Shadowflame sisters :The last howl

Chapter 5:Liora!!

Nyx's POV

"Fire! Fire!"

The screams pierce through the air, coming from a cabin in the distance away from Bloodmoon Shore; they are coming from Nightbound Legion, my pack.

My chest tightens and my head spins. Something about fire has always unsettled me in ways I cannot fully explain.

"Please help."

The small voice comes through the mind link, weak and terrified. I recognize it immediately as one of the pups from my pack.

My protective instincts surge forward, overpowering everything else.

I signal to my warriors with a sharp gesture. We all take off running toward the cabin where the smoke rises in thick, dark clouds. Behind us, I hear Astra and her warriors following.

When we reach the building, my eyes sweep across the wooden frame that is now on fire.

The heat hits my face even from several feet away. We push through the entrance, and chaos greets us inside. People run in every direction, some coughing violently, others crying out for help. The fire has not consumed the inside yet, but smoke fills the space, and the flames outside block several exits.

I spot the young pup almost immediately. He crouches in a corner, his small body shaking as tears stream down his ash-stained face. "Where is my mummy? Where is my mummy?" he mumbles over and over, his voice breaking with each word.

I rush to him, dropping to my knees beside him. "I've got you," I say firmly, scooping him into my arms. He clings to me, burying his face in my shoulder as I carry him toward the exit. My warriors work as fast as possible, guiding people out and helping those who have inhaled too much smoke.

Outside, we lay the survivors on the grass at a safe distance from the burning building. Most of them cough and gasp for fresh air, but they are alive. I set the pup down gently and check him over for injuries. He has a few minor burns on his hands, but nothing too serious.

"Someone call a doctor," Astra shouts, her voice cutting through the commotion. For once, I agree with her without argument.

Within minutes, a young woman arrives with a medical bag. I recognize her immediately as Kael's sister, Liora. She has been training as a pack doctor for the past year, and from what I have heard, she shows great promise. She moves from person to person with trained skills, checking their system and treating burns.

I stand near the pup, watching Liora work. The child has finally stopped crying, though he still trembles. Astra approaches from the other side, surveying the scene with her arms crossed.

"Your pack really needs to improve their fire safety measures," she says, her tone dripping with mockery. "This is the second incident this month."

My jaw tightens.

"Excuse me? Your territory had a warehouse fire just three weeks ago that took half a day to put out."

"That was an electrical malfunction," Astra shoots back. "Not carelessness."

"And you know this was carelessness how exactly?" I step closer to her, my hands curling into fists. "You do not know what caused this fire."

"I know that your pack has a habit of leaving things unsecured," she says, mirroring my posture. "Maybe if you spent less time trying to look powerful and more time actually leading, incidents like this would not happen."

Heat floods my face, and it has nothing to do with the fire still burning behind us. "You have no right to speak about my leadership. My warriors saved everyone in that building," I growl, my voice rising. "What did your warriors do? Follow us like lost puppies?"

Astra's eyes flash with anger. "We were providing backup, something you clearly needed since your pack could not handle a simple rescue operation without help."

The insult strikes deep. Before I can think better of it, I draw my sword from its sheath at my side. The blade shines in the sun. "Take that back."

Astra's eyes widen slightly, but she does not back down. "Or what? You will wave your fancy sword at me?"

I do not wave it. I swing it, stopping just short of her shoulder in a clear warning strike. The message is obvious: back off or face the consequences.

But Astra is not one to back down from a challenge. Her eyes shift from golden to the white color of her wolf. In seconds, her body transforms. Fur spreads across her skin as she drops to all fours, her clothes tearing away. Her wolf form towers over me, all white fur and sharp teeth.

Fine. If she wants to fight, we fight.

I transformed into my black wolf. The familiar sensation of bones reshaping and muscles expanding washes through me. My black wolf emerges, and I feel the power moving through my limbs. I release a low growl that rumbles from deep in my chest.

We circle each other, ready to fight. Our warriors, loyal to their alphas, begin to shift as well. Within moments, wolves from both packs face off against each other, growls and snarls filling the air.

A brown wolf from my pack jumps at one of Astra’s warriors. They crash into each other in the air, biting and clawing. Soon, fights break out all over the field. The anger between our packs, built up over years, finally explodes.

Astra rushes at me, her jaws snapping for my neck. I step aside and s***h at her with my claws. I hit her shoulder, and blood spills. She cries out but quickly gets back up and attacks me again, even angrier.

We are so focused on fighting each other that we don’t see Liora run into the middle of the battle.

"Stop this!" she screams, waving her arms. "Stop fighting right now! These people need help!"

She runs between two fighting warriors, trying to push them apart. Her voice carries desperation, but the wolves are too lost in their battle rage to hear her properly.

One of Astra’s warriors, a big grey wolf, notices movement out of the corner of his eye. He turns and sees someone running toward him. Acting on instinct, he strikes, thinking he is under attack.

But it isn’t an enemy.

It’s Liora.

His claws s***h across her arms, ripping through her skin and flesh.

Blood sprays across the grass as she cries out in pain and falls to the ground, clutching her injured arms to her chest.

The sound of her scream cuts through everything else. It pierces the battle rage that has consumed us all. Every wolf freezes mid-fight, heads turning toward the source of the sound.

I shift back to human form instantly, so does Astra. We both rush toward Liora at the same time, dropping to our knees beside her body.

"Liora!" I call out, my arms trembling as I reach out to touch her body.

Fuck…what have we done?

I turn to Astra; she also has that scared look on her face.