Three days later, the territorial dispute Otto had tried to prevent through negotiation exploded into exactly the kind of confrontation he'd feared.

It started with Marcus Chen, one of their youngest pack members, returning from a solo hunting trip with claw marks across his shoulder and fury in his eyes.

"Blackwood patrol," he announced to the emergency pack meeting James had called. "Three of them, waiting at Copper Creek like they owned the place. Told me I was trespassing on their ...