Amanda was having trouble with the oversized weapon, she felt like she had been running for a long time, just trying to not slow the Shape shifters down.

She was eighteen years old. She had been nervous about her rebirth. She thought about the pain that her first shifting would bring. She feared the madness that sometimes took Shape shifters and the quick death that they were given because of it. All these things had dominated her mind for the last few months.

She had trained, ran, and worked out, preparing her body for the rigors of her rebirth as best she could, under the direction of various teachers throughout the Mountain. Now, with this cartoonishly massive rifle in her hands, all her fears and hesitation were gone. Right now, all she wanted was the strength to help defend her home, The City Under the Mountain, and she wanted to not feel so ridiculous holding this weapon that was designed for werewolf claws, not her eighteen-year-old human ones.

Mr. Davis’ pack moved cautiously through the city streets. Hermes was on point to his left and up front. He glided between the rooftops and in between buildings. He moved from level to level with a practiced grace that spoke of his speed and agility. He had earned his reputation as one of best Scout’s in the city. Watching him, Amanda wondered what class of Shape shifter she would eventually be. She wondered if she would ever reach the level that these Shape shifters obviously were. Would she ever be named, The Best?

Hermes stopped and melted down from the top level to the street. He moved forward cutting in and around buildings. Mr. Davis stopped and Amanda stayed two steps behind him.

Physis was still near the rooftops to Amanda’s right. The pure white of her fur was easily seen against the glossy black of the obsidian buildings. She jumped up and over the rooftop and disappeared from view.

Mr. Davis moved forward again and Amanda moved with him. The farther toward the outskirts of the city they got, the thicker the smoke got. She tried to inhale as little as possible. And she had to stifle more than one cough. She was afraid of making any noise at all. She felt like a mouse trapped in a giant maze, surrounded by monsters, and escorted by giants. It would make for a great kid’s movie one day, if it hadn’t already been made into one.

Suddenly Mr. Davis tensed. His ears twitched, then he was running. Amanda couldn’t keep up with him, though she tried. The large black werewolf tore off through the streets and disappeared around a corner.

When she got to the corner the Shape shifter was gone. She didn’t know what to do. She heard a scraping noise and looked up as Physis, the pure white werewolf, stumbled down a building ramp. It looked like she could barely stand up.

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She half collapsed down the last part of the ramp and rested on the street. Amanda ran to her and saw that she had a wound in her side.

“What happened?” Amanda gasped as she looked at the Healer. It was bad. Blood was seeping through her claws, flowing through her brilliant fur coloring it deep crimson. Amanda wasn’t any kind of doctor and she didn’t want to think about the werewolf dying.

Physis blinked and gripped Amanda’s arm tightly, her eyes were unfocused and very far away. “Run. Amanda, get out of here. Get away…as fast…you can…just…go.” She let go of the girl and bit down hard on her own arm.

Amanda watched as her wound almost completely closed as she was watching. Physis’ eyes fluttered and closed.

Amanda couldn’t move. She had no idea where anyone was. She hadn’t been out to this section of the city before. Run where? If the vampires were coming then she wouldn’t be able to out run them.

Suddenly a powerful grip wrenched her from her kneeling position. Amanda had time enough to think about the rifle that was now lying uselessly by the side of the unconscious Shape shifter. She was spun around almost in midair and was now face to face with a familiar aged reddish brown furred werewolf.

“What is going on here, girl? Where is Mr. Davis?” Derceto demanded.

Amanda was completely at a loss for words. She sputtered and managed to point to Physis on the ground. One of Derceto’s grey wolf body guards was already kneeling down next to her.

Derceto turned her attention to the human female. “Amanda, I need to know what happened. Did you hear any gunfire, any sounds of fighting, anything?”

Amanda tried to calm herself down and just breathe. She looked back to where Mr. Davis had disappeared. “I don’t know. I was standing with Mr. Davis and all of a sudden, his ears twitched and he just took off. He didn’t tell me anything and when I tried to follow him, he disappeared down that alley.” She said pointing to the last place she had seen the Enforcer.

Derceto looked around at the building surrounding them. She seemed to be listening to something far away. “They’re moving.” She turned to her three grey werewolf body guards. “You three need to get Physis and Amanda out of here. Physis won’t wake up anytime soon if she healed herself.”

One of the grey’s stood up. “We won’t leave you, Elder. You cared for and protected us when no other would. We will stand with you and give our lives for yours if necessary.”

The Elder Sage raised herself up to her full height. Suddenly she was moving too fast for Amanda to see. A blur ripped out in a ring around her. Reddish brown and grey fur mixed in something that she couldn’t describe.

When it was all over Derceto was once again standing in the middle of the group and each of her grey’s had several slashes on their chests, each of the deep lines oozed blood. Derceto’s claws were tinged red with it.

She stood very close to the one who had spoken. “Every cub must leave the den at some point. I have indulged you three too long. It’s time for you to become Alphas and seek out your own packs and territory to protect.” She gripped his snout tightly. She yanked his head down and she gently bit his ear. She walked to the other two and did the same thing. “This fight is not for you. Now go, leave me to my task.”

The three looked like they were going to refuse her order. But then one went and picked up Physis and the other gently nudged Amanda back toward the center of the city. Amanda glanced over her shoulder and saw the Elder Sage scale a nearby building and disappear from sight.