growls of wolves echoed through the chambers, bouncing through the walls, driving home the fact that Casper's family was in danger.
The park was being attacked, and the members were rising to action.
Hopefully, he could get everyone evacuated before there was too much loss.
He skidded around the corner into his bedchambers to find it empty.
"Evelyn!" he cried.
He ran into the adjoining room that his children shared, but his son bed was rumpled and empty, and so was his daughter cradle.
He called out his mate's name again, his fear slowly rising each second he couldn't locate his family.
"Casper!" his mate's voice reached his ears.
She was close, but not in their chambers.
He ran further down the hall to find his mate, their five-year-old son, their newborn daughter, and his sister Morgana and her mate, Xavier. The group was in the process of fleeing the mountain, and they looked as relieved to see him as he was to see them.
The wolf within him calmed at the sight of his family.
The beast relented its battle for freedom for the moment.
His family paused in their race toward the exit to greet him.
"Casper," Evelyn's voice was full of relief.
"What's happening?"
Casper folded her into his arms, his son between their knees and their daughter cradled between their bodies.
He buried his nose in her red hair, inhaling her scent, letting it fill him with reassurance.
He would get her and their children to safety.
He had to.
"The humans, they snuck up on us while we were all sleeping," he said into her hair.
"They have cannons and archers and silvers. We need to get out of here." Casper lifted his head to address Morgana and Xavier as well.
"How?" Xavier asked.
His question was not a challenge, but a pledge of loyalty.
He would follow his Alpha's guidance, no matter what it took.
Casper met his eye in acknowledgement.
"Follow me, I have an idea," he stated and took off down the hall.
As he took off running, he grabbed his son, who was trembling in fear.
They needed to move fast and while his son was faster than human boys, he would never have been able to keep up with the adults.
"Daddy," His son whimpered as Casper ran deeper into the mountain.
The boy little head was tucked into the crook of his father's neck, bouncing with each step.
Casper clutched him tighter, his strong arms keeping a steel grip on his offspring.
A deafening crash sounded above them, causing the boy to jump and bury himself further into Casper's s chest with a small cry.
"It's alright. Everything will be okay."
Although Casper was aware that it wasn't.
Half of the pack strongest males were away on a mission to drive the Wildlings further from the pack, and the humans were getting better at fighting them; they were learning the weaknesses of the wolves.
Another impact shook the walls around them, and Casper knew that this time a wolf had collided with the stone.
One of his pack, his family, who were trying to protect them, was just thrown into the side of their home.
This brought his rage even closer to the surface, efficiently replacing the fear, and the wolf within him fought to break free once again.
That couldn't happen inside the narrow hallway, so Casper clutched his son even tighter to gain back some control over his emotions.
Protect the pack.
He looked over his shoulder to check on his small group.
Evelyn was directly behind him, holding their daughter to her chest protectively.
He was shocked to see that the tiny bundle was quiet and calm, despite the excitement going on around her.
Morgana was close behind Evelyn with Xavier bringing up the rear.
Xavier gave him a nod of acknowledgement.
He knew that his second-in-command had his back no matter what.
That fact gave him the will to run faster.
He wasn't tired yet, but his worry ate away at him.
What if the exit that he had in mind had been collapsed or the humans had found it?
What if they couldn't get away in time?
The second he will be out, he was going to give the signal to have his pack retreat.
No matter how fast the humans' steeds were, there wasn't a horse alive that could keep up with a wolf.
They entered a part of the mountain that likely hadn't been traveled in months.
There were no torches lighting the way and the air was cool and damp. Luckily, Casper had lived in these mountains all his life and knew every tunnel there was to know. And he knew that this one led to the side of the mountain that was opposite the one that was being attacked.
They continued onward in the complete blackness, relying on their senses to keep from running into walls on slight turns.
His followers trusted him wholeheartedly and said nothing as they ran after him into the bowels of the mountain.
After what felt like hours of running, but in reality was less than ten minutes, a dim light could be seen.
The entrance to the tunnel.
He smiled in relief; they had reached the base of the mountain.
The tunnel opened into a large cavern with a slightly smaller opening that a wolf could just fit through without getting stuck.
It was the perfect escape hatch.
"Alright," he set his son down and wiped the tears from the little boy's cheeks.
His emerald green eyes were red and puffy, and snot was running from his pudgy nose as he hiccuped.
"I need you to be a tough little man, alright? Will you shift for me, huh?"
The boy shook his head vigorously.
He had only shifted once before, on the last full moon when he was finally old enough to shift for the first time.
The full moon forced everyone to shift, which wasn't a big deal unless it was the first time.
Xavier knew from experience that the first shift was difficult, scary, and painful.
Poor boy had had a rough time of it and couldn't shift back for a few days after the full moon, but that was common amongst first time shifters.
Now the little boy was scared to shift again.
Tbc
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