Raine barely had time to breathe.
The memory of her mother's voice still echoed in her mind when a sharp wind cut through the trees—unnatural, icy, and laced with dread.
Xavier stood up instantly, eyes scanning the forest. "They're here."
Ezekiel cursed, already reaching for his blades. "How did they find us so fast?"
Raine looked down at the pendant around her neck. Its silver glow had dulled.
"They were watching the shrines," she realized, heart sinking. "They knew I'd go looking for the truth."
A howl split the night.
Not just any howl.
A Council Alpha howl.
They didn't come silently this time.
The forest exploded in black flames—spells designed to burn magical bloodlines. The fire avoided trees, but it fed off the energy of the marked.
Xavier shifted mid-leap, tackling Raine out of the way just as a bolt of corrupted lightning struck the shrine stone, splitting it in half.
Dozens of cloaked figures stepped into the clearing, their eyes glowing with Council sigils. One stepped forward—tall, commanding, wrapped in layers of enchanted leather.
"Raine of the Moonblood," he said, voice like cold iron. "You are hereby condemned under Council Law for awakening forbidden magic, claiming a sovereign right, and tampering with locked bloodlines."
"I didn't tamper," Raine growled, stepping forward. "I inherited. And I'm done running."
Varros raised his hand—and an obsidian brand appeared in the air, swirling with darkness.
The Black Mark.
Once sealed, it bound its target's powers, rendering them helpless.
He hurled it toward her.
Raine didn't move.
The moment the mark touched her pendant, the silver crescent flared.
And shattered the brand mid-air.
A wave of force blasted outward, knocking back half the Council soldiers. Some screamed. Others dropped their weapons.
Xavier lunged, fangs flashing, ripping through the line to get to Varros. The general raised a ward just in time—but it cracked under the Alpha's fury.
Raine moved too, weaving through blasts of spellfire, her body guided by her mother's instincts and her own rising strength.
Ezekiel fought beside her like a shadow—striking fast, vanishing faster.
But then—
Varros whistled.
And they arrived.
From the trees emerged towering wolves with hollow eyes and no scent—muted, twisted, unnatural.
"The Silenced," Ezekiel hissed. "Wolves who gave up their free will to serve the Council's dark path."
Raine felt it the moment one came close: a soul screaming inside, trapped.
"They're not just wolves," she whispered. "They're bound spirits."
"Can you free them?" Xavier asked, already bleeding.
Raine didn't answer.
She just moved.
The pendant blazed against her chest, and Raine raised both hands. Her Trial Mark split, now burning silver and black. The Silenced hesitated.
"Stand down," she commanded.
And for the first time… one did.
The largest of the twisted wolves paused—then howled, not in pain, but in recognition.
It turned on the others.
Chaos erupted.
Varros's snarl shook the ground. "You've cursed them with free will!"
"No," Raine said calmly. "I just reminded them what they were before you broke them."
The battle didn't end cleanly—but it ended with the Council retreating.
Varros vanished in a flash of teleportation magic, vowing to return with full authority.
Ezekiel dropped to his knees, panting. "That was… close."
Xavier helped Raine stand. "You freed one of them."
"I can free more," she said, voice steel. "But they'll be back with worse."
Ezekiel glanced at the burning trees. "What now?"
Raine looked up at the moon—full, glowing, and blood-tinged.
"We stop running," she said. "It's time we find the wolves the Council couldn't break. We rally them. We rise."