Chapter 1

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"Ella!" A deep voice called from somewhere in the distance. The sound was small but desperate and bounced off the mountains around me.

However, it was almost completely drowned out by another thunderous boom. The ground shuddered under my feet, sending me toppling over. Shrill screams erupted around me, mingling with the agonised cries of the wounded.

"Ella!" The voice called again as I staggered to my feet. I recognised the panicked yells and with a groan, turned to face him.

"I'm ok," I told my best friend, running as fast as my shaky human legs would carry me. "Are you hurt?" I asked him, grabbing his shoulder and examining his body for wounds.

Ryder nodded towards the chaos behind me. "I'm fine, come on." He raced past me before his words registered in my head. Once they did, I charged after him, feeling my lungs wheeze from the thick, black smoke that clouded the territory.

Immediately, we started grabbing people who couldn't walk by themselves. Bright red intermingled with the clouds, spilling across the square.

A young girl screamed from my left where I was handing a woman over to a few pack members who would help her however they could. As soon as the woman's weight left my arms, I darted towards the little girl who was no more than a few metres from the bomb planted in the square.

I crouched down beside her. "Can you hear me?" I asked her, simultaneously waving my hand in front of her eyes to check her vision. Her pupils were dilated slightly but her eyes followed my movements.

"Yes," she croaked, soft whimpers following. "My shoulder," she cried, "and my legs."

I nodded in understanding. "Sh, you are going to be ok," I assured her before tossing aside part of a street light that had toppled onto her. Blood poured down her leg, spilling onto the pavement around me.

Gently, I scooped her up so she was lay across my arms and then started towards the town square where the entire of my own pack and Aiden's had gathered to aid the ill and wounded.

Thankfully, there hadn't been too many people in the square when the explosion had occurred; just a few children playing around the area and some people passing through.

However, at the sound of the ear splitting explosion, a large number of members - myself included - raced to the square to see what had happened and to help the injured.

That was when the second explosion had gone off.

I managed to weave my way through the chaos and get the little girl over to where a few people had set up a makeshift hospital. The pack healers were treating some of the minor injuries here and overseeing who would need to be taken back to the pack hospital.

"Her leg is bleeding a lot, she says her other leg and shoulder also hurt," I quickly told them, placing her down on the only bed that was still unoccupied.

"Thank you Alpha." One of the healers bowed quickly and then began tending to the girl.

I made my way through the beds, checking on each patient. Whether bad luck or intention, the explosion had occurred on a dark moon when we were all at our weakest, leading me to believe it was the latter.

"Alpha Reed," one of the patients called from his bed, he was sitting up and looked rather well, situation considered. A bandage was wrapped around his left leg and was stained a deep crimson. "Would you like me to help in any way?" He offered.

I immediately shook my head. "No, get some rest and tend to your wound until the moon rises. If you don't heal when it does, return to the hospital immediately," I instructed and he nodded.

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