WOLVES AT THE GATE

The Silverfang Council Hall reeked of smoke and betrayal.

Rowan stood at the center of the crescent-shaped dais, his claws tapping a slow, deliberate rhythm against the ancient stone. Shadows danced across his scarred face as torchlight flickered ominously around him. The elders flanked him like vultures, their expressions carved in cold stone, their golden eyes unblinking and merciless. Behind them, the chamber bristled with warriors—loyalists baring teeth and claws, their growls rumbling low like distant thunder.

“She has returned,” Rowan hissed, his voice carrying through the cavernous hall like a blade slicing silk. “The cursed hybrid survived the trials. And now she walks our territory… with the Alpha at her side.”

Murmurs rippled through the assembled pack—fearful, hungry, divided.

“What if the prophecy is true?” an elder whispered.

“Then we are already damned,” another growled, claws scraping against stone.

Rowan’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Damned? No. Not yet. We still have a chance to cleanse our kind. To rip out this infection before it spreads.”

He raised his clawed hand, silencing the voices with a sharp snap. “Tonight, we purge the hybrid and the traitor Alpha. We restore order to Silverfang.”

Maren’s voice, soft yet unyielding, cut through the thick air. “And if you’re wrong? If she is the one meant to save us?”

Rowan’s eyes flashed crimson. “Then let her die proving it.”

At his signal, the council doors slammed open. Dozens of warriors flooded in—wolves mid-shift, eyes blazing with zealotry, weapons strapped to their bodies. The floor trembled beneath their combined weight as they formed ranks like a living wall of fur and steel.

“Tonight,” Rowan snarled, “we hunt.”

Meanwhile — At the Forest’s Edge

Elora stood shoulder to shoulder with Joel beneath the looming blood moon. Its crimson light painted the trees in hues of war, their shadows twisting like monstrous hands reaching for her throat.

She could hear them now—the pounding of paws, the hiss of blades drawn, the guttural howls that split the night. Rowan’s army was coming.

Joel’s golden eyes blazed as he scanned the treeline. His muscles coiled like a predator poised to strike, and his voice rumbled low. “They’re close. Too close.”

Elora’s hands trembled, but not from fear this time. Silvery veins of light crawled up her arms, pulsing like liquid moonlight beneath her skin. Her fingers curled into fists. “I’m ready.”

Joel’s eyes darted to her glowing hands, his jaw tightening. “You shouldn’t have to be.”

“But I am.” Elora stepped closer, her voice steady despite the thundering in her chest. “We fight together.”

His lips twitched—half a smirk, half sorrow. “Then don’t leave my side.”

The first wave hit like a tidal surge. Wolves burst from the trees, claws flashing, eyes wild. Joel shifted mid-leap, his massive black wolf form colliding with the attackers in a flurry of teeth and fury. The ground shook as bodies crashed together, snarls and yelps echoing through the forest.

Elora raised her hands, silver light blazing. The nearest wolf lunged for her throat, but she unleashed a wave of energy, sending it sprawling into a broken tree trunk. She barely had time to breathe before two more charged her from opposite sides.

She ducked, rolled, and fired twin blasts that sent them shrieking into the shadows.

Her power felt wilder now, almost alive, as if the moon itself was bleeding through her veins.

“They keep coming!” she shouted over the chaos.

Joel tore free from an attacker’s jaws, blood streaking his black fur. His growl reverberated like a war drum. “Then we keep fighting!”

The air thickened as Rowan himself emerged from the darkness. Fully shifted, his colossal wolf form loomed like a nightmare—a beast of scars and crimson eyes. His claws left deep gouges in the earth as he advanced, saliva dripping from bared fangs.

“Traitor,” Rowan’s voice boomed even in his monstrous form. “You’ve doomed us all.”

Joel met him head-on with a deafening snarl. Their collision sent shockwaves through the battlefield, trees cracking under the force. Teeth tore, claws raked. Blood—both dark and bright—stained the forest floor.

“Elora!” Maren’s voice rang out, desperate and commanding. The elder appeared at the edge of the fight, a dagger flashing in her wrinkled hand. “Protect yourself! Rowan won’t stop until you’re dead!”

Elora’s chest heaved. Her glowing hands flickered dangerously as more wolves encircled her, their snarls vibrating in her skull.

I won’t run. Not again.

She slammed her palms together, and a shockwave of silvery fire erupted, throwing the attackers back. The force split the ground, sending cracks racing like spiderwebs through the earth.

Joel roared as Rowan’s teeth sank into his shoulder, tearing through muscle. But he fought on, his claws raking crimson fur as their battle churned up soil and blood.

“Elora!” Joel’s golden eyes locked on hers through the haze of carnage. “Don’t hold back!”

“I’m not!” she screamed.

Her entire body ignited with moonlight. The glow was blinding, searing the eyes of enemies and allies alike. With a furious cry, she thrust her hands forward, sending a concentrated beam of silver fire straight into Rowan’s side.

The massive wolf howled in agony as the blast knocked him sprawling. Trees splintered under his weight as he crashed to the ground, smoke rising from his scorched fur.

Joel staggered to his feet, his chest heaving, blood dripping from countless wounds. He limped toward Elora, his claws still bared, his golden eyes fierce.

“You’re stronger than all of us,” he said hoarsely.

But there was no time to rest. Rowan’s forces regrouped, snarling and circling like vultures scenting blood. Their numbers still loomed large, and Elora felt the heat of her power waning.

“They won’t stop,” she whispered.

“Then neither will we,” Joel growled.

Back-to-back, they stood as the blood moon rose higher, its crimson light painting them as gods and monsters alike. The forest was a battlefield, and the night was far from over.