CHAPTER 6 — The Howl That Broke the Mountain
Selene ordered her men to drag Titan toward the transport truck.
The wolves followed at a distance, but none attacked.
They knew the pups were trapped.
Mason walked beside Titan, pretending to obey.
But his eyes searched the snow.
His grandfather’s journal had mentioned something.
An old emergency route.
A hidden ravine.
A place where sound carried through the mountain like thunder.
Mason looked at Titan.
Titan looked back.
Somehow, the giant dog understood.
Mason suddenly dropped to the ground and slammed his shoulder into the man holding the remote.
The remote flew into the snow.
Selene screamed, “Stop him!”
Chaos exploded.
The wolves lunged forward.
The men fired darts wildly.
Mason crawled through the snow, searching for the remote with frozen hands.
A boot slammed into his ribs.
He gasped.
Then Titan snapped the neck snare with one brutal twist.
The sound of breaking metal echoed through the forest.
Selene stared in disbelief.
“That’s impossible…”
Titan rose slowly.
Blood ran down his leg.
Snow clung to his fur.
But his golden eyes burned like fire.
He did not attack Selene.
He ran to the cages.
One by one, he threw his massive body against them until the locks bent and broke.
The pups tumbled out, crying and stumbling into the snow.
The wolves surrounded them instantly.
Safe.
Selene backed away, horrified.
But then the mountain answered.
From the ridge above came hundreds of howls.
Not thirty wolves.
Not fifty.
Hundreds.
Every hidden pack in the region had heard Titan’s call.
The forest filled with shadows.
Selene’s men dropped their weapons and ran.
But Selene stayed frozen, staring at Titan as he climbed onto a snowy rock above her.
The giant guardian lifted his head.
His howl split the storm.
An avalanche of snow broke loose from the ridge.
Mason grabbed the pups and rolled behind a fallen tree.
Selene screamed as the snow swallowed the transport truck, the cages, the weapons, and every trace of her operation.
When the storm finally went silent…
Titan stood alone on the ridge.
Alive.
Victorious.
But Mason noticed something that made his blood run cold.
Titan was not looking at Selene.
He was looking past her.
At a smaller figure standing between the trees.
An elderly man in a long dark coat.
The wolves did not growl at him.
They lowered their heads.
Mason whispered, “Who are you?”
The old man stepped into the snow.
His voice trembled.
“I’m the man your grandfather told everyone was dead.”
Mason could barely breathe.
The old man looked at Titan with tears in his eyes.
“And that dog…”
He swallowed hard.
May you like
“…was never meant to belong to you.”
END OF CHAPTER 6
