15 Years Ago
Moon Night Pack Grounds – Night of the Attack
The air was thick with smoke, sharp and bitter in Nicolas’s nose. Flames clawed at the sky, casting the pack’s grounds in a furious glow. Warriors roared, steel clashed, and the ground shuddered beneath every strike.
Ten-year-old Nick stood frozen behind the training shed, fists clenched, eyes stinging. He’d never seen a battle this close. He wasn’t ready. Not for this.
“Nick!” Beta James’s voice cut through the chaos. Nick turned just as James cut down two rogues, blood seeping from a deep slash in his shoulder.
“You shouldn’t be here!” James’s tone was fierce, but beneath it Nick heard something else - a concern for him.
“I... I came to find you! You’re hurt, Uncle James!” Nick shouted, his voice shaking.
James’s gaze softened for a heartbeat. “All the females and children are in the bunker. Everyone’s safe. Me and your father will handle it.”
He gripped Nick’s shoulders, hard. “Go to your mom and dad. Stay with them. Protecting them is your job. Go, Nick.”
“No! I can fight here. I trained with you! Let me help!” Nick’s throat burned, tears pressing at his eyes.
James gave him a faint, proud smile. “I know you can, pup. You’re brave, just like your father. You will fight and you will win, when the time is right. But this...” his voice cracked, “...this isn’t your fight yet.”
A snarl erupted from the tree line. A rogue burst through.
“Down!” James shoved Nick to the ground and met the attack head-on. Claws and steel tore the air. The fight was brutal. Too fast for Nick’s eyes to follow, but James was already weak.The rogue’s claws sank into his side before James struck the killing blow. He staggered, dropping to one knee.
“Uncle James!” Nick scrambled up, clutching his arm. “No... please stay with me!”
James coughed hard, blood streaking his lips. His voice was low but urgent. “Nick... promise me... take care of my Izzy.”
Nick blinked. “Izzy?”
“She’s only three. She won’t remember me. But she must grow up strong... safe... loved.”
James’s hand clamped onto Nick’s wrist with surprising strength. “Protect her. Like she’s your family.”
Nick’s chest ached. “I promise,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Always.”
A faint smile touched James’s lips, then his hand fell limp.
Nick barely noticed the roar of boots and voices until his father, Alpha Walter, rushed in with his mother Naomi and Ebony, James’s mate. Ebony dropped to her knees, cradling James’s face.
“Wake up, please... James, wake up...” Her cries cut through the night, raw and shattering.When he didn’t move, something in her seemed to break. She pressed one last kiss to his forehead... and then she slumped forward onto his chest.
“Ebony!” Walter caught her, checked her pulse - then turned to Naomi, grief etched deep in his face. “She’s gone. She followed him.”
Naomi’s voice trembled. “Oh, Goddess... Izzy... she has no one now.”
Nick’s lips trembled, but he lifted his chin, eyes glassy. “She has me, Mom.”
Both Walter and Naomi looked at him.“I made a promise,” Nick said, steady despite the tears. “I’ll protect her. Always. Just like I told Uncle James.”
Walter placed a heavy, warm hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Then from this day, she’s our family. She’ll never be alone.”
And the promise was sealed.
