Flames licked the night sky as Raven raced toward the eastern border with Hunter and Kieran. The attack had come without warning—or had it? Now that she thought about it, Raven had felt a strange prickling sensation along her spine hours earlier but had dismissed it as nerves.
"Split up!" Hunter commanded the wolves around him. "Alpha team, secure the pups and elders. Beta team, with me!"
The pack moved with military precision, breaking into groups. Hunter grabbed Raven's arm before she could follow Nate's team.
"Stay close to me," he ordered, his blue eyes glowing in the firelight.
"I can fight," Raven protested.
"That's exactly what I'm counting on."
They charged toward the tree line where dark shapes moved—wolves larger than any Raven had seen before. Their fur wasn't just black; it seemed to absorb light, making them look like moving shadows.
"Shadow Watchers," Kieran growled, shifting into his wolf form—a sleek gray beast with amber eyes.
Hunter shifted too, his midnight fur bristling. Raven followed suit, her black wolf form smaller but quicker than the males'.
The enemy wolves attacked without warning or howls. They fought silently, which made them even more terrifying. One lunged at Hunter, who met it mid-air. They crashed together with bone-jarring force.
Raven ducked as another shadow wolf snapped at her neck. She spun and slashed with her claws, drawing blood. The wolf snarled—the first sound she'd heard from them—and circled her warily.
Suddenly, that strange prickling sensation returned, stronger now. Raven felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Without thinking, she jumped sideways just as a shadow wolf crashed down exactly where she'd been standing.
How had she known?
No time to wonder. The battle raged around her. Hunter fought three wolves at once, his massive form a blur of teeth and claws. Kieran had two wolves pinned but a third was sneaking up behind him.
Raven leaped, knocking the sneaking wolf away from Kieran. She felt her teeth sink into its shoulder, tasted blood. The wolf yelped and retreated.
Again, that tingling sensation. Raven whirled around to see a human figure at the edge of the trees—not a wolf but a man holding something that gleamed in the moonlight.
A gun.
And it was aimed at Hunter.
"Hunter!" Raven tried to shout, but in wolf form, it came out as a bark. She raced toward him, her heart pounding.
The man pulled the trigger. Raven felt rather than saw the dart flying through the air. She leaped, colliding with Hunter and knocking him aside just as the dart whizzed past.
Hunter snarled in surprise, then saw the dart embed itself in a tree. His eyes widened, understanding what Raven had done.
The man was loading another dart when Nate's wolf form burst from the trees behind him. The man crumpled under Nate's weight.
"Tranquilizers," Nate said after shifting back to human form. He held up a dart. "They're trying to capture, not kill."
The shadow wolves, seeing their human companion taken down, began to retreat. They melted back into the darkness with the same eerie silence they'd arrived with.
"Is everyone okay?" Hunter demanded, now in human form, his chest heaving from exertion. Blood trickled from a slash on his arm.
"Minor injuries, no casualties," reported a female wolf Raven recognized as Maya. "They didn't get past our outer defenses."
Hunter nodded grimly. "This was just a test. They wanted to see our strength, our defenses." His eyes found Raven. "And they wanted to see her."
Back at the compound, Sylvia treated the wounded while Hunter called a war council. Raven sat beside him at the long table, uncomfortably aware of the stares from other pack members.
"They knew exactly when to strike," said Veronica, the woman who had pulled her child away from Raven earlier. "Right after sunset patrol but before night patrol. Someone told them our schedule."
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the room. Several pairs of suspicious eyes turned toward Raven and Kieran.
"The traitor isn't either of them," Hunter said firmly. "Raven saved my life tonight, and Kieran fought beside us."
"Then who?" demanded an older wolf with battle scars across his face.
"That's what we need to find out," Hunter replied. He turned to the man they'd captured—now bound to a chair in the corner. "And our friend here is going to help us."
The prisoner remained silent, his face expressionless. He wore all black, with no insignia or markings.
"He won't talk," Kieran said. "Shadow Watchers are trained to resist interrogation."
"Everyone talks eventually," Hunter growled, stepping toward the prisoner.
Raven touched Hunter's arm, feeling the silver mark on his wrist pulse beneath her fingers. "Let me try something."
Before anyone could object, she knelt before the prisoner and placed her hands on either side of his face. The silver light flowed from her fingertips, not aggressively but gently. The man's eyes widened in fear, then glazed over.
"What are the Shadow Watchers planning?" Raven asked softly.
"The bloodlines," the man answered in a monotone voice. "We must collect all five before the moon cycle is complete."
"Why?"
"To extract their powers. To create the perfect weapon."
The room fell silent. Raven continued, her hands still glowing against the man's temples.
"Who sent you?"
The man's face contorted, fighting her influence. "The Director... working with... the wolf matriarch."
"Lady Seraphina," Kieran breathed.
"And who is your contact in this pack?" Raven pressed.
The man's mouth opened, but before he could speak, he convulsed violently. Foam bubbled from his lips, his eyes rolled back, and he slumped forward.
"Poison capsule," Nate said, checking the man's pulse. "Hidden in a tooth probably. He's dead."
Hunter stared at Raven with a mixture of awe and concern. "How did you do that? Make him speak?"
Raven looked down at her hands, the silver light now fading. "I don't know. I just... felt I could reach his mind."
"The Silversong bloodline isn't just about healing bodies," Sylvia explained, stepping forward. "It's about healing minds and spirits too. Creating connections."
"So she can read minds now?" Veronica asked, fear evident in her voice.
"Not exactly," Sylvia said. "But she can sense emotions, intentions. That's how she knew about the attack before it happened. How she sensed the dart before anyone saw it."
All eyes turned to Raven, who suddenly felt very small under their scrutiny.
"Her powers are growing," Sylvia continued. "Faster than I expected."
Hunter paced the room, processing this information. "We need to find the other bloodlines before the Shadow Watchers do. And we need to identify the traitor in our midst."
"I might be able to help with that," Raven said quietly. "If my ability to sense intentions is real, I could try to feel out the traitor."
"Dangerous," Hunter said. "If they realize what you're doing..."
"It's worth the risk," Raven insisted. "I can do this, Hunter."
Their eyes locked, that strange connection between them intensifying. After a long moment, Hunter nodded. "We start tomorrow. Tonight, everyone rest and stay alert."
As the meeting broke up, Raven noticed Lily watching her from across the room, the young girl's hands faintly glowing silver. There was something in Lily's eyes—a warning? Fear?
Later, as Raven returned to her cabin, she felt a presence nearby. She spun around, claws extending automatically.
"Easy," came Hunter's deep voice from the shadows. He stepped forward, moonlight illuminating his face. "It's just me."
"You shouldn't sneak up on people with new powers," Raven said, trying to calm her racing heart.
"I wanted to thank you," Hunter said, his voice unusually soft. "For saving my life."
"Anyone would have done the same."
"No," Hunter moved closer. "They wouldn't have. You sensed that dart before it was fired. That's... remarkable."
Raven felt heat rise to her cheeks at his nearness. "I'm just learning what I can do."
"You're more powerful than you realize," Hunter said, his eyes intense. He reached out, his fingers brushing hers. Where they touched, silver light danced between them. "This connection between us... it's getting stronger."
The air felt charged, electric. Raven couldn't look away from his blue eyes, couldn't ignore the pull she felt toward him.
Then, abruptly, Hunter stepped back. "Get some rest. Tomorrow will be challenging."
As he turned to leave, Raven called after him. "Hunter? How will we know who to trust?"
He looked over his shoulder, his expression grave. "That's the hardest part of being an Alpha—sometimes you can't trust anyone. Not even yourself."
After he disappeared into the darkness, Raven entered her cabin and froze. On her pillow lay a single black feather and a note written in blood:
"The next time, I won't miss. The Silversong line ends with you."