Working quickly, I dropped the backpack to the ground and stripped out of my clothes. I tucked them into the bag and bent forward, shifting easily into the wolf that longed to come out and play.
And I was happy to oblige her desires.
Standing tall, I wandered to the edge of the river where the line of boulders ended. Destiny and Viola shouted something as the sickening crunch of the branch cracked through the night. The branch was quickly breaking apart. They didn’t have much time.
But I didn’t need much time. I had years of anger, resentment, and fury all coiled inside my petite form. Let them come. Let them get what they deserve.
The three wolves bounced from rock to rock, drawing closer as I backed toward the treeline. I released a low growl of warning as they hit dry land and spread out. I knew this game.
I had played it so many times before. Didn’t they know that by now?
A massive gray wolf stepped forward as the two brown wolves spread on either side of me. This wasn’t a fight—this was a hunt and kill situation. They wouldn’t hesitate to snap my throat in half.
I glanced toward Claude who had lunged into the first wolf. The other two hung back, watching the scene unfold. They weren’t paying attention to me. Yet.
I focused on the wolves around me, calculating precisely where they might attack and how I could respond. My mind was clear, my heart was open, and my instincts were on full blast, carrying me forward into the situation. I just hoped they would carry me out of it, too.
I had to protect Daddy. I had to protect his pup.
Even if it was the last thing I ever did.