---- death struggle. The silver-grey wolf was clearly stronger, but the attacker was relentless, and the fight was fierce. Blood began to stain the ground. The silver-grey wolf let out a pained snarl but remained firmly planted in front of me, protecting me. "Stop it!" I yelled at the attacker. "What do you want?! " The dark wolf glanced back at me, a flash of human- like malice in its eyes. Then it suddenly broke off the fight, turned, and vanished into the trees. The silver-grey wolf collapsed heavily to the ground, blood pouring from multiple wounds. I rushed over and knelt beside it. In the moonlight, I could see who it was. Lucas. ---- He shifted back to his human form, covered in blood, but his eyes were full of concern for me. "Sophie... are you okay?" he asked weakly. "I'm fine! What are you doing here?" "I... I've been protecting you. In secret." Lucas tried to sit up, but his wounds were too deep. "That wolf... he wasn't just some rogue." "What do you mean?" "Someone hired him," Lucas's voice was fading. " Sophie, this was a planned attack." His words sent a chill down my spine. Someone wanted to hurt me? "Who?" I gripped his hand tightly. Lucas tried to answer, but the pain of his injuries made it impossible for him to speak. With trembling hands, I called the pack patrol and then the emergency services.