We raced through the forest at a pace I didn’t even know was possible. It felt good letting Noir run free like this–but I wished the circumstances were different. I would’ve preferred it under any


    other situation. Still, I was focused on getting there, praying we would arrive before the pack was attacked. But things never work out that easily.


    We reached the pack territory faster than I could have imagined, but the ce was eerily


    quiet.


    There was no movement. No people in sight. The only sound that greeted us was the faint crackle of mes from burning buildings. We found no living soul–just a few bodies of wolves who had clearly fought back, but lost.


    We began searching each house. Every structure. Even the packhouse itself. But there was no sign of anyone else. At least not anyone still breathing.


    “We’re toote,” I said quietly.


    “You must have seen the vision as it was actually happening,” Elias responded.


    “What’s even the point of having these visions if I can’t use them to stop anything?” I asked, frustration and grief beginning to bubble up inside me.


    “Keep yourself together, Lyra. You can’t lose control. Not right now<i>,</i><i>” </i>Noir cautioned, and I tried to take a few deep breaths to regainposure.


    “It’s not your fault. You did what you could,” Elias said gently.


    “Not enough!” I shouted, releasing a burst of energy from my paw that immediately ignited the ground ahead of me.


    “Lyra, calm yourself,” Elias warned.


    “I didn’t mean to,” I said aloud, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”


    I nced around and noticed the other wolves slowly backing away. Their expressions told me what they didn’t say out loud. They weren’t exactly afraid, but they were clearly uneasy. And that in itself made me feel uneasy.


    I was frightening my own pack. Whether they’d admit it or not. That was never what I wanted.


    But when I turned my gaze back to the ruins of the pack that had been wiped out, I couldn’t keep my emotions inside. I was furious. Those people had done nothing wrong, yet they were


    < CHAPTER 52


    murdered simply because my father was a sadistic bastard.


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    But it raised another question–why did he target this pack? They’d never had any connection to him. I didn’t even recognize the pack’s emblem. They had never approached my father’s territory. As far as I knew, he had no reason to even know they existed. So how did he pick them as victims?


    Just then, a few wolves let out sharp cries behind me, and I spun around immediately.


    Two wolves had dropped to the ground. They’d been hit with what looked like darts, and as they copsed, they shifted back into human form.


    I began scanning the forest edges, trying to locate the origin of the attack.


    Several more darts came soaring through the air. One was aimed straight at me. But then, without warning, a glowing blue shield appeared in front of all of us.


    The warriors turned to look, and when they saw me focused on the men hiding in the trees, they instantly realized that I was the one who had cast the shield.


    None of the darts could prate the magical barrier. Not a single warrior was hit. I moved forward, stepping out ahead of the others.


    Elias called out, telling me toe back, to stay behind the line. But I didn’t stop. I continued advancing, heading directly toward the source of the attack.


    “Rx, Elias. She’s in control,” Noir said calmly to Elias and his wolf, Kael.


    The attackers weren’t werewolves–they were human men dressed in tactical ck gear, faces hidden behind full masks.


    At first, they kept firing darts at us, but once they saw the darts couldn’t make it past the shield, they switched tactics. Their guns were reloaded with silver bullets. These men weren’t ying games–they knew exactly who and what we were. And they were fully prepared to eliminate us by any means necessary.


    I caught a blinking red light on one of their masks–it was a camera. That meant the entire encounter was being recorded. Someone, somewhere, was watching this live.


    They opened fire again, this time with real bullets. But even that didn’t work. The shield still held strong.


    When I got close enough, I crouched down low, keeping my gaze on them through the tops of my eyes. I looked like I was preparing to pounce–but what followed wasn’t anything like a wolf attack.


    < CHAPTER 52


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    I let out a roar, deep and guttural, directed right at the group of soldiers standing closest in the forest. mes erupted from my mouth like I was some fire–breathing dragon, engulfing the attackers and the trees around them in zing fire.


    I only stopped when I was certain those men were dead. I had to make absolutely sure they couldn’t follow us, that they wouldn’t be able to regroup and retaliate. They had one goal- and that was to make sure we never walked away alive.


    The rest of our warriors stayed back, but Elias stepped forward <i>to </i>stand beside me, eyes fixed on the scene ahead.


    “They were human,” Elias said grimly.


    “This was orchestrated. A setup,” I replied.


    “They didn’t use wolfsbane on our guys. I’ve got no clue what they used, but it wasn’t anything we’ve encountered before,” Elias muttered.


    “We need to get them back to safety,” I said quickly.


    “Agreed. And we have to do it right now,<i>” </i>Elias answered.


    We managed to transport the wounded back to our territory, and medical help was administered immediately. But no one knew what had hit them.


    Whatever substance was used, it was unlike anything we’d ever seen. Eris had to collect blood samples and begin running tests before she could even offer a guess.


    I returned to Luke’s house and shifted back into human form. After throwing on some clothes, I decided to stay put inside.


    Elias remained with Eris as she worked on the injured. Meanwhile, I walked into the bathroom and stared down at my hands.


    Both were burned and covered in blisters–but oddly, that didn’t really bother me. The blisters were already beginning <i>to </i>fade thanks to our elerated healing.


    What did concern me, though, was the injury on my rib cage.


    I lifted my shirt to check. That was where one of the first stray darts had grazed me. The odd thing was, it hadn’t affected me like it had the others.


    The men who’d been hit had shifted back instantly or lost consciousness. I hadn’t done


    either.


    The injury itself wasn’t deep, but it was stubborn–it wasn’t healing. And even more disturbing


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    < CHAPTER 52


    was the color of the blood.


    It wasn’t the usual red. It was ck.


    < CHAPTER 53


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