THREADS OF A BIGGER WEB

ISABELLA'S POV

“Is this the only way?” I groaned, as the pickup truck bounced down a dirt road that was more pothole than path, deep in the territory of the Midnight Fang pack. 

“Unfortunately yes!” Mira gave an awkward smile.

I gripped the ‘oh-shit’ handle above the door, my body still aching from the shift and the run. 

Next to me, Mira navigated the ruts with the ease of someone who’d done it a thousand times.

We pulled up to a small, neat cottage that looked a hell of a lot like Mira’s place. It was tucked so far into the trees you’d miss it if you blinked.

I couldn’t help it and let out a tired laugh. 

“What is it with you people and living on the outskirts? You get a group discount on solitude?”

Mira cut the engine, a small smile playing on her lips. 

“We don’t like the noise, and by noise, I mean pack politics, petty squabbles and especially idiots like your husband.” Her smile faded. “Out here, the air is cleaner and clearer.... You can see trouble coming from a mile away.”

We got out and walked to the front door, Mira didn’t bother with a polite tap. She knocked with the assured rhythm of family.

After a moment, the door swung open and a woman stood there, her eyes a startling shade of silver that seemed to see right through you. 

She had Mira’s same stubborn chin but her hair was a dark cascade of waves instead of Mira’s practical braid.

“Mira,” the woman said, her voice sounded very warm. “This is a surprise.”

Her silver eyes flicked to me, taking in my borrowed clothes and the exhaustion I knew was written all over my face.

“Selene,” Mira said, stepping forward to give her cousin a brief, hard hug. “This is my friend, Isabella.”

“Come in, both of you.... Please, make yourselves at home,” Selene said, stepping aside to let us enter.

We followed her into a living room cluttered with books and bundles of hanging plants and before we could even sit, Mira cut to the chase. 

“We’re here on urgent business, Selene, we can’t stay long, we just need to know everything you have on Alice Morningstar.”

Selene’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Alice? You could have called.”

Mira shook her head, her expression grim. 

“Some things are too risky to say over the airwaves, you know how pack channels are.... Eavesdropping is the national sport, so we cannot take any risks.”

Selene studied us for a long moment, then nodded. 

“Sit, I’ll get us some tea.”

She disappeared into her small kitchen and returned with three steaming mugs. 

I wrapped my hands around mine, the heat seeping into my cold fingers and the simple kindness almost undid me.

Then, I told her everything... the words tumbled out of me in a ragged rush and by the time I finished, my tea was already cold. 

Selene had listened without a single interruption, her silver eyes growing darker and more troubled with every word.

When the room fell silent, she leaned forward, her expression intense. 

“Isabella,” she said, her voice low and serious. “This is going to sound strange, but I need you to think more carefully regarding what I'm going to ask.”

I nodded my head quietly.

“When you were pregnant with Liam… did you have an intense, all-consuming craving for blueberries?”

The question was so bizarre, so utterly left-field that I just stared at her, and Mira frowned. 

“Selene, what in the moon’s name does that have to do with anything?”

“Just think,” Selene urged, her gaze locked on me.

I racked my brain, pushing through the fog of grief. 

My pregnancy was full of happiness, a time before everything went wrong, but then I remembered. 

“Yeah,” I said slowly, the memory clicking into place. “Yeah, I did... It was insane, and Klaus had them imported for me by the crate, I couldn’t get enough of them... Why?”

Selene sat back with a heavy sigh as if I’d just confirmed her worst fear. 

“Because it’s not just a craving, it’s a sign.”

“A sign for what?” Mira demanded.

“Alice Morningstar isn’t just a mistress,” Selene said, her voice dropping to a near whisper. “She’s a hybrid, a witch-werewolf, and she specializes in potions and manipulations, particularly ones that create fake maternal bonds.... She uses them to… influence children and to steer them toward her.”

The air rushed out of my lungs... she was a witch?! The word echoed in the silent room, making sense of the senseless.

“Steer them for what?” I asked, my voice barely audible. “Why would she want to steal my child?”

“No one knows for sure,” Selene admitted. “It’s all whispers and shadows but the rumor is that Alice is building toward something big. She’s been moving through powerful packs for years, always on the periphery, always collecting favors and… connections. Some say she’s playing a long game for ultimate power, but there’s no evidence, all we know about her was either from whispers or from rumors.”

My mind was reeling, trying to connect the dots. 

“How does this connect to me? To my pregnancy?”

Selene’s expression was full of a deep, grim pity. 

“If the rumors are true… then the craving wasn’t natural. It’s possible Alice was altering your pregnancy from the very beginning, weaving her magic into Liam before he was even born. Making him… receptive to her.”

The world tilted. The happy memory of Klaus doting on a pregnant me was now poisoned, twisted into something dark and sinister. It wasn’t a gift of love... it might have been a tool for theft...!

The foundation of my life, my memories, were cracking apart, revealing a terrifying darkness lurking beneath.

***

AUTHOR'S POV

Back in the Silvermoon Pack, Alpha Klaus was in a low muttered conversation with his Beta Marcus with their heads close together.

“And there’s still no sign of her?” Klaus asked, his voice a low growl of irritation.

“None, Alpha,” Marcus replied, keeping his voice equally low. “The perimeter guard saw her leave, heading into the western woods, but no one has seen her since. Should we organize a search party?”

Before Klaus could answer, the doors of the hall swung open with a soft, confident creak.

Every conversation in the room died instantly. The guards by the door, who usually stood at lazy attention, snapped straight, their hands drifting toward their weapons as everyone turned to stare.

A man stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the sunlight. 

He was tall, with the same powerful build as Klaus but where Klaus’s hair was like dark gold, this man’s was the color of midnight. 

He wore a simple black leather jacket and a smirk that looked permanently etched on his face.

He didn’t hurry... he just strolled into the hall as if he owned the place, his boots clicking softly on the  floor. The entire pack watched him with awe and anxiety on their faces but he ignored them all, his eyes fixed on the alpha.

He stopped a few feet from Klaus, the smirk never fading. 

“Klaus,” he said smoothly. “My dear brother, you’re looking… Tense.”

The word ‘brother’ landed in the silent room like an insult while older pack members exchanged nervous glances.

Klaus’s own expression tightened into coldness. He straightened up to his full height, the casual irritation replaced by a familiar animosity. 

“Victor,” he said, the name sounded like a curse. “What are you doing here?”

Victor Lockhart made a show of looking around the hall, his eyes scanning the faces of the frozen pack members and his smirk widened. 

“I was in the neighborhood, thought I’d pop in... So, where is she?”

Klaus’s eyes narrowed. 

“Where is who?”

“Don’t play dumb, brother, it doesn’t suit you,” Victor chuckled, though there was no warmth in it. “Where’s your Luna? Where’s Isabella?”

A pin could have dropped and sounded like an explosion with everyone was leaning in, trying to catch every word.

Klaus’s jaw tightened. He glanced at the crowd of his people, all watching the family drama unfold. He was losing control of the room and he knew it. With a sudden, sharp motion, he waved his hand. 

“Everyone.... Out.... Now.”

There was a moment of stunned hesitation, then a quick scramble as betas, warriors and staff practically tripped over each other to clear the hall. 

Marcus gave Klaus a long, concerned look before following them out, pulling the heavy doors shut behind him.

The room was suddenly vast and echoing, occupied only by the two brothers and Klaus turned back to Victor, his patience clearly gone. 

“Why don’t you just get straight to what you’re really doing here…” He snarled, the word dripping with venom. “... brother.”