LOGINLILA’S POV“No…”The word barely left my lips.Because thisThis couldn’t be real.Nathan.Trapped.Suspended in the center of the network like prey caught in a web.His body was still.Too still.But his energyI could feel it.Flickering.Fading.“Stop this,” I whispered.My voice shook.Not with fear.But with something worse.Desperation.Ryker tilted his head slightly, watching me like I was something fascinating.“You already know I won’t.”The network pulsed again.And NathanHe flinched.My chest tightened violently.“Don’t touch him!” I snapped.But the moment I stepped forwardThe shadows surged.Blocking me.Holding me back.“You wanted to save them,” Ryker continued calmly.“So save them.”My hands clenched.“You don’t get to do this,” I said, voice shaking with rising anger.“You don’t get to turn this into a game.”“It’s not a game,” he replied softly.“It’s reality.”The glowing eyes shifted.All of them watching me now.Waiting.“You can’t have both,” he said.And that
LILA’S POVI knew the moment I saw his smileWe had made a mistake.A terrible one.“You shouldn’t have come here together,” Ryker said softly.His voice echoed through the void, calm… almost pleased.Nathan’s hand tightened in mine.“Stay behind me,” he muttered.I almost laughed.Because there was no behind here.No front.No direction.Only him.And them.Hundreds of eyes glowing in the darkness, all fixed on us.Watching.Waiting.“No,” I said quietly, stepping slightly in front of Nathan instead.“If anything happens, you pull out.”“Not happening,” he shot back instantly.I clenched my jaw.Stubborn.Always.Ryker chuckled softly.“This is interesting,” he murmured.“You brought light into a place that thrives on surrender.”Nathan’s energy flared brighter at that.Golden.Blazing.“I’m not here to surrender,” he said coldly.Ryker tilted his head.“No,” he agreed.“You’re here to save her.”The words hung in the air.Because they were true.And we all knew it.“But the question
LILA’S POVI could still feel them.Even after I woke.Even after the connection snapped back.They were still there.Not distant.Not fading.Present.Like a second heartbeat that didn’t belong to me.I sat up slowly, my body trembling from the aftershock of it.Nathan was still beside me.Of course he was.His hand was wrapped tightly around mine, like letting go would mean losing me completely.“You’re back,” he whispered.His voiceIt almost broke me.Because there was fear in it.Real fear.“I never left,” I said softly.But even as I said itIt didn’t feel entirely true.Because a part of me had gone somewhere.Somewhere I didn’t fully understand.And worseSomewhere that had welcomed me.Nathan searched my face.“You felt it again, didn’t you?”I hesitated.Then nodded.“Yes.”“How bad?” Marcus asked from behind him.I looked up.All of them were there.Ethan.Marcus.Callum.Davian.Watching me like I might disappear if they blinked.“Worse,” I admitted.The word settled heavy
LILA’S POVI didn’t tell them.Not everything.Not the part that mattered most.Not the part that terrified me.Because how was I supposed to say it out loud?That for one secondJust oneIt felt right.That twisted peace.That quiet.That absence of pain.It wrapped around me like warmth.And I almostAlmost let it take me.“Lila.”Nathan’s voice pulled me back.I blinked, realizing everyone was still watching me.Waiting.“Tell us everything,” Ethan said, his tone leaving no room for hesitation.I swallowed.“I saw more of them,” I said carefully. “Dozens… maybe more. And they weren’t fighting.”Marcus frowned.“What do you mean?”“They were calm,” I whispered. “Connected. Like… like they weren’t broken anymore.”“That’s not possible,” Callum said immediately.“It is,” Davian murmured.Because of course he understood.“They’ve stabilized them.”The word landed heavy.Stabilized.Not controlled.Not corrupted.Stabilized.“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “It’s not real. It can’
LILA’S POVI couldn’t unfeel it.Even after the vision faded.Even after Ryker’s presence slipped from my mind like smoke.The connection remained.Stronger.Deeper.And worseWider.“They’re multiplying.”The words left my mouth before I could stop them.The clearing fell into a heavy silence again.Marcus swore under his breath.“That’s not possible,” Callum said immediately, but there was no certainty in his voice this time.“It is,” Davian replied quietly.Of course he believed it.Because he always saw the pattern before the rest of us caught up.Nathan didn’t speak.But I felt his hand tighten around mine.Grounding.Steady.Like he was holding me together while everything inside me threatened to split apart.“How?” Ethan asked, his voice sharp. “How are there more?”I shook my head slowly.“I don’t think he’s just controlling them anymore.”Thea stepped closer.“Then what is he doing?”I swallowed.Because the answerIt felt wrong even forming it.“He’s… creating them.”Silence
LILA’S POVThey didn’t attack.That was the worst part.If they had rushed us if claws had torn through the air, if blood had been spilled at least it would have been simple.Fight.Survive.Win or lose.But this?This silence they left behind?It lingered like poison.“They were testing us.”Marcus’s voice cut through the stillness, low and dangerous.“No,” Davian said quietly.All of us turned to him.“They were showing us something.”A chill crawled down my spine.Because I knew exactly what that “something” was.Control.Perfect, terrifying control.“They moved like one mind,” Callum added, his brows drawn tight. “That level of synchronization… it shouldn’t be possible.”“It is,” I whispered.Because I felt it.Every step they took.Every shift in energy.Like threads pulled tight in a web.And RykerHe was at the center of it.Nathan stepped closer to me, his presence grounding, but even he couldn’t fully steady what was rising inside me.Because something was wrong.Not outside.
LILA’S POVThe forest went silent.Not the peaceful kind of silence that came with dawn or snowfall.This silence was heavy… suffocating… like the entire world had paused to watch what would happen next.Even the wind stopped moving.The creature beside me growled low in its throat, its massive bod
LILA’S POVThe ground beneath my feet cracked.Thin fractures spread across the earth like spiderwebs as the energy inside my body surged wildly. Golden light wrapped around my arms, but dark threads twisted through it, pulsing like veins of shadow.I couldn’t breathe.Not because of fear.Because
LILA’S POVThe howl echoed again.Long.Deep.Wrong.Every wolf in the clearing froze.It wasn’t the sound of a rogue.It wasn’t even the sound of an Alpha.It carried something darker inside it something ancient that made the hair on the back of my neck rise.Marcus’s hand instinctively moved to t
LILA’S POVPain.It was the first thing I felt.Not the sharp kind that comes from claws or teeth, but something deeper something burning beneath my skin like molten fire trying to escape.My vision blurred as darkness crept along the edges.“Lila!”Marcus’s voice sounded distant, like it was comin







