BROCK'S POV
The last shadow creature dissolved into smoke just as the first ray of sunlight broke over the mountain tops. I stood panting in the clearing, my clothes torn from fight, watching darkness flee from the growing light.
Around me, pack members emerged from behind trees and rocks where they'd taken cover during the final assault. The shadow troops had thrown everything at us in those last desperate hours before dawn, but we'd held together.
"Is it over?" asked young Jamie Peterson, peeking out from behind his grandma.
I looked around carefully, using all my senses to check for lingering threats. The air smelled clean again, free of the cold emptiness that shadow things carried. Bird songs returned to the forest. Even the grass seemed greener in the morning light.
"It's over," I said, and felt the tightness leave my shoulders for the first time in days.
