Rise of the Banished She-Wolf Chapter 177

Evelyn

Cold. That was the first sensation that crept through my consciousness as I slowly regained awareness. My head throbbed, and a metallic taste lingered in my mouth—blood, my own blood. I tried to move but found my arms restrained, held tightly by two men whose scents marked them as hunters, not wolves.

My eyelids felt impossibly heavy, but I forced them open. Blinding white surrounded me—snow, falling in thick flakes from a night sky illuminated by a nearly full moon. The world came into focus gradually. I wasn't alone. Several wolves—at least fifteen—surrounded me in a loose semicircle, their breath forming small clouds in the frigid air.

But these weren't Blackfang Pack wolves. Their build was different—leaner, with longer limbs. Their fur patterns and the way they moved, carefully coordinated and unnaturally disciplined, told me exactly who they were.

'The White wolves from EuroEastern.'

"Evelyn!"

The voice cut through the night like a blade—deep, commanding, and achingly familiar. My head snapped up so fast it sent fresh pain shooting through my skull, but I didn't care.

Through the curtain of falling snow, I could make out figures standing opposite us. At the center stood Devon, his tall frame rigid with tension, flanked by members of the Blackfang Pack. Even at this distance, I could feel the waves of barely contained fury radiating from him.

"Well, well." A heavily accented voice spoke from behind me. "The great Devon Hall comes to rescue his mate."

A man stepped forward, moving to stand beside me. Tall, with silver-blond hair and piercing blue eyes, he exuded the unmistakable authority of an Alpha. His lips curled into a cold smile as he surveyed Devon and his pack.

"I am Viktor White," he announced, his voice carrying across the snow-covered ground. "Alpha of the White Pack of Eastern Europe."

The hunters holding me tightened their grip, and I winced as fingers dug into my arms. White gestured to his forces—the wolves and several armed hunters who stood among them.

"As you can see, we've come prepared," he continued, his tone mockingly pleasant. "Silver weapons, trained hunters, and your precious mate as our guest."

Devon's eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching visibly. "You've invaded my territory, White. This is an act of war."

White laughed, the sound sharp in the cold air. "War? I prefer to think of it as... a negotiation." He moved closer to me, his hand roughly grabbing my chin. "Surrender your territory and your position as Alpha, or watch your mate die. She's already been shot with a silver bullet."

I felt my blood run cold at his words. Had I been? I couldn't remember much after being forced off the road.

Devon's response was immediate and explosive. "You will not touch her!" His voice thundered across the clearing, his eyes flashing dangerously. "And you will never have our territory!"

White's grip on my face tightened painfully. "So you'd sacrifice her? Interesting choice for a mate." His thumb traced my jawline in a gesture that made my skin crawl. "She is quite beautiful, especially for a white wolf. Perhaps I'll keep her for myself after all."

In an instant, Devon shifted, his human form giving way to the massive black wolf that was his true nature. His roar shook the trees, sending snow cascading from their branches.

"Release her!" Devon growled, his voice distorted by his partial transformation.

White merely smiled, seemingly unimpressed by Devon's display. "I'll make this simple. Either you surrender yourself in exchange for her freedom, or she dies right now." He nodded to one of the hunters, who pressed a silver blade against my throat.

I felt the burn immediately, the silver sending sharp pain through my skin. "Devon, don't!" I managed to call out, my voice weaker than I wanted. "It's a trap!"

The clearing fell silent, save for the soft hiss of falling snow. Devon's eyes met mine across the distance, and in that moment, I could feel everything he was feeling—rage, fear, love, desperation.

Slowly, painfully, he shifted back to human form. "Let her go," he said, his voice steady despite the emotion I could feel radiating from him. "Take me instead."

"No!" I struggled against my captors, ignoring the bite of the silver blade. "Devon, please!"

White's smile widened. "How touching." He gestured for his men to bring Devon forward.

As Devon approached, walking steadily through the deep snow, White's expression turned vindictive. "I should have killed you in Portland when I had the chance. That woman saved you then." His eyes darted to me. "She won't save you now."

With a quick motion of his hand, one of his men lunged forward, driving a silver knife into Devon's side. Devon dropped to his knees in the snow.

My scream tore through the night, raw and primal. Tears froze on my cheeks as I watched Devon struggle to remain upright, his face contorted with pain.

White stepped forward, producing a small vial from his pocket. He held it up to the moonlight, examining the clear liquid inside.

"Is this the silver protection serum you've been working on?" he asked, his voice dripping with mockery. "The one that's supposed to make werewolves immune to silver?"

I lunged forward, only to be yanked back roughly. "Give it back!"

White laughed. "Oh, we've already tested it. Completely useless." His face twisted with anger as he hurled the vial to the ground, where it shattered, the liquid seeping into the snow. "I waited so long, thinking you would actually succeed."

His disappointment morphed into fury. "I thought you would be a worthy opponent, but you're nothing!" In a fluid motion, White transformed into his wolf form—a massive creature with pure white fur that almost blended into the snowy landscape.

His wolf was pristine white—pure arctic fur that seemed born from snow itself. Unlike mine, which carried the subtle complexity of a black wolf transformed.

With a silent command, the hunter holding me raised his gun, the barrel aimed directly at my head.

"Say goodbye to your mate, Hall," White growled through his transformation.

The gun fired with a deafening crack. I flinched, instinctively raising my arms to shield myself.

But the pain never came.

Instead, a brilliant light erupted from my chest—from Isabel's necklace. The light formed a shield around me, deflecting the silver bullet. The necklace grew hot against my skin, then shattered, the pieces dissolving into the air.

Isabel's ashes, carried on an invisible wind, swirled around me before settling on my skin, seeping into my pores. A surge of power unlike anything I'd ever felt before flooded through me, and all the pain in my body began to fade away. Was this Isabel's healing gift flowing through me?

My wolf roared to life within me. The transformation was instantaneous and effortless. My clothes tore away as my body shifted, white fur sprouting across my skin, bones and muscles rearranging themselves into a new form.

White stared at me, his wolf eyes widening with shock and something else—fear.

In that moment of distraction, Devon moved with unexpected speed. He launched himself at White, revealing that his earlier weakness had been an act. In his hand gleamed the same silver knife that had supposedly wounded him.

"How?" White gasped, reverting partially to human form in his shock. "You were stabbed with silver! You can't—"

Devon pinned White to the ground, the silver knife pressed against his throat. "That serum you called useless?" Devon's voice was cold as the snow around them. "That was the decoy. The real one works perfectly."

I padded forward, my paws silent in the snow. "The vial you took from me was a failure," My voice emerged from my throat, unexpectedly clear, as if Isabel's power had not only healed me but also broken through some barrier, allowing my thoughts to transform directly into speech."Did you really think I'd carry the real formula with me unprotected?"

White struggled beneath Devon's grip, his face contorted with rage and disbelief. "This isn't possible!"

Devon's eyes met mine across the clearing, a silent communication passing between us. With a swift, decisive movement, he drew the silver blade across White's throat.

Blood spurted into the snow, steam rising from the hot liquid as it met the freezing ground. White's body convulsed once, twice, then lay still, his eyes staring sightlessly at the night sky.

I shifted back to human form, Devon immediately wrapping me in his coat. The cold bit into my skin, but I barely noticed it. All I could feel was relief—and Devon's arms around me.

"It's over," Devon murmured against my hair. "It's finally over."

"I'm not the cursed wolf!" I said through trembling lips, my voice barely steady.

Snow fell steadily, each flake working to erase the crimson stain that bloomed around White's still form, burying the years of torment I had silently borne...