Page 98 of Pack Captive

Shadow wolves dissolved into heaps of ash, mixing with the slurry of blood and mud under our paws.

Ryden ripped a shadow wolf apart, and the spirit wolves ran through the village, tearing apart the last of them.

I staggered back to the pups, my legs feeling weak.

The spirit wolf licked the little girl’s forehead as the pup cried, then dissolved into mist.

Every last shadow wolf was dead.

The threat is gone for now,Ryden told the pack.Reassemble, and search for survivors.

We might have driven out the threat…but looking at the pups, who were huddled together and shaking, their entire pack lost...I didn’t feel like we’d won at all.

30

Ayla

I heldthe funeral rites for the dead right there in the village.

It wasn't ideal, not without the moon overhead and the stink of smoke still hanging over their village, but as the Warriors tended to the pups and cleaned their wounds, Ryden and Calian helped me build a funeral pyre.

"They'll need a place to come back to," I told them, carefully laying yet another dead wolf on the oil-soaked boards. "Somewhere to feel a connection to their ancestors."

I regretted not being able to bring back any of the pups' family, but I'd do my best.

After we lit the pyre, I drew on the moon's light, letting the cool blue flames engulf the bodies and rapidly consume them.

In seconds, only ashes would remain.

I said a few words for them, even though I didn't know them at all, and sent them off with the traditional, "Go to the moon, and become its light."

When the last of the flames burned out, the Alpha and his Second helped me collect some of the ashes in jars, which I would bring back to the Lykos necropolis.

It was the least I could do for the pups. They would have their own family vault and somewhere to visit with the memories of their people.

One of the Guardians, who was strapped down with packs, took the jar and promised to deliver it straight to the Elder Caller.

Then we left for Lykos.

It wasn't easy. The pups cried, and their little feet grew sore. We had them shift into their human forms and cling to the backs of the Warriors, who carried them the whole way back to the city.

When we arrived at Lykos, it was already well into the evening of the next day.

Calian's steps slowed as we entered the city.I'll go with the Claws and find new families for them, he told us.

Ask my people, I said, twitching an ear towards the district where they were quartered.They have pups of their own. These ones might feel more comfortable around other children.

Calian nodded, brushing his nose over my muzzle. He licked my cheek, then guided the Warriors towards the quarters where stray packs were housed.

I hesitated, then took a step after them. The Alpha blocked my way.

You're not going with them, Ryden said.What's wrong?

I'd been staring after Calian and the pups. I realized the Alpha had been watching me the whole time, his blue eyes intent, and he hadn't missed the way my ears and tail were drooping.

I'm tired, I admitted.We got there too late. I feel like every time there's an opportunity to help...we're not there in time. I'm never there in time. And what's the point of anything if I can't do what I was made for?

I knew perfectly well it was exhaustion and grief talking.

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