For a long time, the werewolf packs in the valley heard about the Ashclaw Pack as legend. We’d heard about the demon attack that wiped out the entire village in the south as if it had never been there. We didn’t even know what the demons looked like until they appeared almost a century later, haunting us now, threatening the remaining packs.
“So, she’s a descendant of the Ashclaw Pack, which means she wields fire she doesn’t have a clue about,” Conan sneers.“And if the demons were after the Ashclaw Pack, then that’s why they’re hunting her now. She sounds like a liability to us. She shouldn’t—”
It’s Anastasia who cuts Conan off with a snarl. “Sophie might be linked to the Ashclaw Pack, but she’s new to all of this. It seems her powers have awakenedbecausethe demons are after the valley.”
“And fire was the only thing that could kill a demon,” Amos adds. “If anything, Miss Torres is the key to defeating the demons. She already killed one. The demons must know she exists. They knew even before her powers awoke.”
“They do now,” Heinrich speaks for the first time since the start of this meeting, and he turns to me. “Silver Stone stands with you, Damian, as you serve to protect your mate.”
“And train her,” Anastasia adds, and I nod my gratitude at the members of the Silver Stone Pack.
“Perhaps it's time Conan and I proceed with rituals to find our fated mates,” Heinrich suggests, and I feel Conan's anger seeping through the air.
But that's not why I say, “Not just yet, Heinrich. While it will be ideal to find your mates, we shouldn't put Silver Stone and Iron Breath in more danger than you already are.”
Uncle Joel adds, “Damian is right. Until Sophie's powers are controlled, we need to tread carefully. The demons knew about her before she arrived here. They might have been alerted during Damian's ritual.”
“That's what we believe,” Amos concedes. “We can only perform the next ritual when it is safe.”
As the meeting comes to a close, I can’t stop thinking about what Anastasia said, about Sophie training her newfoundpowers. I don’t even know how to reveal this news to her—that she’s a descendant of a werewolf pack with fire magic. She hardly believes that wolves exist at all, and she’s going to blame me for this.
I can just feel it.
But there’s something else I feel on my way to the pack clinic—a tug on my heartstrings, a hum under my skin that signals Sophie is close by. My inner wolf stirs when I catch her scent in the air, and I pause to fill my airways with her sweet essence.
I continue into the clinic, following her scent like a breadcrumb trail that will lead me to the ultimate treasure. I find that treasure close to James’s room, my brows furrowing as I approach.
“Thank you, Sophie…” I hear my sister’s voice from inside, and I stop outside the door. “Damian’s gonna be ecstatic when he hears about this.”
“Where is he, by the way?” another gruff voice asks, and my heart skips a beat, prompting me to rush in and find James awake.
“James?!” I exclaim, hurrying to his bed and flinging my arms around his neck.
He chuckles and croaks, “Whoa, man, careful. I just woke up.”
“How…?” I whisper in shock as I pull back and meet my best friend’s glowing brown eyes.
He’s still chuckling when he nods to the corner of the room. “I think she did something to me.”
Dianna giggles as she slinks her arm through Sophie’s and glances at her with twinkling eyes of wonder. “All Sophiedid was check his vitals, and then his pulse, and his eyes sprang open.”
My jaw drops as I meet Sophie’s eyes, her cheeks flushing with bright color as she averts her gaze shyly.
“You healed him…” I whisper in awe, and Sophie shakes her head.
“I’m not a healer. I’m a nurse,” she denies, but Dianna clicks her tongue.
“She’s an asset to this clinic, and I’m gonna treat her to coffee,” Dianna says cheerfully as she pulls Sophie toward the door. “You two can catch up.”
Sophie steals a shy glance at me before she leaves the room with my sister. I follow them to the door, watching them walk down the hall until a kid stops them, and Sophie crouches to check the scrape on his knee. Instead of going to the cafeteria, they head to the first aid room, and I’m standing in James’s room with a stupid grin on my face.
Is Sophie embracing who she is, or is she escaping into familiar territory as a nurse in the clinic?
Still, she seems to have healing abilities, on top of having the fire power that burns a demon to ashes. It’s how she healed my arm the other day.
It wasn’t simply because of the fated mate bond, but because of her own gifts.
“Ahem!” James clears his throat deliberately loudly, prompting me to turn with heat crawling up my cheeks.
