bChapter /bb77 /b

    ra’s POV

    The howl that shattered the stormy night echoed tuugh t

    the air, a drep, ominous sound followed by the chans of fighting It came from the Norm Gale “Gamma Elsea!” Vessa’s sharp voice broke through the howl, her eyes wide with panic as the chapped her head toward me “What do we do?”

    They were all looking at me, waiting for some sort of direction, I could feel the weight of their unstainty None of them knew what to do next–t unless I told them,

    I didn’t waste a second, “Let’s go help them,” I said, my voice sharp, cutting through the tension.

    Without another word, I shitted. My body, already in motion, exploded into the form of my siber woll, fur rippling in the fierce wind botted forward, my pack following my lead, their powerful paws thundering behind me. The storm was so thick, the snow swirling in wild gusts, could barely see a few steps ahead. It wasn’t until we reached the North Gate that the full scale of the battle hit me.

    Fire, Smoke, Bodies. The ground was soaked with blood–red sshing bacross /bthe pure white snow, death–stuing my nose as I ran past soldiers locked in brutalbat. Wolves collided in mid air, their teeth snapping, ws bearing through lur. Some

    innerving contract. The scent of it all–iron and had shifted back, exhausted, fighting with des and guns, the sound of metal shing against metal, the thunder of gunfire filling the air.

    At the center of it all, I spotted him. A massive ck wolf, his bfur /bmatted with blood, his face marked with a deep scar, was fighting off se soldiers. They couldn’t take him down, not even with thebined force of six men

    Hlet out a roar, s

    sharp andmanding to get their attention. In a sh, I darted toward the ck wolf, my small frame a blur of nation

    “Herees the little she–wolf!” Sterni

    Sterning’s mocking voice sliced through the chaos. “Ready to kneel before the Rouge King

    I didn’t answer him. Instead, I twisted in midb–/bbair/b,nding on Storning’s back. His bfur /bwas coarse beneath my ws, but I hold an. His body jerked in a violent attempt to shake me off, but I stayed firm, digging my paws into his back.

    Without hesitation, I sank my fangs into the thick flesh of bhis /bneck. Stemning’s roar was deafening, but I didn’t flinch. I ripped off a chunk of his Hesh and spat it out in disgust.

    “Your blood reeks,” I hissed, my voice dripping with contempt.

    Behind me, I heard movement–a rogue circling, ready to strike. But I didn’t see him. Not yet. My entire focus was on Stemning

    “ra, WATCH OUT!” A voice boomedb, /band I turned just in time to see Jory, his eyes wide with panic. But he was too far. There was no way he could reach

    me in time.

    Before I could react, a massive wolf leapt into the fray, his howl cutting through the night. The rogue who’d been sneaking up on me was gone in an instant, ripped to shreds in the blink bof /ban eye.

    I gasped, relief washing over me in a tide of gratitude. “Thorne” My heart skipped at the sight of him, the Alpha trusted more than anything,

    Sterning’s expression twisted into one of sheer terror. Thorne…

    The other brogues /baround us screamed in fear. “Thorpe is here!”

    “Christ, it’s Thorne!” Their voices carried panic, spreading like wildfire.

    The stormy night seemed to freeze for a moment, the battle bpausing /bin fear of the infamous Alpha Thorne, standing tall and defiant, exuded an aura of

    raw power. His ck fur rippled in the wind, his stance towering above the chaos, bas /bbif /bnothing could touch him

    “Steady!” Sterning barked, his voice shaking “We have the Craglen Fortress! We won’t lose this battlel Stay in position”

    Thorne’s voice cut through the fear like ba /bde. “You won’t have it for long

    He charged. The bground /bseemed to tremble beneath his powerful stride, and the soldiers–those brave enough to face him–lensed, preparing for Impact

    I didn’t need to be told twice. With Thorne’s arrival, That the chance to check on my own soldiers

    found Bes not far from the battlefield, copsed against a tree, bblood /bsoaking through his clothes

    “Dex” I rushed to his side, my heart lurching: “Are you alight What happened!”

    He groaned, trying to push himself up. His face twisted in pain. “We started the attack at the North Gate, just like we nned,” he said, his vo “But the rogues–they were waiting for us. I was a trap.”

    My brow furrowed. “They know about our n?”

    “bYeah/b,” he snapped, his fist mming into the snow–covered earth in frustration. “The damn traitor His words trailed off into a grow of ange

    “Did you tell anyone about the nb?/b” asked, trying to keep the panic from creeping into my voice,

    “No! I got the message from Alpha Thorne about the n eniller, and I kept it to myself,” Box’s voice was filled with bitterness. I don’t know about the others, though

    I nodded, kneeling beside him, “We need to get you to a medic. You’re still bleeding out here.”

    “Forget about me!” he snapped, his eyes desperate. “We bneed /bto pull back. The rogues k know our n. We’re losing

    “Bex, calm down,” I said, my voice soft but firm “Thome’s here now. We don’t know for sure yet.”

    “You’re crazy if you think we can win this,” Bex said, shaking his head, but before he could say more, a deafening roar interrupted him

    We both turned, the sound of it enough to freeze the blood in our veins. There stood Thorne, standing atop a rogue’s lifeless body, his head thrown back as he howled at the moon, his powerful presence shaking the battlefield.

    Sterning’s body trembled, his instinct betraying him as he struggled to keep his feet under him.

    “Hand over your King!” Thome growled, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. “Or I’ll rip your throat open”

    Sterning, blood dripping from his face, let out a strange, eerieugh. “We’re not like you hypocrites. We’ll never betray our King”

    Thorne’s eyes glowed with an icy fury. “Well then,” he said coldly. “Prepare to die.”

    But Stemning, despite the fear creeping into his bones, smirked, “You may have won a single battle,” he sneered, “but we still have the Cragen Fortres And thousands of civilians inside. You want to turn them into popsicles, Thome?”

    The mocking smile on Stemning’s face grew wider as he pressed on. “What’s it going to be, Alpha? Retreat or bstay /bband /bwatch me throw a few more bodies -over the wall!”

    The tension crackled in the air, but before Thorne could respond, the unmistakable sound of a hor pierced through the night, followed by a triumphant

    cry

    “Alpha Thome! We’ve taken the Cragfen Fortress! We’ve won!”

    Sterning’s bface /bbdrained /bof color. “Impossible!” he cried, spinning around. “How did you–why-”

    Thorne sneered, bhis /beyes gleaming with victory “bTry /band figure it out in hell”

    And just like that, he lunged at Sterning, fury driving him forward, ba /bforce of nature that nothing could stop.