[@Caits]

As the darkness enveloped Caius, he phased into his wolf form, howling up at the moon. He ran in and out of the trees, heading towards the clearing where the other wolves would gather. As he neared the place, he could feel the new minds joining their collective thought. Nervous, excited, uncertain and scared thoughts all filtered into his head followed by Darric's calm, commanding voice. They were all gathered already and he could sense restlessness in the pack. Some of them were revving up for a fight, something that was common on a day like this.

He stepped out of the trees, the moonlight shining on his black fur. Clear blue eyes looked around at the smaller wolves, their new addition, called into the bloodline with the sudden influx of vampires. The growling ceased as several pair of feral eyes rested on Caius. 

Darric's laughter echoed in all their minds. [color=lightgreen][i]The calm that Caius brings with him. Ever since you joined the pack, Caius, all full moons have been easy to manage.[/i][/color]

At their leader's words, one wiry haired wolf that was standing closest to Caius bared his teeth and growled low, a clear sign of challenge.

Caius turned his blue eyes to the smaller wolf, bared his own fangs and growled back.

[color=turquoise][i]Don't mistake my calmness for gentleness, wolf,[/i][/color] Caius warned. But the young wolf had no plans on heeding his peer's word and launched himself, bangs bared and claws extended, ready to tear and maim. Caius met the wolf's attack head on. 

The older members of the pack stepped back, including Darric, making way for the first challenge of the night. Those that remained in the center were the new wolves, most of them getting worked up by the courage that the wiry haired one displayed. Some of the more level headed ones stepped back. 

[hr]
Several hours and several fights later, just as Caius was catching his breath from all the challenges he had to take, a malicious singsong voice echoed in the night.

[color=red]"A gathering of mutts, I see. It'll be so much easier to rid the world of your kind now that you're gathered in one spot."[/color] The witch that had attacked Caius and Callie before called out. All wolves turned their attention to where the voice came from. She was floating mid air, the shadows of the trees hiding her from plain view. [color=red]"Let's make sure you don't interfere this time, Lupo Dio,"[/color] the witch pointed a finger at Caius and a red sigil appeared underneath his feet. [color=red]"You'll die a painful death after I deal with your... minions,"[/color] she added and started raining spells on the other wolves.

Caius poised himself to attack but found that he couldn't move, all four feet glued to the spot where the sigil glowed. Pain lanced through his whole body the more he struggled against it. He saw two young wolves fall dead on the ground as several more witches hovered into view. He struggled harder, the pain intensifying as he did. The older wolves were furiously attacking, managing to catch and tear through two witches who screamed in pain as fangs teared through their flesh. Darric and the silver wolf, Anaia, were heading towards the witch's leader. 

His flesh screaming in pain, Caius continued to struggle against the transparent binds that held him in place. He growled, grinding his fangs in frustration. It made no sense why the witch singled him out. He pushed the thought aside and focused on setting himself free. 

He could see the witch readying an attack to hurl at both Darric and Anaia. He didn't know how but he knew that it would be fatal to the wolves if the spell hit them. If he could only break free...

And then it happened.

Everything seemed to slow down. As Caius looked around him, he could see wispy strands that snaked up his body from the sigil. While they looked thin and easily broken, they held him in place tightly. With a snarl, he snapped at the strings and as they broke against his fangs, he immediately felt his body become lighter, the pain ebbing away. He didn't waste any more time and shrugged the rest of it off. 

As soon as he was free, he launched himself at the witch, catching the full brunt of her spell with his body, the same way he did for Callie. His body immediately became numb and he hit the ground with a thud. At the same time, he heard a scream as the two wolves descended on the witch, his timely intervention letting them successfully proceed with their attack.