There was no movement on the backyard-turned-battleground. Then there was. But it was not Mack or I who had; no, it was Jason. He coiled his muscles and surged through the air like a Dire wolf- in fact, he was easily big enough to be one. Instantly Ronnie and Jimmie filled the space he had vacated, their much smaller masses able to fit into the one space their Alpha had occupied. Aline stood next to Tobi, who stood next to Jimmie, then Ronnie, then, and at this my heart broke, Amy. My best friend- amazing how in such a short time she had become that, but, hey- she had turned on me?

In my studies of our enemies, I had not noticed Mack, who rivaled Jason in size and was likely more than a match for in strength, too; I had not noticed that he crept forward to stand before me. His posturing clearly protective and aggressive, he glared venomous daggers at Jason.

Jason was unaffected. He moved forward calmly, seemingly oblivious to the world around us, the tension and the storm. No, he had eyes only for me.