If you thought the howling was loud before, it was definitely louder now. The sound shook the trees, the ground. Hell, even my ribs. It was everywhere at once, rising and falling like some fucked up nightmare song.

Mattias didn't flinch. He just stood there in the clearing, his knife glinting red in the half-light, his grin sharp and unhinged. "Come on then!" he shouted into the darkness. "Let's see what your Alpha is worth!"

Suddenly, there was movement, shapes between the trees that turned ...