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“Stay on!” I shout. “Don't stop until you reach the boundary!” The first group starts running. The pack boundary is still miles away… hours away. Too far. An arrow flies past my face. I turn. Hunters rush toward us. Joshua shifts. Michael does the same. I let my wolf take me.

Pain tears through my already injured shoulder as my body changes, but four legs are faster than two. We run. Not away from them. Between them and our pack.

The hunters know exactly what we are. That becomes obvious almost immediately. They don't panic when wolves charge them. They spread. They aim. Silver burns through the air. Wolfsbane follows.

An arrow strikes the ground beside my front paw. Another catches the warrior running to my left. He stumbles, and a gunshot hits him before he can recover. Blood splatters across the leaves. I turn toward him.

Keep moving.

“He's down.”

I know.

The warrior tries to rise. Another shot strikes him, and he falls. One pack warrior lost. I don't have time to grieve. A hunter steps between the trees and raises his gun toward the retreating pack members. I launch myself at him. The shot tears across my shoulder instead of reaching the woman behind me. I hit him hard enough to knock him backward, then turn toward the next hunter. Silver stings through the wound. My wolf pushes against the pain.

Stay with me.

“I am.”

I'll carry what I can.

I feel him draw the worst of it inward, trying to keep it from spilling through our bond to Arlene. It doesn't make the wound disappear. My shoulder still burns. My leg still aches. But the pain reaching her lessens.

“Don't weaken yourself.”

I'm not. Move.

We force the hunters back long enough for the pack to gain distance. Then we run after them. A woman stumbles. I shift back before I fully stop, grab her around the waist, and throw her arm across my shoulders.

“Keep going.”

“I can't.”

“Yes, you can.”

A gunshot cracks behind us. I turn, pulling her against me as something strikes the tree beside her head. “Down!” She drops. I put myself between her and the hunters. Another shot catches my side. Blood splashes against my hand as I press it to the wound. The sting of silver spreads beneath my ribs. I grit my teeth and force myself upright.

Darian.

“I know.”

Breathe.

I take one breath. Then another. A warrior reaches us in wolf form. “Get on him.” The woman climbs onto his back. I wait until he's moving before I shift again. Behind us, a howl cuts off. I turn. A warrior lies near the trees, blood spreading beneath him. He tries to drag himself forward, but another hunter fires. His body goes still.

Second pack warrior lost. The protection around our people gets thinner. We keep moving. The hunters keep coming. Every time our people gain ground, the hunters force another confrontation. Every time we turn and fight, Silver Moon loses someone.

Two pups are running beside an older pack member when a hunter comes around the side of our group. He raises his gun. I lunge toward him, but another hunter intercepts me with a silver dagger. The blade cuts across my chest. Blood splatters across the hunter's sleeve.

Pain flashes through me. I slam into him, knocking him away, but the first hunter is already aiming. A warrior throws himself between the gun and the pups. The shot strikes him. Blood sprays across the ground as he falls.

“Run!” I roar. The older pack member grabs both pups and pulls them forward. The warrior tries to rise, still placing himself between the hunters and the children. Another shot strikes him. He collapses. Third pack warrior lost.

I turn back toward the hunter. My wolf surges.

Now.

I shift and hit him before he can fire again. I don't look back. I can't. An arrow whistles through the trees.