"What? What's wrong?" Asher asked placing his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him and Griffin, feeling the color drain from my face.

"They're coming," I said. "Crescent Moon is coming." I knew it was inevitable, but still part of me thought or maybe hoped we would have more time, but this was it. There would be no magical intervention, and no amount of praying to the Moon Goddess was going to change that. "Asher, have Trevor gather everyone who signed up to go to Midnight Creek. I want them to leave immediately." Asher nodded and took off toward the gates.

"He killed them," Griffin seethed. His eyes were quickly turning black and his fists clenched. I understood his rage because that same anger was coursing through me. To kill our men when they were only there to accompany his daughter and return the body of his son was callous.

"Get all of our guys out into the training field by the borders edge. We can not allow them to get inside our gates." Griffin's eyes met mine. He was struggling to reign in his wolf. "Pull it together! Now is not the time to go off half cocked. You want to avenge their deaths then let's win this war." Griffin nodded. He turned to walk away, suddenly stopping to look at me.

"Logan, your link. How will you be able to give out orders without it?" he asked. I closed my eyes and lowered my head slightly.

"I won't," I said knowing that now was not the time to let my pride to get the best of me. This wasn't about me or my position as alpha. This was about my pack and their very survival. "You will." Surprise covered Griffin's face as he held my gaze.

"But--" he began.

"But nothing. Your call to kill Phillips mate was wrong, but your intentions were in the right place. I know you Griffin, and I know that you will make the right calls to keep our people safe." He looked at me with a steely determination. "Are those tears in your eyes Pearson?" Griffin laughed.

"Nah, I think that bump on your head must have messed with your vision. A sexy beast like me doesn't know the meaning of tears," he said with his signature smirk. We gave each other a curt nod knowing that this could be the last time we joked like this. Griffin took off out the front door no doubt shouting out orders getting everyone where they needed to be. I made my way out the back doors. There was somewhere I need to go.

Jogging up the path still favoring my injured leg, I stopped short. There it sat among the lifeless wildflowers. Olivia's grave. The place I married, lost and buried my beloved wife. Kneeling down before her gravestone, I allowed myself a moment to cry. I missed her even now, even after everything that had happened.

"I am sorry I couldn't protect you. I miss you so much, and I feel so lost without you. I don't even know how it all came to this. Maybe it was my fault for thinking that maybe I could find love again. I promise you though I will do everything I can to protect this pack, our family, no matter what." Leaning in I rested my against the cold marble stone before pressing my lips to it. "I love you."

Without glancing back, I left the clearing and headed to the training field. The pack was all gathered, shifted and ready to fight. As I gazed at the members of Mountain Ridge, an overwhelming feeling of pride coursed through me. It wasn't long before all eyes were on me, looking for guidance, for reassurance, for a promise that everything would work out fine.

"Again we find ourselves in a position where our very survival is being threatened. Again we face insurmountable odds. And again we will prevail. Never has an alpha been as proud of his pack as I am of all of you. You're my pack, my friends, but most of all my family." By the end of my words all the wolves that stood before me nodding with approval. All doubt seemed to vanish if only for a moment.

We heard the rustling. It was faint, but it was there, coming from beyond the tree line. The tension around me built as we stood there waiting, the rustling now replaced by a heavy silence. Slowly I made my way to the front of the pack meeting the eyes of each member. Some shined with pride, others with an already accepted sense of defeat. Knowing that this would be the last time we stood together like this, a sense of loss caused my chest to tighten. We would lose people today. Good people, people who did not deserve the end that awaited them. Some will be left to grieve while others will give their lives to protect our home.

Joshua's wolf came tearing through the trees breathing heavy and fur splattered with blood. He was injured, but alive and that was all that matter. As I took a step towards him, he crashed to the ground with a whelp. One moment he was staring at me panicked the next his eye went dull as his head fell lifeless into the soil. I glared up at Phillips, his snout dripping with the blood of my fallen pack member. Our gazes met, anger welling up inside me. All thoughts of reasoning with the monster before me were gone. Without thinking I charged forward, shifting mid-stride, intent on laying his mangled body beside my fallen friend.

~~~~~~~~~Author's Note~~~~~~~~~

New cover and a new title. What do you guys think of the change? Love it, or hate it? Don't forget The Creative Writing contest ends in just 24 short hours. So make sure to send in your entry for your chance at a $15 Amazon gift card.

Do you think Mountain Ridge can win this fight or will Crescent Moon destroy them as Logan fears?

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