Dawn broke over the ruined mountainside, painting the sky blood-red. Aurora hadn't moved from the pile of rocks that had swallowed Eli. Her fingers were raw from digging, her clothes torn and dirty.
"Aurora," Markus said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We need to get the wounded back to the pack."
She shook off his touch. "He's alive. I know it."
Tina stood nearby, the Wolf Fang still pulsing in her hands. "The artifact is responding to something," she insisted. "I can feel it."
The Ancient leader watched them with ancient, sorrowful eyes. "Even if he lives, the cave-in has created tons of rock between us and him. It would take days to dig through, and the mountain is unstable."
Aurora whirled on the massive wolf. "Then what do you suggest? That I just leave my mate buried alive?"
"I suggest," the Ancient said calmly, "that we use power instead of force."
