Chapter 176

Harper’s POV

I’m standing at my workbench, sorting herbs, when the wave of energy hits me hard. It's like ice and fire both rush through me at once. My knees buckle. Glass jars crash to the floor, shattering. The room tilts.

The magic isn’t just strong, it’s foul.

The lamps flicker, their flames shrinking to thin blue threads. Every instinct I have screams danger.

“Harper?” Lucas’s voice called through from the hallway.

I clutch the edge of the table, trying to steady myself. “It’s happening,” I whisper. “The dark energy, it’s spreading through the pack’s aura. I can feel it.”

Lucas bursts into the room, his eyes wide. “Where?”

“Near the sacred portal.” My voice trembles. “They’re performing something powerful. Something unnatural.”

“Then we stop it.”

I grab my healing satchel and the small charm pouch I never leave without. My legs still shake as we run out of the sanctuary. Outside, the sky was very red. The blood