He pounded through the door, and not even an instant later I, too, ducked through the door. We dashed across the deck, down the steps and across the yard. Stopping at the tree line, we both looked back. Standing on the deck was five figures, a single human form, three wolf forms, and one cat form. We couldn’t see colors or features due to the light from the inside of the large house— practically mansion.

But one wolf stood at the forefront. The lights in the house suddenly went out, and thunder rolled over our heads as night fell. The wind had been picking up steadily all day, and now the storm was coming. Jason’s jade green eyes glittered with anger as they tracked across the land, searching us out.

We could tell when he saw us. My glinting gold and Mack’s shimmering blue, how could you miss us? Lightning touched down not a mile away, the blue streaks like God touching the earth. The humidity of a summer night making all our fur stand on end, we faced off, none wavering.