Fire lifted around them, bright and hot, forcing them to cower within the confines. With no way out of the blazing circle, the wolves were trapped. They were left unable to fight in their usual ways; no circling around the enemy and taking them down by surprise. This wasn’t a hunt. This was slaughter and the wolves had no chance. The scent of singed fur, burnt flesh and blood took over her senses and underneath it all the invaders reeked of bloodlust. It made her sick to her stomach and even more so when her father demanded she run and hide.<br/><br/>There was nowhere to go. He knew that. This was where they would die, but the pack wouldn’t go down without a fight, no matter how futile the attempt would prove to be.<br/><br/>Bright, fire lit hair hung around delicate shoulders, framing soft, feminine features. Green eyes focused on the matching pair in the large black wolf she crouched in front of. Tender fingers traced paths through the thick fur across her father’s neck. She pressed her forehead to the large wolf’s, closing her eyes in adoration.<br/><br/>“I will not leave you.” She refused to say goodbye.<br/><br/>Moments later, the heat around her had a barrier and the rustle of fur told her she was home within herself. Muzzle to muzzle with her father, the daughter, fiercely loyal, remained at his side. Alpha or not, his offspring proved her loyal roots and stubborn will, reminding him of the mate he knew he had to protect as well.<br/><br/>If felt like mere seconds had passed as chaos erupted around them. The black wolf set himself between his mate and the tall man who spoke loudly and moved with purpose. With fire at his fingertips he taunted the larger wolf, backing the pair up against the rocks - alpha and mate protecting their most precious child. Around them, men poured hot blood across the ground as flames burned higher. Launching from powerful hind legs, he made for the man, caught in a cloud of dust that left him wringing his head and sneezing.<br/><br/>She watched, her bright gaze lingering on the large man who has his sight set on the alpha pair. This time, it was the man who advanced, closing his grip around her father’s throat, choking the life out of him slowly. Large red ears caught the sound of her packs terror. Shrieks and pained whimpers from wolves as they died and the horrified screams of women taken with heavy hands before they too stained the earth. He crushed her father’s jaw, snapping a leg as of it were made from timber. Rage welled inside the other female and she snarled, baring teeth and flattening her ears. The black male was flipped to his back as he struggled to breath as was the last sight his mate saw before the axe was lodged into her skull. She dropped where she stood like a bag of bones.<br/><br/>The smaller wolf watched in horror as her family were slaughtered at the hands of the heathen men. Terror welled in her heart as the tall man bite into her father’s neck, ending his life under the crushing of human teeth. They stared at one another, eye to eye, as his men moved in to assess what their leader had wrought on the alpha and his mate.<br/><br/>They were all dead. Dozens of bright lights blotted out as if they had simply blew out candles. The fire still raged and she crouched down, wary of those around her as she realized she was suddenly, vastly alone. The growl started in her belly, growing in her chest and slipped through barred teeth. Her fur felt as if it were on pinpoints, a shiver running down her spine that lifted the hairs on end at her shoulders. The others never seemed to notice her, but the tall man’s eye bore into her, coaxing a rage that had been fueled the gruesome sight of her father’s brutal murder.<br/><br/>Caught between the urge to run and the need to fight, she let her anger dictate her move. She leapt at the man who wore her father’s blood, strong jaw snapping in the hopes of making contact. She wanted to tear him to shreds, dig her claws into his chest and stop his heart with her teeth. She could already taste his metallic blood on her tongue. Smaller, but nimble and quick, there was no thought in how easily he would take her down. Fury fueled the red twinged wolf as the sound of death ceased, taken by the sound of laughter.