Chaos erupted as the Bloodfang wolves rushed toward the burning buildings. The night sky glowed orange with flames, and screams filled the air. Raven's heart pounded as she ran alongside Hunter, Kieran, and Lily.
"Get the pups to safety!" Hunter shouted to his pack members as they reached the main area. "First defense team, with me!"
Shadow Watchers in black tactical gear swarmed through the compound. They carried strange weapons that shot darts instead of bullets. A wolf nearby collapsed instantly when hit.
"Tranquilizers," Kieran warned. "They want captives, not kills."
Hunter turned to Raven, his eyes fierce. "Take Lily and find Sylvia. She'll know where to hide you both."
"I can fight," Raven protested.
"You're what they want," Hunter growled. "Go. Now!"
The silver mark on his wrist pulsed, and Raven felt a pull deep in her chest. Their connection was growing stronger.
"This way," Lily tugged at Raven's sleeve. "Sylvia's cottage is behind the main hall."
They ducked through the chaos, narrowly avoiding the invaders. A Shadow Watcher spotted them and raised his weapon, but before he could fire, a massive gray wolf—Nate in his wolf form—knocked him to the ground.
"Thanks!" Raven called as they raced past.
Sylvia's cottage stood apart from the other buildings, surrounded by a garden of strange plants. Unlike the rest of the compound, it remained untouched by the attack.
"Hurry!" Lily pushed open the door.
Inside, the cottage was filled with herbs hanging from the ceiling, bubbling pots, and shelves of old books. Sylvia sat calmly at a table as if expecting them.
"I've been waiting," the old seer said, her milky eyes seeming to look right through Raven. "The stars told me you would come tonight."
"The pack is under attack," Raven gasped. "Hunter sent us to hide."
Sylvia smiled. "Did he? Or did the bond lead you here?"
Raven touched her chest, feeling that strange pull. "What is happening to me?"
"Sit," Sylvia commanded. "Both of you. We don't have much time."
Outside, the sounds of fighting continued, but inside Sylvia's cottage, time seemed to slow down. The old wolf moved to a chest in the corner and pulled out an ancient leather book.
"The prophecy begins with the Healer," she said, opening the book to reveal hand-drawn pictures of five wolves, each with different colored markings. "That's you, Raven. The silver light of healing flows in your veins."
"But I never knew—"
"Your mother knew," Sylvia cut in. "She hid your true nature to protect you. The bloodlines have been hunted for generations."
Lily leaned forward, eyes wide. "Am I a bloodline too?"
Sylvia nodded. "The Seer. Like me, but your gift will grow stronger than mine ever was. You've already had visions, haven't you?"
Lily's face paled. "The white wolf. The silver pool. And... the traitor."
"Who is it?" Raven asked urgently. "You said you saw them in your dreams."
Before Lily could answer, the cottage door burst open. Maya stumbled in, blood streaming from a cut on her forehead.
"They've breached the east wall," she panted. "Hunter sent me to check on you."
Sylvia's eyes narrowed. "Did he now?"
A heavy silence fell over the room. Raven noticed Sylvia's hand moving slowly toward a jar of powder on the table. Something was wrong.
"Maya," Raven said carefully. "Where's Nate? I saw him fighting near the main hall."
"He's helping evacuate the pups," Maya replied quickly. Too quickly.
Lily gasped suddenly, her eyes glowing faintly silver. "It's her," she whispered. "She's the one from my vision."
Maya's friendly face transformed into a snarl. "Stupid little seer," she hissed, pulling a gun from her jacket—not a tranquilizer, but a real gun. "You should have kept your mouth shut."
Raven moved instinctively, pushing Lily behind her. "Why, Maya? Why betray your own pack?"
"My pack?" Maya laughed bitterly. "The Bloodfang Pack killed my real family years ago. I've been waiting for this moment since Hunter took me in as a 'lost cub.' The Shadow Watchers promised me revenge."
"Hunter protected you," Raven said, inching closer. The silver light began to glow in her palms. "He gave you a home."
"And now I'll take his pack away, starting with his precious bloodlines." Maya aimed the gun at Raven's heart. "The Shadow Watchers just want you alive—they didn't say in what condition."
In that moment, several things happened at once. Sylvia threw the jar of powder into the air. It exploded in a cloud of sparkling dust, momentarily blinding Maya. Raven lunged forward, her hands glowing brightly as she reached for the gun.
The weapon fired. Pain seared through Raven's shoulder, but she kept moving, knocking Maya to the ground. The two wolves grappled, rolling across the floor.
"Lily, run!" Raven shouted.
But Lily didn't run. Instead, her eyes glowed brighter, and she began to speak in a voice that wasn't her own—deeper, ancient.
"The traitor's path ends tonight, but greater darkness follows. When the moon bleeds red, the five must stand as one or all will fall."
Maya froze at these words, giving Raven the chance to pin her down. The silver light from Raven's hands spread over Maya's body, not healing but constraining, like glowing ropes.
"What is this?" Maya gasped, struggling against the bonds.
"The power of the Healer," Sylvia said grimly. "Not just to heal, but to bind what is broken."
Raven stood shakily, blood soaking her shirt from the gunshot wound. Strangely, she felt no pain now—the silver light had spread to her injury, numbing it.
"We need to warn Hunter," she said, swaying slightly. "There could be other traitors."
Sylvia moved to a small wooden box on her shelf. "First, you need this." She opened it to reveal a necklace—a silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon with a small crystal at its center. "This has been waiting for the Healer's return for centuries."
As Sylvia placed the necklace around Raven's neck, the crystal glowed with the same silver light as Raven's hands. Warmth spread through her body, and she felt her wound begin to close.
"It will amplify your powers and help control them," Sylvia explained. "You're not fully trained yet, and using too much power could kill you."
A howl cut through the night—Hunter's call, urgent and pained.
"He's in trouble," Raven gasped, feeling the pull in her chest grow stronger. The mark on Hunter's wrist was calling to her.
"Go," Sylvia urged. "I'll protect Lily and deal with this traitor." She glanced at the bound Maya with disgust.
"What if there are more Shadow Watchers?" Raven asked.
Sylvia smiled mysteriously. "My cottage has its own protections. Now go—your Alpha needs you."
The word "your" made Raven's heart skip a beat, but she didn't have time to think about it. She raced out the door, following the invisible thread that connected her to Hunter.
The compound was a battlefield. Bodies lay on the ground—some Shadow Watchers, some wolves. Raven prayed they were just unconscious from the tranquilizers.
The pull led her to the training grounds where Hunter fought back-to-back with Kieran against six Shadow Watchers. They moved with incredible speed and strength, but they were outnumbered.
As Raven watched, one of the attackers raised a weapon different from the others—sleeker, deadlier. It hummed with an eerie blue light as he aimed at Hunter.
"No!" Raven screamed, racing forward.
The necklace at her throat blazed with light. Power surged through her unlike anything she'd felt before. She reached out her hands, and a wave of silver energy burst from her palms, knocking all the Shadow Watchers off their feet.
Hunter and Kieran turned in shock as Raven reached them, the silver light surrounding her like an aura.
"Raven?" Hunter's voice was barely a whisper. Blood trickled from a cut on his forehead, and his arm hung at an awkward angle—broken.
Without thinking, Raven placed her glowing hands on his injuries. The bones mended, the wound closed, strength returned to his body.
"How did you—" Hunter began, but another howl interrupted him—a warning from the north side of the compound.
"There's more coming," Kieran said grimly.
The Shadow Watcher with the strange weapon was getting to his feet, aiming again. But this time, his target wasn't Hunter.
"The girl," he commanded the others. "Take her alive."
As they advanced, Raven felt a strange humming from the necklace. The crystal began to change color, from silver to deep red.
"Raven, your necklace," Hunter warned, stepping in front of her protectively.
The crystal pulsed once, twice—and then the world around them exploded in red light.
When Raven could see again, all the Shadow Watchers lay unconscious on the ground. But the necklace's crystal had turned black, and a crack ran down its center.
"What just happened?" Kieran asked, staring at the fallen enemies.
"I don't know," Raven whispered, touching the damaged crystal. "But Sylvia said there's more to this prophecy than we know. And Lily..." She remembered the young girl's strange words. "Lily said when the moon bleeds red, the five must stand as one."
Hunter's eyes widened. "The blood moon is in three days."
"And we've only found two bloodlines," Raven realized. "We need to find the others before then."
As she spoke, a howl of pain echoed from the direction of Sylvia's cottage.
"Lily!" Raven gasped, the silver thread of connection to the young seer suddenly pulling tight in her mind.
They raced back toward the cottage, but as they drew near, Raven stopped short. The door stood open, objects scattered across the floor inside. Sylvia lay on the ground, blood pooling beneath her aged body.
And Lily was gone.