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Lucas and Eliana held hands as they walked to the beach. They had sent the women, children, and older men to a safe haven away from the battleground while the capable members came to the crashing shoreline. The sky may have been clear, but Lucas could feel a storm brewing.
Tao, Eliana, Lucas, the strong members of their pack, the alphas of the other island packs, and the pride and alpha of the lions all stood on the white sand. The wind gusted with tension, and it was then that Lucas saw what it had been reacting to.
“There.”
The alpha of the pride pointed in the direction they were facing, which ran the length of the beach. Up ahead, in the area where the golf course was, small trails of shapes began to emerge. They walked like a trained army across the beach, with Garth at the front, his ghastly face and expression coming into focus the closer he came.
Eliana gave Lucas one last squeeze of his hand before moving to the front of the group. She spoke thunderously, a battle cry that burst with conviction.
“Listen up, islanders. Go forth with faith and strength. We cannot allow them to take our land, our home.”
There were twenty members of wolves, bears, and lions behind Lucas and Tao, all of whom were ready to shift at a moment’s notice. They growled and roared into the air. The blending of animal sounds was ear-piercing.
Eliana continued to boom into the air while Lucas’s heart swelled with pride.
“Trust yourself. Trust each other. This is our island. Not theirs. Our ancestors sacrificed and fought for the paradise we have. I say we never give it up without a fight.”
Lucas flicked his eyes toward their approaching enemy as the pack and pride behind him whooped and hollered. He wanted to keep the faith, but the group approaching was massive. Garth was at the front still, his long face peering downward with a clown-like grin.
He couldn’t wait until he could get his neck in his hands and snap it like a popsicle stick.
He turned to Tao, whose eyes gleamed with the same sentiment. They gave each other a respectful nod, then quickly removed what remained of their clothing.
“Oh, creatures. Such foolish creatures,” Garth called out to them, cackling. The sea began to reflect the mood of the day, the smacking against the shore growing more and more intense. “This land will be mine, you idiots.”
He laughed maniacally, and Lucas knew there was no point in any banter. He looked at Eliana, who glanced at Tao, who then turned to the comrades beyond them. Tao held a hand in the air, then cut it like a butcher cleaving a slab of meat in two.
“Now!”
Tao’s screech was shocking, but that didn’t stop the speed at which the group shifted into their animal forms. A surge of howls and roars clapped like thunder through the cloudless day. Eliana and Lucas looked at each other one last time before the two of them shifted, their unspoken affection boundless.
“Go,” Lucas mouthed.
Lucas and Eliana shifted in a snap, their fur blooming out of their pores like sprouts from the ground, their bones, and muscles elongating and cracking to fit their wolf bodies. They moved swiftly and in unison as the enemy charged them, nearly mowing them down in their animal forms.
Tao, Lucas, and Eliana were all daunting fighters. They clashed with many of Garth’s minions, devouring them with their jaws and injuring others with savage thrashing. The sand was already stained with pools of blood when Lucas came across Garth, standing off to the side, watching the chaos ensue.
The sheer cowardice of the man struck Lucas in the most unfortunate way. He snaked through the battle and went for him, letting his emotions overwhelm his logical thinking.
Garth had been playing possum and had felt Lucas about to attack him. He dodged the strike, then managed to sink his teeth into Lucas’s exposed jugular.
Hot white surges of pain flowed through Lucas’s body. He was barely able to isolate where the pain came from as it radiated up and down him. Garth gnawed at him like a carcass as he tried to flail his strong alpha body away from the bastard.
“You are truly a fool!”Garth said in his mind.“Your life will be wasted coming here, you traitor.”
Lucas snarled and growled, trying to get a grip on Garth’s fur, but the bastard was quick and evasive, spinning around in circles and making an indent in the sand. Darkness narrowed Lucas’s vision, then a big, thick wolf saved the day.
It was Tao.
Tao smashed into Garth’s gut with his skull, sending him flying. He checked on Lucas’s injury while the other wolves, bears, and lions fought with spurting bloodshed.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I am. Thank you, brother.”
Tao shook his fur like a dog that had emerged from the water. He scampered away, thrusting himself directly into the violence that ensued without any sign of deteriorating.
Lucas frantically gazed upward at the sparkling blue sky, searching for Garth, who was likely to land a cheap shot. But what he saw beyond him was all the more glorious, a photograph of a delicious moment in time.
