The Ambush
1020 Words
POV: Rafe (Age 17)
I was running full speed back toward the temple when the figures emerged from the shadows.
Five of them, stepping out from behind trees and rocks in a coordinated pattern that cut off every escape route. They'd been waiting. Positioned strategically along the path they knew I'd take.
This was a trap.
And I'd run straight into it.
I skidded to a stop, my wolf surging forward with violent rage. Through the bond, I could still feel Mina's terror, but now I understood. They'd gone after her first to draw me back. To make sure I didn't escape.
The five figures were all wearing dark tactical gear, their faces partially concealed. But I could see enough to know these weren't random rogues or common thieves.
These were trained killers. Council assassins.
And standing slightly behind them, looking uncomfortable but determined, was Marcus. My father's guard. The man who'd been assigned to watch me for years.
The spy who'd been reporting my every move.
"Well, well," the lead assassin said, pulling down his face covering to reveal cold, calculating eyes. "The Sterling heir who sneaks to the slums every week. We wondered why. What could possibly draw a noble's son to the poorest, most forgotten part of pack territory?"
I reached for my notepad instinctively, then realized how pointless that was. These people weren't here to have a conversation.
"Then we found the temple," the assassin continued, circling me slowly while the others maintained their positions. "Hidden deep in the forest. Ancient. Covered in murals of twin wolves under the moon. Very interesting artwork. Very... prophetic."
My blood ran cold. They'd found the temple. They knew what we were.
"We know what you are," the assassin confirmed, as if reading my thoughts. "The Council has been searching for Oracle bloodline for decades. We thought we'd eliminated them all. But then you show up with your unusual first shift, your oversized wolf, your suspicious behavior. And your weekly trips to visit someone you've kept very well hidden."
Through the bond, I felt Mina's desperate attempt to reach me.
"Rafe, run! It's a trap! They're using me as bait!"
Too late. I was already surrounded.
I opened my mouth to scream a warning back to her, but of course, nothing came out. So I sent it through our bond with everything I had.
"RUN! They found us! Get away from the temple! RUN!"
The lead assassin smiled, watching my face. "Trying to warn your twin? Don't bother. We have people at the temple too. She's not going anywhere."
Rage exploded through me, and my wolf surged forward with a violence I'd never experienced before. They had Mina. They were threatening her. And my wolf would not allow that.
The shift happened faster than it ever had before. One moment I was human, the next I was my massive golden-white wolf, larger than any of the assassins had probably expected.
The lead assassin's eyes widened slightly. "Well. That's impressive. No wonder the Council wants you dead."
I didn't wait for him to finish talking. I lunged at the nearest assassin, my jaws closing around his throat before he could raise his weapon. The taste of blood filled my mouth as he went down, gurgling and dying.
One down. Four to go.
The other assassins scattered, pulling out weapons I immediately recognized as silver. Silver blades that could cut through wolf hide like butter. Silver nets that would burn and weaken. Silver bullets that could kill even the strongest wolf.
I was fast, but they were trained. They moved like a unit, coordinating their attacks to come from multiple angles at once.
I took down a second assassin, my claws tearing through his chest before he could fire his silver-loaded g*n. But as he fell, another threw a net that wrapped around my hind legs, the silver burning through my fur and into my skin.
I snarled silently and twisted, biting through the net despite the pain it caused my mouth. The silver taste mixed with blood, making me want to vomit, but I forced myself to keep fighting.
Through the bond, I felt Mina's terror spiking higher. She could feel my pain. Feel the silver burning me. Feel me fighting for both our lives.
"I'm coming," she sent desperately. "Hold on, I'm coming!"
"NO!" I sent back as forcefully as I could. "Stay away! Run!"
But I could feel through our connection that she wasn't listening. She was running toward me, abandoning the safety of the temple to try to save me.
The distraction cost me.
I didn't see the third assassin move until it was too late. He threw something small and glass, and it shattered against my side. Liquid sprayed across my fur, and the smell hit me before the pain did.
Silver poison.
Not just silver coating a weapon, but pure concentrated silver designed to kill from the inside out.
The agony was instantaneous and overwhelming. It felt like acid eating through my skin, my muscles, working its way toward my organs and bones. My wolf faltered mid-lunge, and I crashed to the ground, convulsing.
"That should do it," the lead assassin said coldly. "Pity. You would have made an excellent addition to the Council if you'd been born anything other than Oracle spawn."
I tried to shift back to human, thinking maybe the poison would be less effective on my human form, but my body wouldn't respond. The silver had paralyzed my shift, locked me in wolf form while it slowly killed me.
Through the bond, Mina felt everything. The poison hitting my system. The way my wolf was faltering, failing. The darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision.
"Rafe!" Her mental scream was agonizing. "RAFE!"
"Run," I tried to send back, but I didn't know if she could hear me anymore. The poison was affecting our bond, making it fuzzy and distant. "Please... run..."
I felt her terror. Felt her desperation. Felt her getting closer despite my pleas for her to escape.
And then I felt nothing as the darkness swallowed me completely.
- Writer
