There was barely a moment after Hephaistion's words before they found themselves in combat. Sky managed to react before he did, and her power surprised him. (It probably surprised the shewolf, too.) As Sky's hit landed, Hephaistion readied his shield and lunged forward, using his not inconsiderable body weight to slam into the wolf he'd hoped had been caught off-balance.

Hephaistion didn't really have time to verify how the wolf took the hit, but he hoped to be able to knock her far enough away to give Sky the space to draw her weapon. However, it left him very close to the wolf herself.