Chapter 12: Fire in the Night

The eastern warehouse burned like a torch against the darkness.

Flames climbed toward the night sky.

Thick black smoke rolled across the village.

Panicked voices echoed from every direction.

"Fire!"

"Bring water!"

"Move the grain!"

Jaxon reached the warehouse first.

"Everyone back!" he ordered.

Warriors immediately formed a line, passing buckets from the nearby well.

Others rushed inside to carry out sacks of grain before the roof collapsed.

Sable arrived only seconds later.

Without hesitation, she joined the rescue effort.

"These beams are about to fall!" she shouted.

"Get those children out!"

Near the entrance, two young boys stood frozen in fear.

Smoke surrounded them.

They couldn't find the exit.

"Stay where you are!" Sable yelled.

Ignoring the burning heat, she sprinted into the warehouse.

"Sable!" Jaxon shouted.

She disappeared behind a wall of smoke.

'Go after her!' Drax growled.

'I know.'

Jaxon followed without thinking.

Inside, visibility was almost nonexistent.

Burning wood cracked overhead.

The air was thick with smoke.

"This way!"

Sable's voice echoed through the flames.

Jaxon found her kneeling beside the frightened children.

"I can't carry both of them," she coughed.

Without another word, Jaxon lifted one child onto his shoulder.

Sable picked up the other.

Together they ran toward the exit.

Just as they reached the doorway...

A burning support beam crashed behind them.

The entire warehouse shook.

"Move!"

They burst outside moments before half the roof collapsed.

The crowd erupted into relieved cheers.

"They're safe!"

"The Alpha saved them!"

"So did the Ash Fang warrior!"

Sable carefully placed the little boy into his mother's arms.

The woman's eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you..."

"Both of you."

Sable simply nodded.

She wasn't used to gratitude.

Back in Ash Fang, warriors were expected to risk their lives.

No one ever thanked them.

Jaxon studied the burning building.

"This wasn't an accident," he murmured.

"How can you tell?" Ethan asked.

"Look at the flames."

"They started in three different places."

"Someone wanted the entire warehouse destroyed."

Ethan's face hardened.

"Sabotage."

"Exactly."

"Search the area."

"Nobody leaves until we know who did this."

"Yes, Alpha."

While the warriors searched, Sable walked toward the rear of the warehouse.

Something caught her attention.

Near the broken fence...

A single footprint.

It was larger than most.

The boot had a unique metal heel.

"Jaxon," she called.

He walked over immediately.

"What is it?"

She pointed toward the ground.

"This print doesn't belong to your warriors."

Jaxon crouched beside it.

"You're right."

"See this mark?"

"The heel is reinforced with iron."

"Only elite soldiers wear boots like these."

Sable nodded.

"Ash Fang doesn't use them either."

"Neither does Winter Moon."

"Then whose are they?"

Before Jaxon could answer, Ethan returned carrying something wrapped in cloth.

"We found this near the northern wall."

He unfolded the cloth.

Inside lay a small glass bottle.

The remaining liquid smelled sharp and oily.

Naomi examined it closely.

"Lamp oil mixed with pine resin."

"Highly flammable."

"Someone poured this throughout the warehouse before lighting it."

"Deliberately," Jaxon finished.

"Alpha," another guard called.

"We found a rope hanging outside the eastern wall."

"The intruder escaped that way."

Jaxon clenched his jaw.

Again...

The assassin had slipped away.

Later that night, after the fire was finally extinguished, the village slowly returned to normal.

Many families had lost food supplies.

Fortunately...

No lives had been lost.

Jaxon stood alone beside the charred remains of the warehouse.

Sable quietly joined him.

"You're blaming yourself," she said.

"I'm the Alpha."

"Everything that happens here is my responsibility."

"Even the actions of a hidden enemy?"

"Especially those."

Sable looked at the burned building.

"Back home... my uncle would've punished half the pack just to make an example."

"Would it have solved anything?"

"No."

"Then don't compare yourself to him."

Jaxon looked toward her.

"You have more faith in me than I do."

She smiled softly.

"Maybe because I've seen the way your people look at you."

"They don't fear you."

"They believe in you."

Her words settled deep inside him.

For years...

He had only heard criticism from himself.

Hearing someone else believe in him felt... unfamiliar.

'She's healing us,' Drax whispered.

'Slowly.'

Jaxon remained silent.

Because his wolf was right.

At that exact moment, a messenger sprinted across the courtyard.

"Alpha!"

"A letter just arrived from Bloodlust Pack."

Jaxon accepted the sealed envelope.

The crimson wax seal confirmed its origin.

Bloodlust.

He broke the seal and unfolded the letter.

His expression darkened after reading only the first sentence.

"What is it?" Ethan asked.

Jaxon looked up slowly.

"Alpha Jasper..."

"Has invited every Alpha in the Eastern Region to a peace summit."

"Three days from now."

"And he specifically requested that both I..."

He glanced toward Sable.

"...and Sable Embers attend."