LOGINWe limped back to Shadowpine broken in body and spirit.Twenty survivors out of sixty. Forty wolves lost to corruption or death. And the worst part—ten of those lost were omega coordinators. My students. Wolves I had trained personally.Now corrupted by Patricia's dark magic. Turned into enemies.The alliance council met immediately upon our return."Patricia was the traitor?" Alpha Sofia from Riversong looked stunned. "Your Head Omega Coordinator? The one you trusted most?""Yes," I said, my voice hollow. "She has been learning dark magic for five years. Teaching other omegas. Creating the monsters attacking packs across the region.""How did we not know?" someone demanded. "How did she hide it?""Because I trusted her completely." Guilt crushed me. "I never looked deeper. Never questioned. She was my friend. My student. I taught her everything she knows about omega abilities, and she used that knowledge to learn dark magic."Darius stood beside me, his hand on my shoulder. "This is
I stared in disbelief at the figure standing in the dark structure's entrance.Patricia.Our Head Omega Coordinator. My trusted friend. The omega I had trained personally. She stood there with eyes that glowed faintly green, dark energy swirling around her."Patricia?" I whispered. "No. This cannot be real.""I am sorry, Lila." Patricia's voice was calm. Too calm. "I wish you had not come here. I wish you had just let it go.""Let it go?" Selene stepped forward, her voice shaking with fury. "You have been creating shadow creatures! Killing innocent wolves! How could you?""I did not create the shadow creatures. Moira did. I simply... facilitated her learning." Patricia looked at us with something like pity. "You do not understand. None of you do. The omega rights movement you built—it is incomplete. Half-measures.""What are you talking about?" Darius demanded, his hand on his weapon."You taught omegas they have value. That they deserve respect. But you stopped there." Patricia's eye
We assembled a team of sixty wolves for the journey. Thirty warriors led by Thomas and Kyle. Twenty omega coordinators led by Patricia. And Selene, Darius, and myself. "This is risky," Marcus warned during the council meeting. "Taking so many key leaders away from the alliance at once." "We do not have a choice," I said. "Dark magic users are creating monsters across the region. If we do not stop the source, the attacks will only get worse." Darius pointed to the map. "We are going into unknown territory. Possibly hostile. A smaller, elite team has better chances." We left three days later. The journey east took us through territories we had never explored. Past the alliance borders. Into wild lands where no organized packs lived. "This region is supposed to be empty," Thomas said on the third day. "No packs have claimed it for generations." "Why not?" Selene asked. "Bad reputation. Old stories about dark happenings. Wolves who entered and never returned." He paused. "Most pa
We returned to Silverpine with heavy hearts.The shadow creatures were gone. Moira was dead. But the victory felt hollow."There are others," I kept repeating. "She said there are others who learned dark magic.""She could have been lying," Darius said. "Trying to scare us with her last breath.""Or she could have been warning us." Selene sat wrapped in blankets, still recovering from channeling so much power. "Mama, when I touched the dark magic network, I felt connections. Not just to the shadow creatures. To something else. Something distant."My stomach dropped. "What do you mean?""The dark magic Moira used—it came from somewhere. A source. And I think others are connected to that same source."We needed answers. Answers about dark magic, its origins, and who else might be using it.I knew only one person who might have that knowledge.Elder Morrigan.We returned to Shadowpine as quickly as possible. I went directly to Morrigan's chambers.The ancient omega sat waiting, as if she
"Run!" Darius commanded.But there was nowhere to run. The shadow creatures surrounded us completely."You cannot escape," Moira cackled. "My children will drain every bit of life from your bodies. Just like they have drained dozens of others.""Why?" I demanded. "Why are you doing this?""Because you are destroying the natural order! Omegas serving their betters—that is how packs have always worked. That is how they should always work." Her eyes blazed with madness. "But you. You had to change everything. Give omegas ideas. Make them think they matter.""They do matter. Every wolf matters.""Lies! Hierarchy exists for a reason! The strong rule. The weak serve. That is nature!" She gestured to the shadow creatures. "I was once a pack omega. Beaten. Abused. Treated as nothing. So I learned the dark arts. Learned how to take power that was denied to me.""Through dark magic?" Selene asked. "By creating monsters?""By creating justice. Every pack that adopted your omega rights—I target t
For three days, I heard nothing from Selene's team.That was normal—they were traveling south, probably out of range for the pack bonds. But my anxiety grew with each passing hour.On the fourth day, I finally felt something through our bond. Confusion. Concern. But not fear.That evening, a message arrived via bird."Reached Silverpine. Situation stranger than reported. No scent trails. No physical evidence. Just missing wolves. Beginning investigation. - Thomas""No scent trails?" Darius read over my shoulder. "How is that possible?""The Umbra masked its scent too. But we killed it. There cannot be another one.""Maybe there can. Or maybe this is something entirely different."I did not sleep that night. Just reached through the bond to Selene. She was alert. Focused. Safe for now.The next message arrived two days later."Witnessed attack last night. Shadow creatures. Not wolves. Fast. Intelligent. Took one of Silverpine's patrols. Selene's omega senses detected 'wrongness' in the
The air in the pack house felt different tonight, thicker, charged with an anticipation that made my skin prickle. I didn't bother with the usual routine of trying on every piece of clothing I owned; I knew exactly who I was and what I wanted to present. I pulled on dark jeans and a deep red sweate
The next morning, I woke to urgent knocking on my door.I stumbled out of bed, still half asleep, and opened it to find Kyle looking stressed."Lila, sorry to wake you. Is Darius here?""What? No. Why would he be here?""Because he is not in his quarters and he is not answering his phone.”Kyle ran
I stayed in my quarters like Darius ordered, but every minute felt like an hour.The mate bond stretched tight between us, pulling me toward wherever he had gone. I could feel him through the connection, focused, alert, but not afraid. Whatever he had found at the north border, he was handling it.
The council meeting was exactly as terrifying as I expected. I stood outside the conference room at eight AM, wearing the nicest outfit I owned, black pants and a dark blue blouse that Vera insisted made me look professional. My hands were sweating, and my heart was hammering a frantic rhythm again







