Chapter 8: Darkest Hour

Kaelen woke to pain.

His ribs were broken. His head was banging. But none of that mattered.

Raven.

He forced himself to his feet, ignoring the pains of his body. The battlefield was a graveyard—bodies everywhere, wolves dying and more dead. But he didn't care about any of them.

He only cared about her.

Raven!

Silence. The bond was there—he could feel it—but it was without sound. Distant. Like she was calling from the bottom of a well.

Raven, Raven answer me!

Nothing.

He searched the battlefield, desperate, very worried. And then he found her.

She lay on the ground, pale and still, her chest barely rising. Vesper stood over her, her crimson eyes gleaming with victory. And Atlas was rising, healed, his silver eyes fixed on his sister.

"Excellent," Vesper said. "The primordial power is fully awakened. Now we just need to extract it."

"You can't," Atlas said.

"I can. And I will." She knelt beside Raven, her hands hovering over Raven's chest. "Once I have the Primordial essence, I'll be unstoppable. No one will be able to challenge me. Not the packs. Not the councils. Not even the gods."

Kaelen shifted. His wolf surged forward, and he lunged.

But he was too slow. Too broken.

Vesper flicked her hand, and he flew backward, slamming into a tree.

"Stay down, little alpha," she said. "This doesn't concern you."

He tried to rise. His body wouldn't obey.

Raven, he called through the bond. Please. Wake up.

She didn't move.

Vesper's hands began to glow. Dark energy poured from her, trickling into Raven's body, drawing something out. Something golden. Something special.

"No," Kaelen whispered.

And then, in the silence of his despair, he heard it.

A howl.

Far away.

But growing louder.

He looked up. On the ridge above the battlefield, silhouettes appeared. Dozens. Hundreds. Wolves.

The Red Ridge pack. The Ironclaw survivors. Packs from across the region.

They had come.

And at their head stood Dorian.

"FOR THE MARROW!" he roared. "FOR THE ALPHA!"

The wolves charged.

Vesper screamed in frustration.

"No! I need more time!"

The wave of wolves crashed into the remaining enemy forces, tearing through them with savage fury. Dorian led the charge, his silver-streaked fur streaked with blood, his eyes burning with vengeance.

In the chaos, Atlas grabbed Vesper's arm.

"We have to go."

"Not without the girl!"

"She's too strong. The pack is too strong." He pulled her toward the treeline. "We'll find another way. We always do."

Vesper snarled, but she followed.

They vanished into the darkness, leaving behind the bodies of the dead and the wounded.

And Raven.

Kaelen crawled to her, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything but her.

"Raven." He touched her face. "Raven, please."

Her eyes fluttered.

"Kaelen?"

"I'm here. I'm here." He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. "You're alive."

"I saw..." She coughed. "I saw something. When Vesper touched me. I saw the truth."

"What truth?"

"Our parents." Her eyes met his. "They're not dead. They're alive. And they're Dark Ones."

Blood of the Dark

Raven didn't sleep for three days.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw them—a woman with her own amber eyes, a man with Atlas's sharp jaw. She saw them smiling, reaching for her, their hands stained with blood.

Your parents are alive. And they're Dark Ones.

Kaelen stayed by her side through it all. He didn't push, didn't demand explanations. He simply held her when she shook, brought her food she barely touched, and waited.

On the third night, she finally spoke.

"How long have you known?"

Kaelen was sitting in a chair by the window, watching the moon rise. He didn't turn.

"Since I was eighteen, my father told me before he died."

"And you didn't think to mention it?"

"I didn't know if it was true." He finally looked at her, his amber eyes heavy. "The Dark Ones are secretive. They don't leave trails. But there were rumors, few years ago, about a pair of Primordial twins who had been turned. A brother and sister who had been corrupted by Vesper herself."

"Vesper." Raven's hands clenched. "She's been hunting my family for generations."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Kaelen rose and crossed to the bed, sitting on the edge. "Because the Primordial bloodline is the only thing that can destroy her. The first wolves—the true Primordials—were created by the moon goddess herself. They were her children. Her warriors. Vesper was one of them. She was the moon goddess's most trusted servant until she betrayed her."

"Betrayed her how?"

"She tried to steal the Primordial essence. The spark of creation that lives in every true Primordial. She wanted to become a god herself." Kaelen clenched his teeth. "The moon goddess stopped her, but Vesper escaped. She has been hiding in the shadows ever since, working on her strength, waiting for the moment when she could strike again."

"And my parents..."

" was her first successful experiment. She turned them, corrupted them, and used them to hunt down the remaining Primordials. Your mother and father were the last of their line—the purest bloodline left. When Vesper turned them, she thought she had won. But then they had you and Atlas."

Raven's breath caught. "She didn't know about us?"

"No. Your parents hid you. They gave you to the Blackwood family, swore them to secrecy, and then disappeared. They knew that if Vesper found out about you, she would come for you."

"She did anyway."

"Because the awakening couldn't be hidden forever. The primordial power is too strong. When you turned twenty-one, it called to her. She felt it. And now she won't stop until she has you."

Raven closed her eyes. "So my parents are monsters."

"Your parents are victims." Kaelen's voice was firm. "They didn't choose to become Dark Ones. Vesper forced it on them. But that doesn't mean they're innocent. They've killed. They've hunted. They've done terrible things."

"Can they be saved?"

Kaelen hesitated. "I don't know. No one's ever been saved from the dark corruption. But you're a Primordial. The first true Primordial in a thousand years. If anyone can save them, it's you."

Raven opened her eyes. "I want to find them."

"I know."

"Will you help me?"

Kaelen reached out and took her hand. "Yes, always."