The creature that emerged from the tree line didn't look like any wolf Mika had ever seen.
It moved wrong — too many joints, its dark fur matted with something that looked like old blood and older rot, eyes glowing a sickly green instead of the familiar amber or gold of shifter wolves. It was easily twice the size of the largest Blackmoon warrior, and when it opened its jaws, the roar that tore out of it rattled the branches overhead.
"That is not a wolf," Rhys said, already backing toward the tree line.
"No," Mika agreed, the silver markings blazing bright beneath her skin. "It's not."
Diego's warriors shifted in near-unison, a ripple of fur and muscle replacing the men who'd stood there seconds before. Marcus, now fully wolf, planted himself protectively at Diego's flank as the Alpha
