"Kade, Renn," Dante barked, his voice sharp in the night air. "Flank Laura. Don't let them near her."
Two wolves moved instantly to Laura's sides—Kade with his broad shoulders and Renn with his quick, watchful eyes. The pair who had accompanied Dante when he came for her in Zephyr's territory.
"I can fight," Laura protested, gripping her knife tighter.
Dante's eyes met hers for just a second. "I know. But we don't know what these things are."
The strange wolves charged without warning. They moved as one unit, their black eyes fixed on the patrol. Laura's heart hammered against her ribs as the forest erupted into chaos.
A creature with matted gray fur lunged at Renn, who dodged sideways and slashed at its flank. Blood sprayed from the wound, black and thick like tar, but the wolf didn'
