Chapter 6 – The Death That Shook the Packs

The wind howled, carrying triumphant cries. "She's gone! Selene Raventhorn, the omega, banished to the Blood Forest!" The news echoed, a chilling announcement.

"Justice!" That bitter word, twisted and hollow, spread like wildfire—justice for a "cursed omega" sent to a place where no wolf ever returned.

[Alpha Killian's POV]

Killian Duskbane walked around his Alpha’s den. The cold stone floor felt different from the strong worry in his gut. He slammed his fist against a heavy wooden beam. "Tell me again," he snarled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Every detail of how she was sentenced. Don't miss anything."

A pack elder, old and scarred, bowed his head. "Alpha, the Council's decree was absolute. She was found guilty of the Alpha Lord Voran's murder. Her sentence: banishment to the Blood Forest."

"Banishment?" Killian spat the word. "Not execution? Not death?"

"No, Alpha," the elder said sadly. "A fate worse, perhaps. A slow death, lost and broken. The forest claims all who enter. No wolf returns."

Killian ran his hands through his hair, tugging at the roots. "But… there was no sign of her death. The mate bond didn't truly break, not in the usual way. Just… this emptiness."  He pressed a hand to his chest, where the bond felt strangely quiet, but still there.

"The bond broke, Alpha," the elder insisted. "We all felt it. A brutal break. But perhaps the curse on her blood caused it to vanish completely, leaving no trace."

"Vanished?" Killian challenged, his eyes burning with a fierce, unyielding light. "Her very essence? Her scent disappeared. Her presence, gone. Yet, this feeling remains."

The elder shifted nervously. "Alpha, it's believed the forest itself dealt with her cursed nature. It somehow devoured her spirit, leaving no trace." 

"Devoured her spirit?" Killian scoffed, turning away to stare into the deepening twilight outside his den. "How convenient. A perfect way to get rid of a wolf they couldn't control."

"She was a treat, Alpha," the elder stated. "A rogue. A murderer. The Council acted in the best interest of all packs."

"The Council acts for themselves," Killian argued, his voice full of anger. "They silenced her. They sent her to die. But something… something feels wrong." 

He turned, his look sharp. "I want every patrol leader questioned. Every rumor, every odd detail about her sentencing. Anything that shows a different truth. And I want it immediately." 

The elder quickly bowed. "As you command, Alpha. It will be done." He left Killian alone with his troubled thoughts.

Killian walked around his den, his powerful wolf restless beneath his skin. Selene… banished? Gone to the Blood Forest? The thought dug into him. He tried to explain it away, to get rid of the weird pull, but it never stopped. It felt like a part of him was screaming in disagreement. Why can't I just accept this? Why does it feel so incredibly wrong?

He should feel relieved. She was the omega he had rejected, the shame of his youth. But the feeling was an insistent, deep-seated wrongness.

[Alpha Damien's POV]

Across the continent, in his cold, spotless command center, Damien Graves watched an unsteady image of a report on a display.  A messenger, standing stiffly at attention, presented the official decree.

"Alpha Graves," the messenger stated, his voice flat, "the Elder Council's decree regarding the omega, Selene Raventhorn, has been issued. She has been dealt with. Banished to the Blood Forest. It's considered a fitting end for one who committed such crimes, they say."

Damien's eyes narrowed. "And the previous order regarding her bloodline? Is it still valid, now that she's gone?"

The messenger unrolled a second, sealed scroll. "The Council's word is absolute. Her lineage is tainted. We must ensure no future threat arises from that vile blood. Erase them all. Completely. Leave no trace of her name or her kin."

"Understood," Damien confirmed, his gaze steady. "A complete eradication. Are we speaking of her immediate family, or extending to distant relatives?"

"Every potential branch, Alpha Graves," the messenger replied. "Every single one. No matter how distant. This must be absolute. The Raventhorn name must vanish from our records."

"And her maternal wolf bloodline?" Damien questioned, his gaze unreadable.  "Her mother's side. Are they also to be… dealt with?"

The messenger's expression remained impassive. "They are being handled. Quietly. No loose ends. This must be a clean sweep. No resurrection from this plague, as the Council stated."

"Consider it done," Damien confirmed, his voice flat. The messenger bowed and left, leaving Damien alone.

He turned to the command console, typing quickly. His mind was already forming strategies. "Begin tracing all known Raventhorn lineage. Trace every connection, immediately and secretly, prepare teams for dispersal."

A simple omega. Banished to the Blood Forest. The ease with which the Elder Council issued such a sweeping, brutal order struck Damien. It felt… disproportionate. Why so absolute? It was as if they were acting on old fears, or perhaps knew little of her actual remaining family, beyond the 'curse'.

His own past decision to reject her, seeing her as a weakness, now felt like a heavy stone in his gut. Was I wrong? A cold, unsettling obsession began to take hold, a desperate need to know what had truly happened to her.

Damien had known Selene Raventhorn, the omega he'd once rejected. Now, the stories of her defiance and a strange link to the dead Alpha Lord, plus the Council's harsh order, made him deeply worried. Erasing her entire lineage felt brutally excessive, especially as her direct line was already so thin.

He walked to the large observation window, looking out over his vast, organized territory. "No resurrection from this plague," he repeated the Council's words softly. "What plague? Their fear seems to outweigh their actual knowledge."

He poured himself a glass of dark, aged whiskey, the amber liquid glinting in the low light. He swirled it slowly, his gaze distant. Selene Raventhorn. The name settled oddly in his mind, tinged with a regret he hadn't expected.

"Something's off," he murmured, taking a sip. Damien operated on logic and efficiency. Yet, the Council's move felt desperate, not rational. And within him, a rapidly growing, all-consuming desire for Selene herself. He pushed the thought away. His duty was to execute orders.

[Selene's POV]

Deep within the ancient, shadowed heart of the Blood Forest, Selene crouched. Her senses sharpened, and her awareness grew. She hadn't heard the chilling news of her public execution or how she'd supposedly vanished. Instead, a new, primal struggle consumed her.

The shadows around her weren't merely darkness; they were her. They whispered secrets of forgotten magic, of primal power. "Tell me," Selene urged the swirling darkness, her voice hoarse, "how do I control this... this wildness inside me?"

The whispers intensified, a chorus of ancient voices in her mind. "Seek balance through understanding, control through mastery, embrace the shadow's truth, become your destiny.”

"But how?" Selene gasped, feeling overwhelmed. Her power surged like a wild beast inside her, ready to break her. I must not break. I will not.

She spent what felt like endless days, maybe weeks, lost deep in the changing forest. Only her instincts and the interminable, demanding whispers guided her. She learned to breathe with the shadows, drawing them in and pushing them out. Every breath was a lesson in controlling her new strength.

"Show me the source," she demanded of the coiling darkness, her voice growing firmer. "Show me where this comes from! What am I?"

The shadows did as they were told, filling her mind with spinning, overwhelming images: a vast dance of light and dark across the cosmos, ancient altars turning to dust, symbols carved into forgotten stone. 

Then, a deep, raw scream vibrated through everything, powerful and primal. It came on too fast, too strong. Selene gasped, clutching her head. This is too vast to comprehend, too much for me to bear.

She made another attempt, focusing on a single thread of darkness. She nudged it, pulling it closer. It fought back, like a wild, untamed animal, but then slowly, reluctantly, it obeyed. It wrapped around her arm like a living, cold serpent. The broken crescent mark on her skin burned intensely, a flash of silver light in the deepening gloom.

The whispers grew clearer, making more sense, demanding her attention. “The true omega doesn't run from the dark. The true omega leads. The true omega has a purpose."

Selene remembered the rogues' terror when she lashed out. She recalled the Council's proud dismissal and cruel judgment, as well as her own pack's rejection. A determined fire lit within her, firming her resolve. They cast me out. They think I'm dead, a nameless ghost in this forest.

The false images of her "execution" were a lie. She was alive. And changing. Her power surged with every heartbeat, every new understanding. She was becoming something more than any of them could ever comprehend.

"I need to be stronger," Selene whispered to the ancient forest, shadows swirling in silent agreement. "Strong enough to make them pay for their lies. Strong enough to take what is mine."

The forest seemed to wait. Then, a voice, clearer than a whisper, vibrated deep in her soul. “Strength comes from acceptance. From purpose. The hunt begins, Selene. The dawn approaches for you.”

[Killian's POV]

Killian couldn't sleep; he found no peace. The nagging pull had turned into a desperate, aching torment. He paced his chamber, the unsettling image of Selene, the "dead" omega, filling his mind.

"This is just a sickness," he growled to himself, running a hand over his face. "A cursed bond, even if broken, leaves a scar. It is nothing more than a faint connection."

But it wasn't just a faint echo. It was a burning mark, always reminding him of something deeply wrong, something ripped away prematurely. He threw himself onto his bed, burying his face in his hands, trying to stop the endless thoughts.

"I can't get rid of it," he whispered, his voice strained. "This feeling... it won't let me find peace. It just screams in my head."

He attempted to meditate, to clear his mind, to control the chaos within. He shut his eyes, focusing on the pack bond, his duties, and the cool, rational strength of his Alpha power. He tried to force the omega out of his thoughts.

But the moment his eyes closed, a sharp pain, cold-like ancient ice and hot like volcanic fire, pierced his mind. A sudden, violent shiver rocked his body, forcing a choked gasp from him. His blood instantly froze.

He was no longer in his comfortable chambers. The air was thick with the scent of decaying leaves, a tang of raw power. He was in a dark, primal forest, the very air vibrating with forgotten, terrible magic.

Selene stood before him. But this wasn't the Selene he knew, the omega he'd cast aside, the one he believed gone. Her form was shadowy and unreal, her eyes burning with an intense, unnatural silver light. That light cut through the deep darkness of the vision, searing his very soul. A primal scream ripped from his throat, though his real lips made no sound. He was frozen, stuck in the vision.

She looked at him, her glowing silver eyes piercing his soul, a silent pledge and a cold warning. She raised a hand, and the shadows around her danced, coiling and lashing out with terrifying obedience, humming with pure, unrestrained power. Her lips remained still, yet a single, mind-numbing whisper echoed directly in his head, bouncing off the walls of his thoughts, so clear it felt like her breath was on his ear:

"I'm coming for you."