The Lost Beta 18 - The Bonefire Pact

The Moonshadow Pack was so tense that a blade could sever it. Emily stood in front of the stone table of the council, her eyes burning with a defiance that none of them had anticipated from the once-forgotten outlaw. The whole pack hierarchy had been rocked by rumors of her brother's arrival, and now there were more war rumors than ever before. Alexander stayed near her, a silent pillar of strength despite the upheaval. He knew the truth, this wasn’t just a political battle. It was a spiritual reckoning.

Every member of the inner circle had something to say. The Elders questioned Emily’s loyalty. The Gamma snarled that her presence had only ever brought chaos. Yet Emily didn't flinch. "You think I wanted this?" she bit out. "The lies. The blood. The curse your Alpha buried under our lands. I am not your enemy. But I will become your reckoning if you make me one."

Alexander’s hand found hers under the table. The warmth grounded her. "Enough posturing," he said coldly. "We either unite, or we fall. But we will not let history write itself in ash again."

The echo of his words sparked a split in the room. Half seemed ready to follow them. The other half, bound by fear or old allegiance, turned their eyes to the shadows. That’s where their enemy would rise from within, not beyond.

A terrible scream reverberated through the northern forests as the gathering was coming to an end. It wasn't human. And it wasn’t alone.

Alexander and Emily rode into the mist-covered outskirts before dawn, following the haunting cry. They found the source quickly, a slaughtered scouting party, their bodies marked not by claws or teeth, but with runes carved deep into their skin. Emily had previously had nightmares about the same runes.

Her heart broke as she collapsed to her knees next to one of the bodies. She said, "It's the Bonefire Pack. "They've begun the ritual."

Alexander frowned. “That name died centuries ago.”

Emily’s voice wavered. “No. They’ve been waiting. Preparing. My brother didn’t just survive… he found the remnants. The exiled priests, the broken-bonded warriors. He’s leading them.”

The moonlight struck her eyes then, and something ancient stirred in her. A vision, embers, ashes, wolves with black fire dripping from their eyes. The prophecy wasn’t just about her survival. It was about the rebirth of something far older and darker.

Alexander pulled her close. “Then we burn the past before it burns us.”

Back at the packhouse, Emily stood at the sacred altar beneath the moonstone tree. Her wolf itched beneath her skin, agitated by blood and fate. The last time this altar had seen her blood, she was a child. Now she offered it willingly.

“I make this vow,” she proclaimed, cut her palm and letting her blood run over the altar’s root. "To defend this land, even though I never claimed it." To end the curse, even if it ends me."

The roots pulsed with light, ancient runes flaring alive across the bark. The entire clearing trembled. Wind ripped through the trees. The spirits of the ancestors responded not with rejection, but with reverence.

Alexander stepped forward next, adding his blood to hers. “And I vow to stand by her, through death, through destiny, through fire.”

Their bond deepened with a flicker of blue light that danced around them like moonfire. But in the shadows, a single pair of gold eyes watched. And they belonged to someone who remembered the altar’s true price.

As the camp slept, Emily crept through the archives with Lila, her sharp-minded friend from the healer’s den. They were hunting for proof, any mention of the Bonefire Pack's resurrection or its connection to Emily’s family.

What they found chilled them more than any prophecy.

A hidden scroll, encoded with blood seals, revealed that Emily's father had once struck a pact with a rival Alpha. Not for peace but for sacrifice. Emily was meant to be a blood key, a vessel to keep the Bonefire souls locked away. Her memory loss hadn’t been a random injury, it was forced. Willed into being by her own bloodline.

Before they could process it, Lila stiffened. “We’re not alone.”

From the dim hallway a sword whizzed through the air a few inches from Emily's head. She faced Malik, a young warrior she had trained with in the past. His eyes were pitch black.

With the sword raised once more, he remarked, "You weren't supposed to find that."

Emily and Lila were forced to escape through the underground passages after Malik's attack, their boots smacking against the wet and ancient stone. Unrelentingly, Malik followed, reciting old passages as though they gave him courage. Every stride he took made the markings on his arms light brighter.

With her silver pelt gleaming in the torchlight, Emily eventually transformed into her wolf while huddled beneath the ancient well. She pounced and was met with shocking resistance. Malik’s wolf was... wrong. It burned with black flame and left claw marks that smoked.

“I was chosen,” he hissed. “Your brother said you would try to stop the awakening. He told me to kill you first."

Emily fought harder, drawing from deep within. But before she could deliver a lethal blow, Malik unexpectedly fell, her back stabbed by an arrow. With dark, angry eyes, Alexander stood at the top of the stairway.

“He won’t be the last,” Alexander growled.

That night, the skies turned crimson. A blood moon rose, an omen that hadn’t appeared in generations. The Bonefire Pack would take it as their sign to strike.

Emily stood on the watchtower all alone, her heart pounded and mind racing; she couldn't sleep. How could she be a weapon and a savior at once?

Alexander joined her, wrapping a cloak over her shoulders. “They may have corrupted your bloodline, Emily. But they can’t define your future. You are greater than the person they attempted to mold you into.

Her cheeks were wet with tears. But what if I'm insufficient? What if the power inside me breaks us instead of saving us?”

Alexander took her face in his hands. “Then we break up. But we don’t run.”

Below them, a single horn sounded in the valley. The Bonefire Pack had arrived.

As the pack prepared for battle, Emily addressed the warriors in the courtyard. “I am not your savior,” she began. “But I am your shield. If we stand together, we don’t just survive, we rise.”

They cheered, but she felt the weight behind their voices. This wasn’t hope. It was desperation.

Among them stood her childhood friend, Kael, who had once believed she died in the fire. His eyes now held pain and something else. “You look just like your mother,” he said quietly. “She was the one who stopped the first uprising.”

Emily didn’t know if that gave her courage or dread. But Kael offered his sword. And that mattered.

As twilight fell, Lila returned with news, her scouts had seen the Bonefire army. They weren’t just wolves. They were corrupted spirits, some half-formed, others dripping in rune-marked armor.

And at their front rode her brother, his eyes glowing with ashlight.

Night fell like a curtain. The first assault came swift. The Bonefire wolves struck the outer sentries, their flames devouring trees, the air thick with screams.

Emily joined the frontline, her wolf clawing to be released. Alexander flanked her, and the moment they touched her power surged.

But it wasn’t just strength. It was more of a fire. Moonfire, silvery blue and wild. It leapt from her fingertips, burning through the corruption without harming her allies.

She realized then she was not just a weapon. She was the counterbalance. The fire that healed as much as it destroyed.

Her brother approached under a flag of truce.

“I never meant for this to be war,” he said, eyes almost human again. “But you left me no choice.”

Emily stared at him. “You never gave me one.”

And then, from the rear of the Bonefire ranks, something ancient stirred, something not even her brother controlled.

A beast, part wolf and half ghost, with a body composed of bone and ember, arose from the darkness outside the battleground. The Bonefire Beast. It turned its dead eyes on Emily and howled.

Her blood burned in response.

“I know that sound,” she whispered.

“It’s calling for its queen.”