INICIAR SESIÓNLILA’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 silence didn’t last.It never does.Even after the connection stabilized, after the screams faded and the corrupted minds quieted, something still lingered.A pressure.Low.Heavy.Like the air before a storm.I stood at the edge of the clearing long after everyone else had started moving again, my gaze fixed on the trees.Because I could still feel it.Not Ryker himself.But what he left behind.A warning.“You’re still connected, aren’t you?”Nathan’s voice was quiet as he stepped beside me.I didn’t look at him.“Yes,” I said.He exhaled slowly.“But different.”That made me turn.“How?”I searched for the words.“It’s… clearer,” I said. “Before, it was chaos. Pain. Noise.”I pressed a hand lightly against my chest.“Now it feels… organized.”Nathan’s expression darkened.“That’s not good.”“No,” I whispered.Because chaos is unpredictable.But organization?That means intent.Purpose.Control.“He’s preparing something,” I said.Nathan didn’t argue.Because he felt
LILA’S POVPain.It wasn’t just mine.It was theirs.Dozens of voices screaming through me at once, their fear clawing into my chest, their agony tearing through my mind like something alive.And I couldn’t shut it off.“Lila, let go!”Nathan’s voice sounded distant, like it was coming from the other side of water.I shook my head violently.“I can’t”Because if I didThey would fall.I felt them slipping already.The corrupted ones.Their resistance weakening.Their minds fracturing.And Ryker He was still there.Still watching.Still smiling.“You’re stronger than this,” he murmured inside the connection. “But not strong enough.”My vision blurred.I dropped to my knees, fingers digging into the earth as if I could anchor myself to something real.“Lila!”Nathan’s arms wrapped around me, steady, warm, grounding.But even thatEven himFelt like it was slipping away.“Focus on me,” he said urgently. “Not them. Not him. Me.”I tried.God, I tried.But every time I pulled backThe scr
LILA’S POVThe forest held its breath.No wind.No movement.Just the heavy sound of the Devourer’s breathing as the monstrous creature remained bowed toward the darkness beyond the trees.Toward something none of us could see yet.But we could feel it.The power.It rolled through the clearing lik
LILA’S POVThe forest felt smaller.Like the trees themselves were closing in, listening, waiting.No one moved.No one spoke.Every wolf, every soldier, every creature in the clearing stared toward the distant treeline where the massive shadow had appeared.Even the battle that had nearly erupted
LILA’S POVThe forest held its breath.Thousands of eyes were locked on me.The High Council warriors stood like an iron wall across the clearing, their silver armor reflecting the pale moonlight filtering through the trees. Their spears and swords gleamed, raised and ready.Behind me, the rogue wo
LILA’S POVThe forest seemed to hold its breath.Every wolf in the clearing froze.Even the wind stopped moving through the trees.The enormous creature that stepped out of the darkness made the ancient Alpha look small.That alone was terrifying.But what truly made my blood run cold were its eyes







