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Ella gave her a startled look. “But… the elders say it’s necessary; otherwise there won’t be no more of us.”

Jayden pursed her lips and shook her head. Though her mom and dad said she often spoke before she thought, this time she didn’t say what she was really thinking—that humans were already a thing of the past. She and Ella might only be twelve winters old, but Jayden listened to the elders talk when they thought no one was listening. Late at night, she would eavesdrop on her parents’ conversations as they discussed the dire situation of their dwindling numbers and the slim chances of survival. After Robert’s untimely death last winter, the fleeting nature of life had sunk into Jayden’s bones. She understood. She accepted. But she was still going to fight to survive.

She was about to suggest they search for some wild blueberries when a thunderous crash caused them to drop to the ground. The ground trembled. When it happened again, she scrambled under the tree trunk, pulling Ella behind her.

Their intertwined fingers grew clammy and cold, each heartbeat a drumbeat against their ears as they huddled in fear. The air was thick with the buzz of insects as they remained frozen under the log, their bodies tensed in readiness to flee, before she finally released Ella’s hand and began to crawl out. With a trembling hand, Ella grabbed her arm, her eyes filled with terror as she silently shook her head.

“We have to know if it is the Others, so we can warn the clan,” Jayden said in a low voice.

“No! What if they see us?” Ella whispered.

“They won’t. We’ll be extra careful,” Jayden promised before she paused and bit her lip. “You can stay here. If I don’t come back, then you can go warn the others.”

“No. We go together,” Ella said, reaching for her hand.

Jayden helped Ella up. “We’ll be quiet as a mouse.”

Ella gave her a shaky smile and nodded. “Quiet as a mouse,” she repeated.

Jayden picked up a sharp stick that lay on the ground, its wood rough and dry under her fingers, and motioned for Ella to follow. They moved silently through the ferns, their footsteps muffled by the soft earth and the rustling leaves. A quarter mile from where they had been playing, they bent and crept closer to the edge of the woods. On the other side was a rocky section that led to a large river.

They squatted and peered through the branches of a spindly bush, and then jolted with intense alarm when the sound of wings flapping caught their attention. With a fearsome scowl, Jayden glared up at the juvenile owl perched on a branch, its soft hooting echoing through the air.

“Shh!” she mouthed, placing a dirty finger to her lips.

The owl tilted its head at her, its piercing eyes locked onto hers. With a quick hop along the branch, it propelled itself into the air, gracefully soaring across the river to the other side. Jayden’s eyes traced the owl’s graceful flight as it vanished into the dense woods where the mysterious noise had originated. Her eyes widened when a massive, leathery-skinned gray creature with a horn in the center of its snout appeared. A second later, two more creatures came into view. There was one similar to the first, only a shade darker, while the second was twice the size of the other two and had a long snout and large ears.

The creature with the long snout braced his shoulder against a young tree and pushed. The tree toppled with a loud crash, the top landing at the edge of the river. The other two creatures snickered and charged the toppled tree, lifting it as if it was no heavier than a pebble before they tossed it along the bank.

“Jayden, we have to go. We have to warn the clan,” Ella whispered in a frantic tone, pulling on Jayden’s arm.

Jayden nodded. The Others had once again come to their part of the woods. The elders were right. They would have to head for the mountains and into the great unknown forest to the west. It was their only hope of remaining undiscovered.

She stared at the three creatures for a second longer. They were tearing the young tree apart as if it were only a twig. Tears burned her eyes.

They care nothing for life.

With a heavy heart, she turned away and silently followed Ella. She stayed silent the whole trip back, grappling with the realization that her warrior skills would always fall short against the shape shifters who dominated the world.

Chapter 1

Olympic National Park: Pacific Northwest

Eight-and-a-half-years later:

* * *

Large flakes fell from fluffy dark gray clouds, coating the landscape in a blanket of white. The scenery would have been picturesque if not for the constant threat of the Others. Jayden thought she had hardened her heart to everything they could do to her people—until now.

This is all my fault, she thought with growing sorrow.

Ella would have never met the grizzly shifter if Jayden hadn’t talked her into going too close to a structure that belonged to the Others. She had only been looking for discarded items that would help their clan. Instead, her carelessness had led them into a trap—and discovery.

There was no one else to blame, and the weight of responsibility settled heavily on Jayden’s shoulders. She had disregarded the first law of her people, which strictly forbade approaching the dwellings of the Others, which had led to the grizzly-shifter suddenly appearing in their village. Jayden had been shocked and dismayed by Ella’s protective response.

While the other villagers, including herself, had recoiled with fear and hatred, Ella had thrown herself over the Other to protect him from harm. The clan had banished Ella. Jayden’s best friend was an outcast now, cast adrift from her only family.

It’s all because of me and my recklessness, Jayden thought with remorse.