I look back at the surviving wolves. Lyra, Kieran, Morgan, and the six battered, bleeding warriors who crawled out of the sub-levels. They are exhausted. They are broken. They are out of magic.
But they are wolves. And they are my pack.
Link up! I command, my physical voice ringing across the ruined courtyard, carrying the absolute, unshakeable authority of the Luna. Form the circle! Link your minds to mine! We are the mortar! We hold the bricks together!
The wolves don't hesitate. They step forward, forming a tight circle around the monolith, placing their hands on each other’s shoulders, closing the loop. Through the merge, I feel their minds snap into alignment with mine. It is not the deep, resonant hum of the earth. It is the frantic, ragged, beautiful rhythm of human hearts. It is
