The acrid smell of burning flesh still clung to my memory, a phantom scent that mirrored the screams echoing in the darkness of my dream. I jolted awake, the shivers of my younger sisters, Persephone and Delilah, on either side of me, confirming the nightmare wasn't just my own. Their small bodies trembled, clinging to the dingy ivory fur of my wolf form, caked with dirt and leaves from our desperate flight.

"Mommy!" Delilah whimpered, her voice muffled against my side. Persephone, ever the more pragmatic, sniffled quietly. I nudged them gently with my muzzle, a silent reassurance. My wolf, Emilia, stirred in my mind, a comforting presence. 'No one expects you to get over it,' she linked, her voice a soothing balm. 'We just witnessed the destruction of our pack and the gruesome murder of our parents. All we can do is keep moving.'

I sighed, knowing she was right. Their eyes, still heavy with sleep and fear, blinked open, surveying the dark, damp cave we'd found hours ago. Tears welled in Delilah's forest-green eyes, so like our father's. It was a constant ache, seeing echoes of our parents in their faces. 'We need to keep moving,' I linked, my voice firm despite the tremor in my paws. Delilah nodded, rubbing away her tears, still in her torn green party dress. We hadn't had time to grab anything, just run. My own new gold dress, chosen for Thales's return, was long gone, a trivial loss compared to everything else.

'I don’t know, Perse,' I linked in response to her whispered question about how far we'd need to go. 'But we have to keep moving. We aren’t far enough beyond our pack border.' I rose, stretching my aching muscles. This was the longest I'd stayed in wolf form, and carrying both of them had strained Emilia's back. As I shifted, gesturing for them to climb on, the distant howls reached us again. Madonie Pack. My blood ran cold. 'We need to move.'