PROLOGUE

“Sky, go left!”  Ambereye’s voice echoed in the young wolf’s ears.  He leapt to the left as his father advised, pinning down a large wolf.  He felt a surge of triumph as he raked his claws down his enemy’s flank.  The wolf let out an agonized yowl and struggled free of his attacker’s firm grip.
Skyfeather snorted with fierce pleasure as he threw himself back into the fight.  The battle pounded in his ears, his senses acute to everything around him.  The swift slash of claws, the ripping of fur, the clamping of fangs--everything he had been trained to know and love swirled around him.
He raced over to his father’s side, sinking his teeth into the she-wolf who was attacking him.  She glared angrily at him before retreating through the trees.  Sky growled with satisfaction.  This battle would be over soon, leaving the wolves of Swiftpack as the victor once again.  Suddenly, the fighting stopped.  The remaining intruders scampered free from the jaws of the Swiftpack wolves, scrambling back into the woods.  What is this? Skyfeather wondered.  Were the Southern wolves just giving up this easily?
Finally, Ripplepool threw back his head in a jubilant howl.  His packmates soon joined in, yowling with triumph.  Sky’s tongue lolled out the side as he prepared to join his fellow wolves.  He glanced over at his father and tilted his head.  Ambereyes was staring motionlessly into the forest, his eyes clouded with worry.  Skyfeather padded over to him and gave him a gentle nudge.
“Father, what’s the matter?  We’ve beaten them.”  His father’s only reply was a slow nod.
“Hey Sky!” called Rockclaw, his tail wagging.  He padded up to the pack beta, bumping him playfully.  “We sure showed those fleabags, eh?”  The dappled wolf looked over at the alpha, his cheerful expression slowly changing to one of worry.  “Alpha?  You okay?”  Ambereyes didn’t answer; he just continued to stare into the dark forest.
“Sky…” his father finally muttered.
“Yes father?”
The older wolf sank into a low crouch, his teeth bared.  “This battle is far from over.”  Suddenly, the forest erupted with loud battle cries as the Southern wolves raced into the clearing, plowing down the Swiftpack wolves that stood in their path.  Skyfeather spun around and threw himself at a wolf twice his size.  He sank his teeth into his attacker’s flank, throwing him off.
Looking around, the young wolf realized that there were twice as many wolves against them as before.  Where had they all come from?  At that moment, he was bowled over by Darktalon, the beta of the Southern wolves.  He growled menacingly.
“Well, well, well,” Darktalon growled, curling his lips into a wicked smile.  “It looks as if the claw is on the other paw, huh Sky-boy?”  Skyfeather stared at Darktalon’s left side; it was bare, traces of where his claws had ripped at his pelt still there.  He smiled in pleasure, knowing he had caused this wolf so much agony.
He propelled the dark wolf off and leapt onto his paws.  “No, I’m pretty sure the claw’s still on my paw, Chickenfoot.”  Darktalon snorted angrily and threw himself at Sky.  The gray timber wolf jumped up and landed squarely on Darktalon’s head.  He howled in triumph, laughing at his enemy’s expense.  Then, before he knew it, he was bowled over by a blunt object.  He was thrust against a jagged rock, his head smacking against the hard surface.  Everything went black…