Chapter 1: Shadows Over Windhowl

The wind howled through the dense trees of Windhowl Clan's outskirts, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth. The Blood Moon was nearly upon them, and Erin Windveil couldn’t help but feel its looming presence, like a shadow creeping over the land. She gathered herbs from the wild underbrush, each step measured, her fingers brushing over leaves and stems with practiced precision.

For Erin, the forest was a place of solace. The clansmen had always seen her as an outsider—her silver eyes, a rare mark of something ancient and powerful, made them wary. But here, among the herbs, she was just a healer. No one questioned her presence.

A rustling in the distance made Erin freeze. Her heart skipped a beat. There were traps here, placed by the hunters to catch game. But these weren’t just any traps—they were set by the clan’s most skilled hunters, and they were too close to the sacred grounds.

Erin crept forward, instincts sharpening. She found them—deadly snares, gleaming silver hooks aimed to pierce flesh. But it wasn’t a wild animal she saw caught in one of the traps.

A man, a stranger, sprawled across the forest floor. Blood pooled around him, staining the earth beneath. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. He was alive—but barely.

Ignoring the old warnings of her clan, Erin rushed toward him, her heart pounding in her chest. The moment her fingers touched his skin, a sudden surge of energy pulsed through her wrist-mark, causing it to flare with an eerie, glowing light. She gasped, recoiling for a moment, but quickly recovered her composure.

"You’re a fool," she muttered, more to herself than the man. "I should leave you."

But the words felt hollow. She couldn’t leave him like this—not when her knowledge of herbs could save him. Her hands worked quickly, untangling the man from the trap, her breath steady as she focused on the task. His face was unfamiliar, but something in his eyes—a flicker of recognition—troubled her. She could feel it. He wasn’t just any wanderer.

"Who are you?" she whispered, more curious than fearful.

The man’s lips parted, barely able to form words. "Betrayal… Silverblood…" he muttered, his voice raw with pain.

Erin’s brows furrowed. Silverblood? Her heart skipped a beat. That name… it shouldn’t have mattered to her. But it did.

"I’ll help you," she said softly, as she worked to staunch the bleeding. "But you’ll owe me."

With her healing hands, Erin was able to stabilize him—just barely. She lifted him with all her strength, dragging his weight through the thick underbrush and toward her hidden hut. Every step was a battle against her own doubts, against the fear that the stranger might bring trouble she couldn’t outrun.

She placed him on the cot in her small hut, where the soft glow of moonlight filtered through the cracks in the walls. The man groaned as she tended to his wounds, sweat beading on his forehead as his fever worsened.

"You’re lucky I found you," Erin muttered, though a strange pull toward him gnawed at her thoughts. "Lucky I’m the only one who still cares about healing."

His fevered muttering continued. "The bloodline… will rise… you must be the one…"

Erin’s breath caught, but she pushed it aside. She was no one. Just a healer. No one of importance. But his words… they carried weight. A weight she couldn’t ignore.

The man’s breathing slowed as sleep overtook him, his face pale but stable. Erin sat beside him, staring at his scarred form. A warrior’s body—yet something about him, the way he carried himself even in unconsciousness, seemed different. His aura was not that of a mere mercenary. There was something royal in him, something lost.

Erin glanced down at her wrist, where her own mark still glowed faintly in the dark. The curse of the Silverblood, the heritage she had never asked for, now felt heavier than ever.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the man stirred, his hand twitching toward his dagger at his side.

She drew back instinctively. "What are you?" she whispered to herself.

He muttered again, this time louder. "Raynor... Blackfang..." His name was barely a whisper on the wind, but Erin caught it all the same.

Raynor Blackfang. The name carried with it a storm of danger and secrets she wasn’t sure she was ready to face.

But one thing was certain. Erin’s life was no longer just about healing.

It was about to change forever.

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