Secrets in the Shadows

The Packhouse was quiet, the echoes of the Christmas Ball still lingering in its halls like ghosts. Snow fell in soft sheets outside, muffling the world in silence. Mia moved through the corridors with purpose, her deep purple gown replaced by a simple sweater and jeans, her chestnut hair loose around her shoulders. Her wolf prowled beneath her skin, restless, agitated.

She found her mother in the sunroom—a sanctuary of green tucked into the stone fortress. Plants line every surface, their leaves glistening in the dim light. Bowls of herbs sat in corners, incense curling through the air like whispers. Sarah knelt by a pot of rosemary, her silver-gray eyes lifting as Mia entered.

“Mia.” Her voice was soft, but her gaze sharpened as she took in her daughter’s expression. “What is it?”

Mia closed the door behind her, her pulse pounding. “We need to talk.”

Sarah rose slowly, wiping soil from her hands. “About Fox?”

“No.” Mia’s voice cracked like ice. “About him.”

Sarah’s breath stilled. “Raul?”

“Yes.” Mia stepped closer, her hands curling into fists. “I know he’s up to something. The Christmas Ball—don’t tell me it was about unity or Goddess-gifted mates. He doesn’t care about that. He never has.”

Sarah’s jaw tightened, but she said nothing.

Mia’s wolf snarled in her mind, claws scraping against her control. Tell her. Tell her everything.

“I followed him,” Mia whispered, her voice trembling with fury and fear. “The night before he announced the ball. I saw him in the woods.”

Sarah’s eyes widened, silver flashing like moonlight. “What did you see?”

“A fire pit,” Mia said, her breath hitching. “Symbols carved into the ground. A woman in black. She spoke in some language I didn’t know. And Raul—he cut his hand. His blood went into the fire.”

Sarah’s face paled, her fingers gripping the edge of the table. “And then?”

“The fire,” Mia whispered. “She put it out with a wave of her hand. Just—gone. Like it never burned.”

Silence stretched between them, heavy as stone. Then Sarah spoke, her voice low, threaded with steel.

“I’ve suspected for years,” she said. “Raul’s hunger—it changed after the first decade. Land wasn’t enough. Power wasn’t enough. He started searching for something else. Something dangerous.”

Mia’s stomach twisted. “Immortality.”

Sarah nodded, her gaze hard. “He believes he can live forever. That there are ways to cheat death. Rituals. Blood magic.”

Mia’s breath caught. “Blood magic? Wolves don’t—”

“No,” Sarah said sharply. “We don’t. But Raul… Raul doesn’t care about what wolves do. He cares about what gives him power.”

Mia’s hands shook. “And the ball? The mates?”

Sarah’s lips curved into a bitter smile. “Leverage. He wants your sisters bound to Alphas of the surrounding packs. Bonds he can exploit. Access he can control.”

Mia’s wolf roared in her mind, fury burning like fire. He’s using us. Using them. He’ll destroy us all.

Mia stepped closer, her voice a blade. “We have to stop him.”

Sarah’s gaze met hers, silver flashing like tempered steel. “We will,” she said softly. “But we have to be careful. Based on what you described in the woods, Raul isn’t just an Alpha anymore. He’s something else. Something darker.”

Mia swallowed hard, her heart pounding. “Then tell me what to do.”

Sarah’s fingers brushed the crescent mark at her throat, her expression unreadable. “First,” she said, “you tell me everything you saw. Every detail. What the symbols you saw looked like. And then… we prepare.”