Chapter 75

• Lupa wiped the sweat from her brow as she stood in the orchard, before reaching up again to pick more cherries from a branch. She was out helping the pack as the harvest the last of the season’s crop, filling crats to be packed and sent down to the human world below.
• Anika and Kiaya were nearby, playing on blankets spread out under the shade of a large tree. Their giggles filled the air as they stacked wooden toys and crawled after each other, blissfully unaware of the busy scene around them. Lupa glanced over at them every now and then, her heart swelling with love. It was moments like this, with her pack thriving and her family close, that filled her with a sense of deep fulfilment.
• A cool breeze drifted through the clearing, stirring the leaves overhead. Lupa breathed it in, savouring the brief calm from the warmth of the day. As she reached for another cherry, something in the air shifted. It was a distant, high-pitched whine that grew louder with each passing second.