“Relra, you must hand this child over to the Alpha. Think of how powerful our pack could become in the future! It has been centuries since a beast with a special bloodline has been born within our pack.”

An old silver wolf exclaimed with happiness, as he gazed into the eyes of a dark female wolf under the bright light of the moon above.

“Father, if I hand her over to him, Avi’s life will be devoid of any happiness and she will only have a future of bloodshed and violence. I do not want her to be a warrior.”

Relra softly stated, while taking a quick glance down at the sleeping pup near her belly.

“She has the ancient bloodline of our ancestors, Relra, and there is no way that the Alpha will let her live a normal life. Are you sure about this?”

The old wolf asked in a despondent tone.

He knew that if Relra went through with her plan, then she would be putting her own life at risk, as the Alpha will not dare to harm Avi.

“She is my daughter, I will gladly exchange my life so she can fully live hers. Will you help me, father?”

Relra turned her bright eyes towards her father.

“Sigh… leave right now then. Tonight is a full-moon, so Lexren will be training for a while. It is your best chance of making an escape without the entire pack knowing.”

The old wolf conveyed while slowly standing up on his four feet.

“Thank you, father.”

Relra’s eyes moistened, as she gently grasped the sleeping pup with her teeth and sprinted into the darkness of the night.

“Make your grandfather proud, Avi. You are the greatest hope of our bloodline…”

The old wolf let out a slight smile when the dark wolf departed from the area, and waited for the young Alpha to detect that a member of his pack had just severed her bond.

*swish-swish*

Swiftly darting around in the forest, Relra frantically sped ahead before the Alpha found out about her. She had already severed the mental connection from the pack, so the others would definitely alert Lexren, rousing him from his training.

“ruff?”

The little pup groaned, the uneven gait of Relra waking her up from her nap.

“It’s alright, little one, just go back to sleep. Mommy just has to run for a while.”

Relra sent her thoughts to the baby beast, focusing on making her quick escape.

“AWOOOOOOOO!”

A series of howls echoed in the night, eliciting a curse from Relra.

Noticing the sense of urgency within her mother, Avi quickly turned silent and looked at the only thing that was visible in the dark night.

The bright shining moon above.

Pain.

It was the first time she ever felt this much physical pain in her life. Even now, she could still feel the cold claws of the hooded beast that dug into her neck.

Pain.

Where was her mother? She wanted to feel her warm fur and smell her scent. She felt safe with her mother. She was starting to feel cold.

Pain.

There was someone else whom she felt safe with. He was her protector and guardian. He would definitely save her. Please… it hurts…

You do not need anyone else’s help. You share the same blood as us, and the power that comes with it. It’s a pity you haven’t awakened to your element yet, but this much of our essence should last you for a while. Open your eyes, daughter of Rahsool!

An ancient voice sounded out within Avi’s mind, sending forth a tsunami of strength into her veins and pushing away the feeling of pain.

Unbeknownst to Avi, her body was currently emitting waves of dark essence and the mark near her belly was glowing with a bright purple light.

“Ack!”

The hooded figure angrily cursed out when a sharp bolt of pain ran through his claws. Quickly withdrawing his hand, the hooded figure glanced at the strange pup standing on the ground. The other figures had looks of shock etched onto their faces, but soon it morphed into one of greed and excitement.

Even Rebran had his mouth open when he saw the clouds of dark essence revolving around the little wolf pup and the aura of death that she was currently emanating.

“Wha-what is this?”

The white light behind Rebran suddenly dissipated under the shock-waves of the dark essence.

However, before he could even make out what was going on, the five hooded figures instantly moved from their locations and quickly surrounded Avi.

It appeared as if the wolf pup was still not conscious, as her eyes remained closed. Only the faint sound of her breathing and the slight rising of her tiny chest indicated that the little beast was alive.

“Hurry! Knock her out before she completely wakesss up. Encountering a bea.s.sst with a sspecial bloodline is truly rare, let alone one so young!”

One of the hooded reptilians croaked in delight, as she released her essence and lit her entire arm in an inferno of red flames. The others did the same, unleashing their essence into the open air.

Within seconds, the female reptilian with the flames shot out a torrent of fire towards Avi’s little body!

Although it was clear that these mysterious waves of dark essence were powerful, under the control of a pup who had not even awakened her element, it was unable to completely block the barrage of attacks. Soon, traces of the reptilians’ essence leaked through the dark clouds and struck Avi right in the chest.

*Rackh*

Avi suddenly awoke from her comatose state, and coughed out a mouthful of blood. Staring at the crimson liquid coming out of her mouth, the little wolf pup felt scared and her mind immediately started to panic.

Detecting the waves of dark essence spiraling around her, Avi let out a howl filled with desperation and confusion.

She did not know what was happening with her body, but she wanted it to stop and return back to normal.

Seeing five pairs of evil eyes gazing back at her with hunger, Avi started to shudder and curled herself into a ball.

She was not strong enough, and the pain was returning back to her body. Covering her eyes with her little paws, Avi wished for all the bad beasts to go away and called out for the one person she knew who could protect her.

Calron!

*SCREEEEEEE*

At that exact moment, an ear-splitting cry of a bird reverberated in the forest, as a colossal shadow loomed over them all.

The five figures and Rebran slowly turned to face the sky at the same time, and saw a sight that sent chills into their very bones.

A ma.s.sive golden bird was charging straight at them, its face twisted with fury and vengeance. Its eyes glowed an unnatural grey, and a bizarre symbol flashed on top of its forehead.

However, none of that was what evoked a primal sense of danger within the five reptilians.

It was the fearsome torrents of azure lightning that were wildly crackling around the bird.