The Grove's Secret

Elder Iris POV

The branch cracked under my weight, and I nearly fell twenty feet to the ground below. My old bones weren't meant for tree climbing, but sometimes desperate times called for desperate means.

"Hold on, Elder Iris!" whispered little Tommy from the branch above me. At seven years old, he was much better at this than I was.

Below us, shadow-controlled wolves prowled through the forest, looking for the children I'd been hiding. Their black eyes gleamed in the darkness, and their moves were wrong – too stiff, too coordinated. These weren't the gentle pack members I'd known for seventy years. They were Morrigan's puppets now.

"Where are those brats hiding?" snarled Beta Marcus, though his voice sounded hollow and strange. "The sorceress wants them found."