Chapter 97: Dawn Assault. Luca stood at the cave entrance, watching the forest as the first rays of dawn broke through the trees. He’d been on watch for three hours now, and exhaustion was pulling at every muscle in his body. Behind him, Cassian slept fitfully against the cave wall while Killian paced in restless circles. Rafe sat beside Bella’s unconscious form, his hand resting on her shoulder like he could keep her anchored to the living world through touch alone. "Anything?" Cassian asked, his voice rough with sleep. "Nothing yet. But they’re coming. I can feel it." The mate bond hummed with warning, that instinct that told him danger was approaching even when his eyes couldn’t see it yet. Killian stopped pacing. "How much longer do you think we have?" "Not long. Korvin went straight to Maren. She’ll want to strike while Bella’s still unconscious." "Then we should move her. Find somewhere more defensible." "There is nowhere more defensible," Cassian said, standing up and stretching. "This cave has limited entry points and good sight lines. Moving her while she’s unconscious would leave us completely exposed." Rafe spoke up from where he sat. "How long has it been since she collapsed?" "Almost six hours," Luca said. "The white marks stopped spreading two hours ago. That has to mean something." "It means the cost is fixed," Cassian said grimly. "Whatever price she paid for bringing you back, it’s permanent. The question is whether she’ll wake up." A sound in the forest made them all freeze. Not loud, just a whisper of movement that didn’t match the natural rhythm of the woods. Luca’s wolf stirred, hackles rising. "They’re here." The four boys moved into defensive positions immediately. Killian took the left side of the entrance. Cassian moved to the right. Rafe positioned himself directly in front of Bella’s unconscious form. Luca stood at the center, his eyes scanning the tree line. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then the forest erupted with movement. Wolves burst from the undergrowth on three sides, dozens of them, their eyes glowing with predatory hunger. Shadow creatures descended from the canopy like living darkness. Demons emerged from behind rocks and trees, their claws gleaming. "Oh god," Killian whispered. "That’s not an attack force. That’s an army." At the front of the approaching horde stood a wolf unlike any they’d seen before. Her fur was pink, unusual and striking, and she moved with a deadly grace that made even the largest wolves around her seem clumsy. She stopped just outside the cave entrance, her cold eyes assessing them. "Four boys protecting one unconscious girl," Raven said, her voice carrying clearly. "Maren sends her regards." "Tell Maren to come herself if she wants Bella," Luca snarled. "Maren doesn’t dirty her hands with mercy kills." Raven’s smile was sharp. "That’s what I’m for." She gestured, and wolves began circling the cave entrance. Shadow creatures blocked the sky. Demons sealed off potential escape routes. "You’re surrounded," Raven continued. "You’re outnumbered at least ten to one. You’re exhausted from your last battle. And the girl you’re protecting can’t even wake up to help you." "We’re not surrendering," Cassian said flatly. "I wasn’t offering surrender. I’m offering you a choice. Step aside and let us do what needs to be done, and you live. Continue protecting her, and you die with her." The four boys exchanged glances. Then Luca stepped forward, his body blocking the cave entrance completely. "Come and try." Raven’s expression didn’t change. "So be it. Attack!" The wolves charged. Luca shifted mid-leap, his wolf form crashing into the first three attackers. His claws tore through fur and flesh, his jaws finding throats. Beside him, Killian fought with desperate fury, his dagger flashing in the dawn light. Cassian used his tactical mind even in the chaos, targeting weak points in the enemy formation, directing Rafe to cover gaps in their defense. But there were too many. For every wolf they fought off, two more took its place. A shadow creature dove from above, its claws raking across Luca’s back. He howled in pain but didn’t fall, spinning to tear it apart before it could strike again. "They’re trying to separate us!" Cassian shouted over the sounds of battle. He was right. The enemy forces were using coordinated attacks to drive wedges between the boys, to break their formation and leave Bella exposed. Rafe took a vicious hit from a massive gray wolf, the impact sending him crashing into the cave wall. Blood streamed from his shoulder but he pushed himself back up, positioning himself in front of Bella again. "I already died once today," he snarled at the approaching enemies. "I’m not afraid to do it again." Killian was bleeding from a dozen cuts, his movements getting slower. "We can’t hold them!" "We have to!" Luca roared, even as three wolves tackled him to the ground. That’s when Raven entered the fight. She moved like lightning, faster than any wolf they’d faced. Her claws caught Cassian across the chest, dropping him instantly. Her jaws closed around Killian’s arm, making him drop with a scream. Within seconds, she had incapacitated two of the four boys. Luca struggled free from the wolves holding him and charged at Raven, but she was ready. She sidestepped his attack and drove her claws into his ribs, precision strikes that avoided vital organs but caused massive pain. Luca collapsed, gasping. Raven stood over him. "I told you this would happen. Now stand aside or watch your friends die." Rafe was the only one still standing, positioned between Raven and Bella’s unconscious form. Blood poured from his wounds but his stance was firm. "No," he said simply. Raven sighed. "Brave. Stupid, but brave." She moved toward him, and Rafe knew he couldn’t win. He was already weakened from dying and being resurrected. His body was running on pure determination and nothing else. But he would not move. Raven’s claws flashed out, and Rafe felt white-hot pain as they tore across his chest. Not deep enough to kill, but deep enough to drop him. He fell beside Bella, his blood mixing with hers on the cave floor. "It’s over," Raven said, walking past the fallen boys toward Bella’s unconscious form. "The Moonblood line ends here." She raised her claws, positioning them over Bella’s throat. One quick strike and it would be done. But before she could deliver the killing blow, Bella’s eyes snapped open. They were pure silver, glowing with power that made everyone in the cave take a step back. Bella sat up slowly, the white streaks in her fur blazing with cold light. She looked at Raven, then at her wounded pack mates, then back at the pink wolf who had come to kill her. "You attacking my friends," Bella said, her voice echoing strangely. "That was a mistake." Raven backed away, her confidence faltering. "Retreat! Everyone retreat to secondary positions!" But it was too late. Power exploded from Bella like a shockwave, knocking every enemy in the cave backward. The wolves crashed into trees. The shadow creatures dissolved into smoke. The demons were thrown clear of the cave system entirely. Bella stood, and despite the white marks covering half her body, despite having just awakened from unconsciousness, she was terrifying. Raven recovered first, charging back into the fight. But Bella moved with speed that shouldn’t have been possible. She caught Raven mid-leap and slammed her into the ground with force that cracked the stone. "You wanted to kill me while I slept," Bella said, her silver eyes blazing. "At least give me the courtesy of a fair fight." What followed was barely a fight at all. Bella tore through Maren’s forces like they were nothing. Wolves that had fought for decades fell in seconds. Shadow creatures that had terrorized the forest for years were scattered like leaves. Demons fled back to whatever dark places they’d come from. Raven tried to mount a counterattack, tried to use her decades of experience to find an opening. But Bella’s power was overwhelming. Every move Raven made, Bella countered. Every strike, Bella deflected. Finally, Bella caught Raven by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "Tell Maren," Bella said quietly, "that the Moonblood line will not be ended. Not by her, not by anyone. And if she sends another army, I will destroy every last wolf!" She threw Raven into the remaining wolves with force that sent them all tumbling. "Leave!" Bella commanded, her voice carrying the weight of ancient power. "Leave now and never return!" The survivors didn’t need to be told twice. They fled into the forest, Raven limping at the rear, leaving behind the bodies of those who’d fallen. When the last enemy had disappeared, Bella’s silver eyes dimmed. The power radiating from her flickered and faded. She swayed, exhaustion finally catching up with her. "Bella!" Luca crawled toward her, his ribs screaming in protest. She collapsed, and he caught her before she hit the ground. This time her eyes stayed open, though they’d returned to their normal color. "I’m okay," she whispered. "Just tired." Cassian limped over, pressing a hand to his bleeding chest. "That was incredible." "That was terrifying," Killian corrected, cradling his bitten arm. "Remind me never to make you angry." Rafe pulled himself up, grimacing. "How did you wake up? We thought you’d be unconscious for days." "I heard you fighting," Bella said. "Heard you getting hurt trying to protect me. I couldn’t just lie there and let you die." "The white marks," Luca said, looking at the patterns covering her fur. "Are they permanent?" "I think so. They don’t hurt anymore, but they’re not fading either." She touched one of the streaks. "This is the price for bringing Rafe back." "A price I’d pay again," Rafe said firmly. They sat together in the cave, battered and bleeding but alive. Around them, the forest was returning to its normal rhythms as if a massive battle hadn’t just taken place. "We can’t stay here," Cassian said after a few minutes. "They might regroup and come back." "We don’t need to stay," Bella said. "My three days are up. The exile is over." The boys looked at each other, calculating. Friday morning, Saturday, Sunday, Monday morning. She was right. Three full days had passed. "We can go back to the school," Luca said. "Back to Maren’s territory?" Killian asked. "After we just destroyed her army?" "She can’t prove we did anything wrong. We were in the forest defending ourselves against wild animals. That’s the story." Bella nodded. "And if she tries anything against us at the school, in front of witnesses, it’ll expose what she really is." "So we go back and pretend nothing happened," Cassian said. "We go back and prepare for what comes next," Bella corrected. "Because this isn’t over. Maren will try again." "But not today," Rafe said. "Today we survived." Slowly, painfully, the five of them helped each other out of the cave. They made their way through the forest, using each other for support, following the path back toward Whitethorn Academy. The sun was fully up now, and despite everything they’d endured, despite the permanent marks on Bella’s body and the wounds they all carried, they were alive. They reached the edge of the forest just as the morning bell rang across the academy grounds. Students were heading to breakfast, completely unaware of the battle that had just taken place in the woods behind their school. "Ready?" Luca asked Bella. She looked at the school, at the normal students living normal lives, unaware of the supernatural war happening around them. Then she looked at the four boys who’d risked everything to protect her. "Ready," she said. Together, they shifted back to humans and walked into Whitethorn Academy, changed forever by what they’d survived but determined to face whatever came next. Somewhere in her chambers, Maren watched through a window as five figures emerged from the trees. She knew that everything had changed. The True Silver had awakened. And the real war was just beginning.