Ashley stood on the palace balcony, watching the city below. The news of the cure was spreading fast, and wolves who had been weak for years were regaining their strength. It was a victory, but it was also a warning. The hunters would not sit still. They would strike soon.

  Behind her, Coleen’s voice was firm. “We don’t have much time.”

  She turned to face him. He stood with Dave, Elena, and Lena, all of them gathered in the war chamber. The map of Astravel lay spread on the table, marked with locations of known hunter activity.

  Dave pointed to a village near the eastern border. “This is where we found the last victim. If the hunters are poisoning wolves, their base isn’t far from here.”

  Ashley traced the markings on the map. “We need to find that base and destroy it before they strike.”

  Coleen’s jaw tightened. “You’re not going alone.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t planning to.”

  Dave smirked. “I’ll take a scouting team. We’ll locate their camp and report back.”

  Ashley nodded. “Good. But we can’t just wait. We need to prepare Astravel for battle.”

  Elena spoke up. “More wolves are waking up every day. If we can rally them—”

  A loud howl interrupted her.

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  Ashley’s heart leaped.

  The alarm.

  The hunters were here.

  Ashley sprinted through the halls with Coleen at her side. By the time they reached the city gates, chaos had already begun. Shadows moved in the streets, hooded figures darting between buildings.

  Arrows dipped in poison rained from the rooftops.

  A warrior fell beside Ashley, gasping for breath as his body convulsed. One drop. That’s all it took.

  Ashley gritted her teeth. “We can’t let them overrun the city.”

  Coleen’s wolf eyes gleamed in the darkness. “Then we fight.”

  With a powerful leap, he shifted mid-air, landing in the middle of the battle. His massive black wolf tore through the hunters, fangs snapping, claws slashing.

  Ashley didn’t hesitate. She summoned the earth beneath her, pulling the stone and dirt upward, creating barriers to shield the civilians.

  Lena, despite not having special abilities, fought fiercely alongside the warriors.

  Dave and his scouting team arrived just in time, cutting through the hunters with deadly precision.

  But Ashley’s focus was on one figure—the leader of the attack.

  A hooded man stood on a rooftop, watching the battle with cold, calculating eyes. The hunter.

  Ashley’s blood ran cold. He was here.

  The man smirked as if sensing her gaze. Then, in a blur of movement, he vanished into the shadows.

  Ashley’s wolf howled inside her. He was taunting her.

  This wasn’t a full attack. It was a warning.

  By dawn, the hunters had retreated. The city stood, but the cost was high. Dozens of wolves lay poisoned.

  Ashley knelt beside one of the wounded, a young warrior struggling to breathe. She clenched her fists. This had to stop.

  Coleen placed a hand on her shoulder. “We need to strike back.”

  Ashley looked up, her golden eyes burning with determination. “No more waiting. No more hiding.”

  She turned to the gathered wolves. “We take the fight to them.”

  A chorus of howls filled the air.

  The war had begun.