Page 1 of Alpha’s Vow (Copper Canyon Shifters #3)
CHAPTER 1
SABLE
S able Morse led her pack through the jagged expanse of Montana's wilderness, her senses sharper than the icy air that bit at her fur. The rhythm of the hooves against the frozen ground beat like a primal drum, the wild mustangs ahead of them weaving through the pine-covered terrain. Their powerful strides kicked up patches of snow, glistening under the pale winter sun.
In wolf form, Sable moved with fluid precision, her tawny fur rippling as she kept pace with the herd. Up ahead her father led the way. Behind her, her family ran in formation—a mosaic of grays, whites, and blacks against the stark winter landscape. This wasn’t just instinct; it was unity, survival. They were a team, with her father out in front, scouting the way. The pack worked together to guide the mustangs to safer ground, away from the encroaching private landowners that threatened their existence. It was a risk to cross private land, as landowners and those to whom they’d given permission could shoot wolves, but moving the mustangs was important to keep them safe.
The mustangs were beautiful, fierce creatures, their wild spirits mirroring her pack’s. She admired their tenacity, the way they thrived in this unforgiving land. They reminded her of her own purpose.
A chill breeze swept through the trees, carrying with it a tainted bitter edge that didn’t belong. Her family sensed it, too. The pack adjusted instinctively, falling into defensive positions. Her younger brother flanked the mustangs to keep them from bolting, while her mother moved closer to Sable, her silver coat brushing against her daughter’s side.
Sable’s eyes scanned the terrain. The towering trees cast long shifting shadows over the snow, making it harder to spot movement. She let out a low growl, a warning to her pack to stay alert. The forest seemed to hold its breath, and for a fleeting moment, silence reigned.
Then it came—a staccato crack that shattered the stillness.
Gunfire.
The first shots tore through the trees like jagged lightning. Sable froze for an instant, her mind a blur of instinct and commands. Chaos erupted around her. The mustangs scattered, their hooves pounding against the ground in panic, their wild cries of warning echoing through the canyon.
“Run!” she wanted to scream, but her warning came out as a feral snarl. Her pack darted in every direction, trying to shield the mustangs from the assault.
She spun toward the source of the gunfire, her vision narrowing to the shadowed ridge above. Men were crouched behind a blind, coming out to take better aim. It was hard to make out their faces, but she knew she’d never forget them. The rapidity with which they fired told her they were using assault rifles.
Bullets tore through the pack. The coppery scent of blood filled the air, mingling with the acrid tang of gunpowder.
Her mother was the first she saw fall. A single shot, precise and merciless, sent her crashing into the snow, her silver fur staining crimson. Sable's chest heaved as she watched her mother’s body go still, the strength and grace that had guided their family extinguished in an instant.
Sable lunged toward her mother’s fallen form, but a blur of gray intercepted her. Her father had circled back around and shoved her aside, his teeth snapping at her muzzle, a desperate command to retreat. She stumbled, her legs trembling beneath her as she tried to process what was happening.
She saw the impact the bullets made in her father’s body. He fell in silence and crawled to her mother. He died resting his head on her neck. They would enter the next plane of existence together.
More shots rang out. Her brother’s howl from behind her was cut short. She turned in time to see him crumple to the ground, his body convulsing before lying still.
Grief twisted through her, sharp and unforgiving, but she couldn’t afford to stop. Not now.
Sable turned and bolted, her heart hammering as she dodged the scattered bullets. Around her, the rest of her pack fell one by one. She saw her cousin and several others leap toward the hunters, only to be cut down mid-air, their bodies twisting unnaturally as they hit the ground. Others tried to flee, but the ambush was too well-coordinated, the hunters too prepared.
Panic threatened to overtake her, but she forced it down, channeling the raw fear into movement. Her paws skimmed the snow, her muscles burning as she pushed herself faster, farther.
A sharp pain lanced through her side, and she stumbled. She looked down to see blood staining her fur, spreading like ink in water. The bullet hadn’t hit anything vital, but it was enough to slow her down.
She would need to depend on stealth rather than speed if she was to survive. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she veered off the trail, darting into a dense thicket of pines. She needed to disappear, to become one with the forest. The hunters wouldn’t stop until she was dead, but she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
Sable pushed deeper into the wilderness, her vision blurring with pain and exhaustion. She could still hear the faint echoes of gunfire behind her, the occasional bark of laughter from the hunters. Rage surged through her, hot and all-consuming. They weren’t just killing for sport—they were exterminating her family, erasing generations of history and connection.
The terrain grew steeper as she climbed, her claws digging into the frozen ground for purchase. Her wound throbbed with every movement, but she ignored it. Pain was irrelevant. Survival was all that mattered now.
She crested a ridge and looked back. The forest below was eerily still, the snow marred by the dark shapes of her fallen pack. She wanted to howl, to let the world know what had been stolen from her, but she stayed silent. The hunters were still out there, and the slightest sound could give her away.
A narrow canyon loomed ahead, its walls towering like ancient sentinels. It was the kind of place her father used to warn them about—isolated and unforgiving, but it was her best chance. If she could lose herself in the labyrinth of rocks and shadows, she might have time to regroup, to think.
Sable slipped into the canyon, her paws leaving faint imprints in the snow. The walls rose higher around her, the sunlight dimming as she ventured deeper. She found a small overhang and collapsed beneath it, her body trembling with exhaustion and grief.
For the first time, she allowed herself to feel the magnitude of what had happened. Her family was gone. Her pack, the foundation of her life, had been ripped away in the span of minutes. The ache in her chest was almost unbearable, a hollow void that threatened to consume her.
But even as tears blurred her vision, something stronger took root—a cold, unyielding resolve. This wasn’t the end. The hunters might have taken everything from her, but she wouldn’t let them win.
Sable would rise from this. She would find the men responsible, and she would make them pay.
The wind howled through the canyon, carrying with it the echoes of her silent vow.
The storm was a living thing, fierce and unrelenting. Thunder rolled through the mountains like the growl of some great, unseen beast, and lightning cleaved the dark sky, illuminating the wilderness in harsh, fleeting flashes. Having caught her breath, Sable got to her feet and began to run through the storm, her wolf form a blur against the storm-tossed terrain. Each step sent pain lancing through her side where the bullet had grazed her, but she pushed forward, driven by instinct and desperation.
The air was heavy with the scent of rain, the coming storm promised to cleanse the ground of her blood and scent. It was her only chance to evade the hunters. The thunder might mask her footfalls, the lightning might blind them, but she knew it was the rain that would save her. She had to keep moving.
Ahead, the land sloped downward into a maze of ravines and rocky outcroppings. It was dangerous territory, riddled with hidden drops and slick stones, but that danger worked both ways. If she could lose herself in the labyrinth, she might survive.
She darted toward the edge of the slope, her paws skidding on the loose snow. Behind her, the faint crack of gunfire was swallowed by the storm. Still too close. Sable risked a glance back, her eyes searching for movement in the shadows, but the trees swayed and danced in the wind, hiding any sign of pursuit.
Her strength was flagging. Blood seeped from the wound in her side, leaving a dark, sticky trail to mark her passage like breadcrumbs for the hunters to follow if the rain didn’t come to wash it away.
Thunder boomed overhead, and a jagged streak of lightning struck a nearby tree, splitting it with an explosive crack. The impact sent shards of wood flying, one splinter grazing her shoulder as she flinched away. The flash left her momentarily blind, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t afford to.
When she reached the base of the slope, the rain mixed with snow and ice finally began to fall. It came in a torrent, soaking her fur and turning the ground beneath her into a slick, treacherous mess. The coppery scent of her blood began to fade, washed away by the deluge, and she felt a flicker of hope. The storm was her ally now, its fury shielding her as she pressed on.
Her paws faltered as the terrain changed, the rocky ground giving way to soft, wet earth. She stumbled, her limbs trembling from exertion. She couldn’t keep this pace much longer. With a growl of frustration, Sable sought shelter beneath a cluster of boulders. The rain dripped down in rivulets, pooling at her feet, and she let herself catch her breath, her flanks heaving.
Her wolf wouldn’t carry her much farther. She needed to shift, to tend to her wounds before they became too much, but first she needed to reach the place where they’d left their clothing. She rose from the ground and began to make her way back to the hollow of the tree where her things, including clothing, boots and money, were stashed in a waterproof bag.
Sable feared in her rush to get to safety, she might have become disoriented or gone too far off course, but when she allowed herself to look up, the tree wasn’t too far in the distance. Gathering herself for one last push, she made her way to the tree. With a deep, shuddering breath, she focused inward, calling on the part of herself that was human.
The change came in a rush of sensation, a swirl of color and sound that blurred the edges of the world. Her fur receded as her body shifted from she-wolf to woman. When it was over, she knelt in the snow, naked and trembling, the cold rain slicing against her skin as she pulled on her clothing, outerwear and boots.
Sable lifted her sweater, pressing a hand to her side, wincing as her fingers found the jagged edge of the wound that had creased her side. It wasn’t deep, but it bled freely, a stark crimson against her pale skin. She tore a strip of cloth from the bandages she had brought with her and wrapped it tightly around the wound, her movements clumsy from exhaustion. The makeshift bandage wouldn’t hold for long, but it was better than nothing.
Her breath fogged in the air as she rose unsteadily to her feet, her body aching from the shift. The rain plastered her blonde hair to her face, and she swiped it back with a grimace, tucking it under her knit hat. She had to keep moving.
The storm had grown worse, the wind whipping through the canyon like a feral thing. That would work in her favor. Not only would it hide her tracks, but it would act as a deterrent to the hunters. Sable trudged forward, the icy muck sucking at her boots with every step. Her senses were dulled by fatigue, the edges of her vision darkened by the effort of staying upright.
As she pushed deeper into the ravine, the world around her seemed to shift. The rocky walls narrowed, the storm’s fury muted by the towering cliffs. The path twisted and turned, a natural labyrinth that offered no clear direction. She didn’t know where she was going, nothing looked familiar, but she knew she couldn’t stop.
When the treacherous path led her down to the frozen waterfall, she realized that there was a passage behind it. Flattening herself to the cliff wall, she was only barely able to fit between the ice and the wall. She kept moving, and when she finally stumbled into a hidden canyon, it was like crossing into another world. The cliffs parted to reveal a space untouched by the violence she’d left behind. The storm raged on above, but here the air was still, the snow falling in a gentle, steady rhythm.
Sable made her way to a small copse of trees and collapsed to her knees, the soft ground giving way beneath her. She gasped for breath, her body trembling with cold and exhaustion. For a moment, she allowed herself to sink into the earth, the depth of her grief and pain pressing down on her like a physical thing.
Her family was gone. The realization hit her anew, sharp and brutal. She could still see their faces, hear their howls as they fell. She had failed them. The weight of that failure threatened to crush her, but beneath it, something else stirred—a spark of rage, hot and unrelenting.
This wasn’t over.
Sable dug her fingers into the snow, her nails scraping against the stone beneath. Her chest heaved as she lifted her head, her hazel eyes blazing with determination. The hunters had taken everything from her—her family, her pack, her home—but they hadn’t taken her will. She would survive. She would rise from this, stronger and more ruthless than ever.
And she would find them.
The storm’s echoes rolled through the canyon, a low, guttural growl that seemed to mirror her own. Sable pushed herself to her feet, swaying slightly as she steadied herself against the wall of the canyon. Her body ached, her wound throbbed, but she stood tall, her resolve hardening like steel.
Somewhere out there, the hunters thought they’d won. They thought they’d silenced the last of her pack. They were wrong.
Sable was still alive.
And she would make them pay.
The snow fell harder, its rhythm steady, as if the storm itself bore witness to her vow.