Chapter 3 CHAPTER THREE

JULIET

Two years later…

I was carefully arranging freshly brewed tonics on the clinic shelves when the front door burst open with a deafening bang. A group of men rushed inside, their faces grim as they carried injured children in their arms and laid them gently on the empty beds. I immediately abandoned my work and hurried over to examine them.

One little boy's shirt was soaked with blood, while a little girl whimpered weakly, cradling a badly mangled arm against her chest.

"What happened to them?" I asked as I quickly sanitized my hands, then knelt beside the nearest child. I slipped two fingers beneath his nose to check his breathing, relieved when I felt the steady warmth of his breath against my skin.

The men did not respond.

Instead, they moved frantically around the clinic, carefully lowering each injured child onto a bed before stepping back with strained expressions. Every one of them was breathing heavily, their clothes stained with dirt and streaks of blood, yet none of them answered me. They exchanged uneasy glances among themselves as though they were reluctant to be the one to explain what had happened.

I looked from one face to another, my confusion growing with every passing second.

“What happened?” I repeated, raising my voice. “How did these children get hurt?”

Before anyone could respond, another wave of footsteps echoed through the entrance. Several mothers rushed inside, their faces soaked with tears as they hurried toward the injured pups. Their cries immediately filled the clinic, replacing the comforting silence that had settled moments ago. One woman collapsed beside her son, clutching his tiny hand while another wrapped trembling arms around her daughter who was sobbing uncontrollably.

“Juliet!” one of them cried between ragged breaths. “The rogue wolves have attacked the western side of the pack. They came out of nowhere and started attacking everyone near the amusement park!”

My blood turned cold.

“The amusement park?” I whispered in disbelief. “Oh, my goodness…”

That area was always crowded with families, especially during the evenings. Countless children spent their afternoons there while their parents relaxed nearby. If rogue wolves had truly attacked such a heavily populated place, then these children were only the first victims.

There was no time to waste.

I closed my eyes and placed both palms over the nearest child's chest. Warm silver light flowed from my hands into torn flesh and broken bones as my healing power spread through his small body. His breathing steadied almost immediately before I moved to the next child, ignoring the growing weakness creeping into my body. One after another, I mended their worst injuries until every child was finally out of immediate danger.

After I was done, my vision blurred for a brief moment. It reminded me why I could never depend solely on my gift. Healing magic demanded a tremendous amount of stamina, and exhausting myself now would leave me useless where I was needed most.

So, I hurried toward the storage cabinet and grabbed my emergency medical bag, stuffing it with bandages, antiseptics, pain medication, syringes, and every essential supply I could think of. Turning back to the frightened mothers, I forced myself to smile despite the knot of anxiety tightening in my chest.

"They're stable now," I assured them. "Please stay here with your children until more help arrives."

Without waiting for a reply, I rushed outside and climbed into my car. The engine roared to life beneath my trembling hands as I sped toward the western district.

The closer I came to the scene, the more horrifying it seemed. Smoke rose into the evening sky as terrified pack members fled in every direction. Panicked screams echoed across the streets as the sentinels fought the monstrous wolves, trying to prevent them from advancing further. The smell of blood was heavy in the air, and wounded packmates lay scattered across the ground.

I snatched my medical bag from the passenger seat, slammed the car door behind me, and ran straight toward the chaos, determined to save as many lives as I possibly could. My heart broke as I got to work, providing first aid treatment to the wounded people while the sentinels on site moved them away to the clinic. By the time I was on my last patient, my wolf sensed a familiar alpha aura approaching us.

“Juliet!”

Franklin waved as I rose to my feet to greet him. He pulled me for a tight hug before checking me for signs of fatigue. His Head Sentinel, Sam, stood behind us, silently keeping an eye on us while giving orders to his subordinates.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice soft with concern. “I thought you were at the clinic.”

I replied. “I heard what happened, so I came to help.”

Franklin squeezed my arm with grateful eyes before pulling me to the side. I watched the sentinels lift the wounded patient into the ambulance. Pain and terror pulsed through the pack bond like a live thing, causing my heart to ache.

I turned to Franklin. “What about the distress signal you sent to the packs in the other regions? Have they responded?”

Franklin's gaze drifted toward the burning western district before he answered.

“The Kaelvor Pack was the only one that responded. Their reinforcements should have been here by now.”

Worry instantly doused the small hope blooming in my chest. The Kaelvor Pack was the strongest in the Northern Region, and they were known for providing help and shelter for the smaller packs. Although the pack had been created quite recently, their battle prowess was undeniably formidable and brutal.

If they were having delays reaching us, then perhaps the situation was much worse than I thought.

Before I could voice my thoughts, a guttural snarl came from behind us. I barely turned around to see a massive rogue wolf slam directly into Franklin before anyone could react. The impact sent him crashing across the ground.

A sickening crack rang out as his leg twisted beneath him, and a cry of agony escaped his lips while he struggled to push the beast away.

"Frank!" I screamed.

The rogue was already back on its feet. Its glowing red eyes shifted away from Frank and locked onto me instead.

My heart lurched into my throat.

Without thinking, I yanked the pepper spray from my medical bag and aimed it straight at the charging wolf. My trembling finger pressed down on the trigger, releasing a powerful stream into its eyes.

The wolf howled in pain. It stumbled sideways, clawing frantically at its face while thrashing across the ground. Relief barely had time to bloom before another dark blur exploded from the smoke. A second rogue wolf crashed into me with enough force to knock the spray from my hand. The small canister skidded uselessly across the pavement before disappearing beneath fleeing feet.

I hit the ground hard.

When I looked up, two towering rogue wolves stood over me. Their golden eyes burned with terrifying dominance, causing my wolf to whimper. She curled with me, hiding from the crushing pressure pouring from them, leaving every muscle in my body rigid with fear. I wanted to move. I wanted to run. Instead, I could only stare as one of them crouched, preparing to tear into me.

The wolf leaped into the air. But before its jaws could reach me, another body collided with it in midair. Both wolves rolled violently across the bloodstained street before a savage roar drowned out every other sound around us.

My heart skipped.

The faint, damaged mate bond pulsed inside my chest.

Zane.

I pushed myself upright just as he drove his claws through the rogue's shoulder and hurled it into a crumbling wall. Around him, warriors clad in black surged into the battlefield like a living storm, meeting the remaining rogues with brutal precision. Their movements were disciplined, merciless, and frighteningly efficient as they forced the attackers back step by step.

Then he turned toward me.

For a moment, I could only stare. The memory of the man I knew had completely vanished, forcing me to face the one before me.

His black hair was cropped short now, exposing a face framed by a thick black beard. His red eyes were wild and intense, bearing the gaze of a predator. Dark tattoos stretched across his broad chest, powerful shoulders, and thick arms, disappearing beneath torn clothing while his half-shifted body revealed coarse black fur climbing over hardened muscles and hands tipped with deadly claws.

He looked like a beast.

His men instantly rushed into the scene, striking down any rogue wolf they came in contact with. Without a word, he crossed the distance between us and offered me his hand.

I gulped once before curling my fingers around his. But the second I was back on my feet, his expression changed.

His nostrils flared.

In one swift motion, he pulled me firmly against his chest and buried his nose near my neck.

"Why the fuck," he growled, his wild red eyes blazing with possessive rage, "do you reek of another man’s scent?"