The war

Casper knew that if he was going to survive the long flight they were about to take, at the cold temperatures they would encounter outside, he needed to be a wolf.

"Please, pumpkin" Casper begged,

"I need you to do this so you can keep your sister and Mommy safe, okay?"

The boy looked over at Evelyn who gave him an encouraging smile.

She knelt down next to him and pulled the blanket down so that he could see his sister pudgy face.

The baby was only a few weeks old, but her eyes were already a startling sky blue, just a few shades lighter than Evelyn's.

"Will you help us protect your sister, sweetie?" Evelyn asked softly.

"We need you to be brave right now, okay?" The boy stared down at his little sister and gently touched his finger to her round cheek.

The baby stirred and focused her eyes on his face.

Casper knew that was when his son came to his decision.

The boy nodded, pulling his hand away from his sister.

The little boy squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating very hard on shifting.

It took a minute, but finally he shimmered slightly and slowly took the form of a tiny grey wolf.

The more he shifted, the faster he would be able to do it.

Casper and the rest of the adults were able to shift in seconds.

The boy was no longer than Casper's arm, but the gray wolf took on a fierce demeanor, baring his teeth as the mountain shook with impact once more.

"Good boy," Casper praised, stroking his son's head.

"Now, Evelyn, give me the baby. I'm going to cast some spells on her so she'll survive the cold. You three take the boy and go. I will be right behind you with our daughter."

"Are you crazy?!" Morgana snarled.

"You think we're just going to leave you behind with an infant?"

Casper rose from his crouch beside his son and stared down at his little sister.

"I do think that. I will not have you waiting here, putting yourselves in even more danger. You know that I'm the fastest runner here and the only one that can use magic. I want my son and my mate far away from these humans and I need you two helping me to take care of them!"

"Casper, I'm not helpless," Evelyn reminded him steadily.

He met her blue eyes, which were suddenly filled with fire.

There was the mate that he chose, the one who backed down from nothing, a mate fit to be Alpha female.

"I know that," he told her in a softer tone,

"but our son is going to be there with you."

He didn't need to say anymore to see that Evelyn understood exactly where he was coming from.

She nodded and put a hand on their son's side.

The little wolf looked at them expectantly, waiting for someone else to shift.

"Morgana could go ahead with Evelyn and I could stay behind with you," Xavier said.

Casper realized that that was a sound plan, but the Alpha in him didn't want any of his pack being close to danger longer than they had to.

He was also sane enough to realize that the longer they argued, the more time they wasted.

"Alright, yes, but Xavier, go with Evelyn, and Morgana stay with me," he reached forward and took the tiny bundle from his mate's arms after she gave the little baby girl one last kiss.

"You take care of her," Evelyn told him.

"And be careful." She kissed him tenderly, he tried not to feel like the kiss was saying goodbye, and shifted into her gorgeous, lithe wolf.

Her royal blue fur glittered in the moonlight that entered the mouth of the cave.

She rushed toward the door, running right alongside her giant paws, and as she leaped into the land, she grabbed the tiny wolf with her and took off into the night.

Xavier clapped Casper on the shoulder and shifted into his huge roan wolf in one fluid motion before chasing after Xavier.

Morgana looked after her mate worriedly, but turned to casper with a look of pure determination.

"You might want to get a move on, brother," she said.

Casper nodded and set the baby gently on the ground before him. He knelt in front of her and wrapped the blankets tightly around her little body. Then he cradled the back of her head and he simply whispered an incantation to create a small barrier over her body that would keep her perfectly warm until he was able to remove the spell.

She wrinkled her nose as the magic touched her, but remained quiet as she so liked to do.

He stared into her bright blue eyes and smiled, his heart warmed at the beauty of his offspring.

He stroked her chubby pink cheek and leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead, just below where her wispy red hair stopped.

"Daddy will protect you," he promised her and tucked her blanket tighter around her body.

She was still amazingly calm despite the anxiety emanating from the people around her.

He felt a small hand on his shoulder as he stood back up, cradling the baby in the crook of his elbow. "

Everything is going to be fine, Casper, you have to know that."

Casper sighed and looked down at Morgana.

"I know, but it's an Alpha's job to worry about his pack."

"Well, then we had better get everyone out of here. Once everyone's in the forest, it'll be easy enough to outdistance the humans."

"It's just getting everyone in the forest that I'm worried about."

"That's what you're for, Alpha," she teased with a kiss on his cheek before she scooped the baby out of his arms.

"I'll take her while you circle around. She and I will catch up with Evelyn and Xavier and get as far away as we can, okay? I'll keep her safe."

"I know you will, little sister," Casper hugged Morgana and pressed his cheek to the top of her blonde head.

"Now go."

"We'll see you soon," she smiled and shifted into her wolf, forming perfectly around the baby, who was tucked neatly into her huge paw.

Casper knew that was safest place for her and there was no chance of her falling, but the fear still rested like a rock in his gut.

Morgana's spring green fur shimmered as she ran into the woods.

Casper released a huge whoosh of air from his lungs and finally let his wolf free.

The beast sprang from the confines of Casper's mind and rushed into the night as the powerful blood red wolf that was going to lead his pack to safety.

He growled ed menacingly.

It was the growl that only an alpha could possess.

It held every threat, every promise, and every hope for his pack.

It was powered by a magic so old it had been forgotten by everyone except for those who possessed it.

Tbc