ck, Elara instinctively stepped back, "I don't know you." "No." His silver eyes lingered on her face, "They made sure you wouldn't." Outside, steel clashed ag

mblem." Kael's golden eyes blazed, "You're one of the Raven Order." Elara looked between them, "The Raven Order?" The stranger sighed, "That's what your Council calls us." "They prefer their enemies to sound like monsters." Kael moved in front of Elara, shielding her, "Leave." "I'm not here to fight." "You broke into my ter

instantly, "Poison of the Hollow Fang." His expression darkened, "They're here." "They?" Kael demanded, The stranger turned toward the courtyard, "The people hunting all of us." A deafening roar shook the manor, Something massive landed outside, The stone walls trembled,

d... Corrupted, Its body twitched unnaturally, as though something inside it fought for control, The beast released another roar, Then attacked, Kael met it head-on, The impact cracked the courtyard stones, For the first time in years... Someone matched the Alpha's strength, The corrupted wolf slammed Kael into a pillar, Stone exploded, Kael recovered

awakened the Hollow Blood." Every elder nearby turned pale, One dropped to his knees, "That's impossible." "It was forbidden."

ll, The beast suddenly ignored Kael, Instead... It charged toward the manor entrance, Toward Elara, "No!" Kael shouted, He lunged after it, Too late, The monster smashed thr

en... To everyone's astonishment... It knelt, Not from weakness, From obedience, The hall fell silent, Even Kael stopped in disbelief, The beast lowered its head before Elara like a loyal soldier greeting its queen, "No..." Councilor Magnus whispered, "Only the Royal Luna could command wo

A young warrior, Barely older than Rowan, Tears rolled down his face, "Thank..." "...you..." He took one final breath, Then died, The hall remained silent, Selene slowly knelt beside the body,

ter remained on the floor, Kael picked it up, The seal bore no crest, Only a silver moon, He unfolded it carefully, Inside was a single sentence, "If Elara appears before the Werewolf Council, she will not leave alive." Kael read it twice, Then looked toward the doors, Someone wanted the Council to judge Elara, Someone else desperately wanted to stop it, For the first time, Kael wondered whether