The clearing buzzed with movement. The once-quiet camp had transformed into a place of preparation—strategic maps drawn in dirt, scouts weaving in and out of the trees, weapons being forged and enchanted under the watch of the old mystics.
Raine stood at the heart of it all, cloak billowing in the wind, the silver mark glowing faintly against her collarbone like a warning to any who dared to come close. Her presence was commanding now—strange, yet familiar. Like she was stepping into a role she'd always been meant to fill.
Beside her, Xavier paced slowly, arms crossed, his eyes never leaving her for too long. He'd always protected her. But now? Now he wasn't sure if she needed protection.
"Are you okay?" he asked at last, catching her mid-step.
"I will be," she replied, her voice strong. "We all have a part to play. Mine just… got heavier."
Ezra approached with a roll of parchment, dropping it at Raine's feet. "Our scouts tracked Council movements here, here, and here." He pointed. "They're closing in. Slowly. Testing our edges."
"Cowards," Leena spat, her twin daggers glowing with runes. "They know what you've become. It rattles them."
"Good," Raine said. "Let them fear me."
Micah stepped into the circle, wiping soot from his hands. "The blacksmiths have prepared blades laced with lunar iron. They'll pierce through any Council barrier magic. We'll be ready."
Raine nodded, then turned to the elders—three cloaked seers standing at the camp's edge, whispering in a language older than time.
"What did the threads say?" she asked.
One of them looked up, her eyes milk-white with prophecy. "You stand at the edge of a fire that will burn the past. But be warned, child of the First Wolf… victory has a cost."
Raine met the woman's gaze steadily. "Then I'll pay it."
That night, as the moon climbed high, Raine sat alone near the fire, polishing the crescent-shaped blade her mother had left behind.
Xavier knelt beside her quietly.
"You've changed," he said.
She turned to him, eyes softening. "So have you. You believed in me before I believed in myself."
He reached over, brushing a thumb gently across her cheek. "And I always will. No matter what power flows through you."
She smiled—but it didn't reach her eyes. Xavier noticed.
"Tomorrow," she said. "The blood will spill. The Council will strike. And when it's done… the world won't be the same."
Xavier kissed her forehead and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Then let's change it together."
And beneath the stars, the pack huddled close. Ready. Silent. Waiting for dawn—and war.