Lila Hawkmoth Novels & Stories

Haley’s heart slammed against her ribs, and her wolf—distant as it was—snapped awake long enough to bare its teeth. The door opened just a crack. A woman’s face appeared—older, kind-eyed, with silver hair braided back from her temples. Pack healer. Lila. Haley remembered her hands from childhood scraped knees and fevers and accidental wolfsbane exposure during training. “Easy,” Lila said softly, as if Haley were a skittish animal. “It’s just me.” Haley’s breath came shallow. “Where are my children?”

The stone gate slid fully open, revealing a vast circular stone chamber beyond. At the chamber’s center hovered the black core plate of the Annihilation Array. Beneath the plate crouched a grotesque hybrid creature, half human and half spider. Its lower body was a massive spider frame covered in stiff black bristles, with eight sturdy legs planted firmly on the ground. Its upper half belonged to Lila. Her golden hair was gone entirely, replaced by unsightly tumors across her scalp. The face that once looked gentle and innocent was now crisscrossed with dark fissures. To seize control of the array, she had fused her own flesh and blood utterly with dark primal energy.