Chapter 5

LILA'S POV 

Glass exploded inward, and I threw my arms up to shield my face, strong hands grabbed me, pulling me down behind the desk. Marcus's body covered mine, protecting me from the shards raining down.

"What the hell?" Ethan shouted.

I looked up and saw figures pouring through the broken window. Not my wolves. These were different, bigger and more violent, they were real rogues.

"Protect the Alphas!" someone shouted from outside.

The office door burst open and pack warriors flooded in, forming a barrier between us and the attackers.

Marcus pulled me up, his hands on my shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," I said, pushing him away. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Ethan said, his eyes glowing gold as his wolf pushed forward. "But we need to get you somewhere safe."

"I don't need protection," I said.

One of the rogues broke through the line of warriors, heading straight for me.

I didn't think twice before I reacted.

Power exploded out of me, sending the rogue flying backward through the window he'd come through.

Everyone froze.

"What was that?" Callum asked, staring at me with wide eyes.

"I told you," I said, breathing hard. "I'm not the same anymore."

More rogues were coming through the window now, and the warriors were being overwhelmed.

"We need to move," Davian said, always the strategist. "Now."

Marcus grabbed my hand, and I felt electricity shoot up my arm at the contact.

"Don't let go," he said, and started pulling me toward the door.

We ran through the hallway, warriors fighting rogues all around us. The pack house was under full attack.

"How many are there?" Ethan shouted over the chaos.

"At least fifty," a warrior called back. "Maybe more. They came from the eastern border."

"That's impossible," Marcus said. "We have guards on every border."

"Not anymore you don't," I said, and they all turned to look at me.

"What do you know about this?" Ethan demanded.

"Nothing," I said. "But my wolves are at the northern border. Your eastern border was left vulnerable."

"Are you saying this is our fault?" Marcus growled.

"I'm saying you were so focused on my wolves that you didn't see the real threat coming," I said.

We burst out of the pack house and into chaos.

Rogues were everywhere, fighting with pack warriors. Blood stained the ground and screams filled the air.

"We need to get to the safe room," Callum said.

"No," I said, pulling my hand free from Marcus. "I need to get to my wolves."

"Lila, you can't go out there alone," Callum protested.

"Watch me," I said, and ran toward the northern border before they could stop me.

I heard them shouting behind me, heard their footsteps as they chased after me, but I didn't stop.

My wolves were in danger. I could feel it through the connection I'd built with them over three years.

When I reached the border, my heart stopped.

My wolves were fighting too not against the quadruplets' pack, but alongside them. Fighting the rogues that had attacked from the east.

Thea saw me and ran over. "Lila, thank God. We heard the attack and came to help."

"Why?" I asked. "Why would you help them?"

"Because you're here," Thea said simply. "And we protect what's ours."

I felt tears sting my eyes, but I pushed them down. Now wasn't the time.

"How bad is it?" I asked.

"Bad," Thea said. "These rogues are organized. They knew exactly where to hit and when."

The quadruplets caught up to me, all four of them breathing hard.

"Your wolves are helping us," Ethan said, sounding surprised.

"Of course they are," I said. "That's what family does."

"Lila!" A scream cut through the air.

I turned and saw Sara, my best friend, being dragged away by two rogues.

"No!" I shouted, running toward her.

The rogues saw me coming and smiled. One of them put a knife to Sara's throat.

"Stay back," he said. "Or she dies."

I stopped, my whole body shaking with rage and fear.

"Let her go," I said, my voice deadly calm.

"Why should we?" the rogue asked. "We were paid good money to cause trouble here tonight. Killing a few wolves is just a bonus."

"Paid?" Davian said from behind me. "Who paid you?"

The rogue laughed. "Like we'd tell you that."

"Then tell me," I said, and I let my power out fully.

The air around us started to crackle with energy. The ground beneath our feet trembled.

The rogues' smiles faded as they felt what I was.

"What are you?" the one holding Sara asked, his voice shaking.

"I'm the thing you should be afraid of," I said, and my eyes flashed gold.

The rogues dropped Sara and ran but I wasn't letting them get away that easily.

I moved faster than I ever had before, catching up to them in seconds. My hand wrapped around the throat of the one who'd threatened Sara.

"Who paid you?" I demanded, lifting him off the ground with one hand.

"I don't know his name," the rogue choked out. "Just that he wanted chaos in Blackwood tonight. Said something about testing the Alphas."

"Testing us?" Ethan said, moving beside me. "What does that mean?"

"He said the real attack is coming soon," the rogue gasped. "This was just a distraction."

My blood ran cold.

"A distraction from what?" Marcus demanded.

But before the rogue could answer, his eyes went wide. Blood poured from his mouth.

I dropped him and saw the knife sticking out of his back.

The other rogue stood behind him, the one who'd been his partner.

"He talked too much," the second rogue said, then turned and ran.

Davian chased after him, but the rogue was fast. He disappeared into the trees before anyone could stop him.

"Damn it," Ethan cursed.

I looked down at the dead rogue at my feet, then at Sara who was crying in Thea's arms.

"This was planned," I said. "Someone wanted to attack Blackwood tonight specifically."

"But why?" Callum asked.

"Because I'm here," I said, the realization hitting me. "Someone knew I was coming back tonight."

"That's impossible," Marcus said. "We didn't even know you were alive until you showed up at the gates."

"Then how did they know?" I asked.

We all looked at each other, the same thought occurring to all of us at once.

"Someone in your pack told them," I said.

"No," Ethan said. "My pack is loyal."

"Are they?" I asked. "Because someone just orchestrated an attack that coincided perfectly with my return."

Before anyone could respond, a howl split the night air.

Not a wolf howl, it was something else.

"What was that?" Callum asked, his face pale.

"I don't know," Davian said. "But it came from the center of the territory."

We ran toward the sound, warriors and my wolves following behind us.

When we reached the pack square, we found the remaining rogues gathered in a circle.

In the center stood a woman I'd never seen before. She was tall, with long black hair and eyes that glowed red.

"Well, well," the woman said, her voice carrying across the square. "The lost omega returns and she brought the Black brothers right to me."

"Who are you?" Ethan demanded.

The woman smiled, and it was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen.

"I'm the one who's been waiting for this moment for three years," she said. "The one who's been watching little Lila survive the impossible. Tell me, child, how does it feel to be special?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said.

"Don't you?" the woman asked. "You survived bond severance. You built an army. You developed powers that no rejected wolf should have. And you did it all because of me."

My blood turned to ice. "What?"

"I'm the one who saved you that night in the woods," the woman said. "I'm the one who gave you the power to survive and now, it's time to collect my payment."

She raised her hand, and I felt something wrap around my chest. Something invisible and suffocating.

I couldn't breathe or move.

"Lila!" all four of the quadruplets shouted.

They tried to run to me, but the rogues blocked their path.

"Don't worry," the woman said. "I'm not going to kill her. Not yet. First, I'm going to show her exactly what she's become. And then, I'm going to use her to destroy everything she loves."

The pressure on my chest increased, and I fell to my knees, gasping for air.

"Stop!" Marcus roared, fighting against the rogues holding him back.

But the woman just laughed.

"This is just the beginning," she said. "The rejected omega was supposed to die three years ago. But I saved her for a reason and that reason is

about to change everything."

My vision started to go dark around the edges.

The last thing I saw before I passed out was the quadruplets' faces, twisted with fear and rage and the woman's smile, cold and victorious.