Greykin Valley

| 38 | The Ambush

⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐

| Jackson |

As the night grew later, and the moon climbed higher into the clear sky, the pack lay in wait.

Jackson hid in the brush with Brando, Rachel, and Wilson. Across the way from them, Wesley hid with Ezhno and Lance. Damon, Lalo, and Leon were fifty feet to the right, and Tokala, Bly, and Sebastien lay fifty feet to the left. Everyone was ready.

It was silent. The thick bed of snow absorbed every sound for miles, and although it made Jackson a little uneasy, he was sure that it was a good thing. If Kane's approaching wolves couldn't hear them, it gave them another advantage. As for detecting the incoming hostiles, the pack had Damon's senses to rely on.

The feeling of euphoria Jackson got when he drank Damon's blood was all but gone, but the spike in his ethos remained. He felt almost eager to clash with his enemies. However, he had to contain himself. Kane's wolves weren't there yet.

He focused on what he could see through the leaves. To his relief, he didn't have a bad feeling about this. But he'd not let his guard down. Anything could happen at any moment.

And that was when Jackson heard the snow crunch.

Jackson tensed up and frantically searched for what made the sound.

There they were. A group of six...eight...twelve dark-furred, scarred wolves. Jackson waited to see if more would appear from behind the rocks, but that seemed to be it. They were led by a rather beefy-looking grey wolf with a clawed-out right eye and scars all over his face, and they were all snarling quietly as if they were talking, but Jackson couldn't understand any of them.

His eyes shifted to the snow where the traps lay hidden. The wolves were getting closer...and with each step they took, Jackson's heart beat a little faster. Any moment now he'd be bursting out of cover and fighting to the death with Kane's wolves. But he was ready. Damon entrusted him to be an asset, and that was exactly what he was going to be.

"Will you stop?!" a muffled, foggy voice suddenly growled.

Jackson frowned and looked at Brando, Rachel, and Wilson, but the three of them were watching the approaching wolves like hawks.

He slowly turned his head to face Kane's group again.

"All I'm saying..." another distorted voice said, but it cut out for a few seconds, and when Jackson heard it again, they said, "...We just all come and...." It cut out again.

Jackson's frown thickened. Someone was talking...but who?

There was no time for him to find out. The one-eyed wolf stepped into one of the hidden traps, and as the rope ensnared his front left paw and pulled him up fifteen feet off the ground, his packmates started panicking.

"Now!" Damon yelled.

On the Alpha's call, Jackson and the pack burst out of cover and charged towards the enemy. In the commotion, three of Kane's wolves triggered more of the traps and were pulled up off their feet and dangled from the branches the ropes were looped around.

The packs clashed. With four wolves writhing and snarling in the air, Damon's group had the advantage. Jackson watched as everyone fought, growling and slashing and biting. Blood sprayed onto the snow, and when two of Kane's wolves fell lifeless, Jackson rushed in and found Wilson.

This time, he wouldn't hold back or let himself feel hesitant. These wolves wanted to kill him and his packmates, so he needed to ensure he held the same intention.