Alex was frustrated, that much was clear.  No matter how many kisses Cynthia tried to give him, he wouldn’t cheer up.  She held his hand as they entered the cab of the truck.  She was glad to be riding in the front this time, instead of the back.  Even if the heater didn’t work, at least the biting wind and cold wouldn’t nibble at her skin.

Marcus, the old pack alpha and Alex’s dad, stood with Buck behind the truck.  The two embraced like old friends. 

“It’s going to be alright,” she said, trying her best to reassure Alex.

He huffed with a half-smile edging at the corner of his mouth.  Dammit, just feel better!  A row of trucks and SUV’s rounded a corner from just up the icy road, each one full of wolf shifters ready to join in the fight.  Their vehicles showed their age, with chipped paint and squeaky breaks, but they still moved forward.  At least they had that much.

Cynthia held tightly around Alex’s arm.  Even if she couldn’t improve his mood, having him nearby was enough for now.  She knew he would come around in time.  He always did.

Marcus plopped into the driver’s seat beside Alex. 

“Let’s get home,” he said, twisting the ignition and bringing the old workhorse truck to life. 

It was slow going down the icy mountain.  The snow made the driving conditions difficult on their brakes and they didn’t so much drive down the hill as slide. 

For the next hour they drove through sketchy conditions. Eventually the path cleared and they were able to drive instead of steer and pray.  A collective exhale of nerves railed out from the trio in the cab. 

Still, Alex sat silent.  Cynthia caught his gaze as he looked out the window and she smiled.  He smiled back, but it wasn’t genuine.  Drastic times called for drastic measures.  Cynthia played at the edge of his periphery, making odd faces, slowly moving in front of his face so he could see.  The one that finally broke his stoic demeanor had her buck-toothed and cross-eyed. 

Was that a bear?

She narrowed her eyes and caught sight of a large brown bear standing near the top of a snow embankment beside the road.  Then another popped its head over the edge, then another.  She lost count at ten.  A mighty roar rang out, leading them to charge. 

A massive pile of fur and muscle hammered into the side of the truck, causing it to careen out of control.  It spun in circles, skidding off the road and coming to a crashing halt on a guard rail overlooking a sharp drop.  Cynthia peered out the truck window to see how far down, but her vision was obscured by a dense fog.

Shit, shit, shit. 

Alex was shaking his head to regain himself.  To their left, on the driver’s side, the bear was thirty feet away, again rearing itself to hammer the truck over the ledge and possibly to their doom. 

Run. Just get out and run!  Cynthia’s fear frazzled her nerves and she was frozen in place, watching the horror unfold as the bear bore down on them. 

Cynthia gasped when Marcus, having regained himself, kicked down the door and ran toward the bear. Didn’t he use a cane? His body began to shift from the excitement but he didn’t have enough time to do so fully.  He met the bear just ten feet from the truck in an attempt to stop the charge but it was too heavy. The bear pushed him against the truck. 

The guard rail groaned and cracked under the weight of the two shifters battling it out. 

“Cynthia,” Alex said.  He took her by the jaw and kissed her deeply.  “I love you.  When you see a chance, run.”

She snapped from her daze and nodded.  Alex squeezed his way out his door and past the pair of shifters. 

Alex fell to all fours and howled with pain.  His skin tore away and tightly wound muscle wrapped against his bone.  Patchy black fur matted against open wounds.

Something was wrong, why was it taking so long to shift? She fought with the idea of going to help him, but was sidetracked when she saw another bear charging towards the truck. This time, it would definitely fall off the cliff.

In front of her, Marcus and the first bear wrestled against the car, neither gaining any ground.  To her back and her right was nothing but open cliff, and to her left was Alex writhing in agony with a bear ready to assault the truck.  There was no escape.

A loud howl tore through the battlefield.  The wolves from the den had their hands full with the rest of the attacking bears but paused for a second when they heard the cry.  Even the bears were confused and curiously searched for the source. 

Alex stood to all fours.  Instead of the proud gray fur he always wore, he was covered in a thick black mane.  He arched his back and lifted his muzzle to the sky and howled again.  This time the bear wouldn’t be tricked.  It charged forward without fear of the one simple wolf in its way. 

Shit.

There was no way out of this.  Cynthia tried the key in the truck ignition but the engine wouldn’t turn over.  The passenger door was wedged against the guard rail.  She twisted the knob for the window and worked as fast as she could to get it down and escape, but even if it was down she wouldn’t have enough time to wiggle free.

In a flash of black, the bear fell to its knees.  Alex was standing over it, his jaws salivating.  He growled at the bear that tried to fight to its feet, but Alex was too quick. He had the bear’s leg in his jaw in an instant.

Cynthia watched with horror as she saw rage explode from Alex.  She’d never seen him act like this; she was in awe at how quickly he was moving, his constant attacks easily overpowering his foe. He was lost in his battle, gnashing at the creature he was entangled with. 

The bear was still much stronger than him and finally fought him off.  It reared back on its haunches and swiped with its front paws but Alex dodged the blows with ease.

She wiggled her way out the window and found footing on the guard rail.  The drop looked even higher than she first imagined.  You can do this.  Just one foot over the other.  Get around the truck and you can shift and run for safety.  Marcus and his bear battled back and forth again, jostling the already slippery metal.  Cynthia lost her grip and soon after her balance. 

She caught herself on the edge of the guard rail. With her feet dangling, trying to get a foothold to push herself back up.  The truck continued to snap and twist the guard rail as she held on.  The bear was slowly overpowering Marcus.

“Help!” she shouted.

Cynthia struggled to find a good hold on the guard rail; the cold steel bit at her hands. You can do this, come on. Idiot.  She cursed at herself more.  Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.

The bear Alex was fighting shoved past him and tried to take advantage of the moment.  It plodded towards Cynthia, hobbling on its back leg but still charging.  Alex lurched in front of the massive beast just as it approached the cliff and toppled it to the ground.  The loose dirt was unable to slow its momentum as it crashed through the broken guard rail, plunging past Cynthia into the depths below. As it fell, its paw grappled onto Cynthia’s leg and in that brief moment she found herself falling.

Cynthia let out a panicked scream and reached for anything that might slow her decent.  Alex barked and leapt of the edge.  Cynthia shook her head no.  His body started to snap and crack back into shape.  His human hand reached out to catch her.  With one long stretch, he snagged Cynthia by the leg and tugged her to his chest.  Hugging her close he maneuvered his body so that he would absorb the fall.  He managed to softly kiss her on the forehead.

Cynthia could just barely feel her tears flow as they descended into the abyss of fog. 

Thump!

Alex took most of the impact, lying dead to the world on his back as everything else went black.