Chapter 35: Mike
Mike's group was down to ten. The bears were pushing them hard. They could not slow them down and they were following the scent of the his pack's non-combatants.
Five more wolves showed up and Mike knew they fought with Kam. He smiles thinking, 'Kam killed his four bears. He is going to be here soon. He sent his group to reinforce the others.'
With the extra wolves, Mike can slow the bears down. Not a lot, because they know to keep going. The scent is getting stronger so they are gaining on the running pack.
Mike knows the old and the young are slowing most of the rest. Based on the scent strength, they will see them in a few minutes. He howls and gets a response from his pack closer than he hoped.
He digs a line and fights to hold his ground. The others join him and they stop the forward movement. The bears try to pass by on one side so they give a little to get in front and stop them once more. While these soldiers are not all his, they know what is at stake so will die to protect his pack.
They give up inches instead of feet now. Occasionally, they even gain an inch. Their bodies are bleeding. The healing process too slow to keep up with the damage inflicted on them. The bears are bleeding too, but not as bad or as costly. It will not be long before the wolves bleed out or collapse. Mike is pushing himself with sheer willpower. He is sure the others are too. He hears a multiple wolf howl in the distance. It is echoed closer by. This group echoes it once more.
They fight with renewed strength, as a rescue is coming. He hears another two echoes behind him, one closer than the other. They fight on stalling for every inch. Seven wolves sneak up behind the bears. Ten more join in from his pack. These ten are late teens, still in training. But, double the force allows the healing to close the wounds and stop the loss of blood. The bears are stopped here.
Mike may give these kids hell for breaking the rules, but they have earned his respect for putting their lives in danger to save their pack. He had expected those coming to be adults. But, they may be busy carrying the old and young.
Given his son is in the group, he might have used his alpha command to get here. It would be something he would do. He will definitely get to the bottom of this question, if they live through this.