The blade bit deeper into my wrist. Blood spilling blood onto the ice with a hiss. The ritual circle flared acid-green. My bones snapping, fingers stretching into talons. Angela slammed against the barrier again with enough force to make it rattle from its foundation, her claws leaving smears of her own blood on the shimmering air.“You think this makes you strong?” she shouted, voice raw. “You’re just its tool now!”I tried to answer, but my jaw cracked, tendons snapping as it unhinged. Venom dripped from fangs that hadn’t been there seconds ago. The taste burned my tongue—rot and iron. Vorath’s laughter vibrated in my chest, louder than my own heartbeat.Angela lunged sideways, hunting for a weak spot in the barrier. Her mutated arm lashed out, talons raking the ice near the edge of the circle. The green light flickered.“Clever,” I rasped, the words slurred around too many teeth. My left eye was gone, replaced by a wet, bulging orb that saw in heat and shadows. “But you’re too late
The forest felt less like a living thing and more like a corpse left out in the cold. Snow stuck to the bare bones of birch trees, their skin pulled back like meat from a skeleton. The air was thick, filled with a sickly sweet smell of rot. Not just decay, but something worse, something deliberate. Vorath's evil had sunk into the ground, changing roots into snakes, turning sap into black glass. I tripped over a frozen stream, its top cracked, glowing faintly, like poisoned veins. Silas moved ahead of me, rifle slung across his back, his breath fogging in short, controlled bursts. He hadn’t spoken in hours. Not since we’d found the remains of the pack’s outpost—a cabin reduced to splinters, its walls clawed open from the inside. Blood streaked the snow outside in frantic arcs, as if someone had tried to crawl away. The scent was days old, but Silas had vomited anyway, his human stomach rejecting what his wolf once would have understood. I flexed my corrupted hand, the black veins pul
The road to the city was a graveyard of bones.They littered the frozen mud like broken pottery—shattered ribs, splintered femurs, wolf skulls picked clean by crows. Silas walked ahead, his boots crunching through the debris without slowing. He hadn’t spoken since dawn, his silence as heavy as the rifle slung across his back. I kept my corrupted hand buried in my coat pocket, the skin beneath the fabric raw and hot. The veins had spread past my wrist overnight, black and swollen, throbbing with every heartbeat.The city walls rose in the distance, jagged and uneven. Rusted metal sheets welded to crumbling concrete, patched with splintered wood and coils of barbed wire. Smoke billowed from chimneys, staining the sky charcoal. Even from here, the stench hit me—rotten meat, diesel fumes, and the sharp, metallic tang of fear. Human and wolf, blended into something sour.Silas stopped abruptly, shoulders stiffening. “Keep your hand hidden.”I curled my fingers into a fist, the movement sti
The cold bit harder outside, sharp enough to sting the raw edges of my anger. I shoved my gloved hand deeper into my coat pocket, the corruption beneath the fabric throbbing like a second heartbeat. The streets here weren’t streets—just alleys strung between leaning buildings, their walls pockmarked with bullet holes and graffiti that read like obituaries. Burn the Cursed. Silver Pays. I kept my head down, my boots crunching over ice and things better left identified.The market stank of desperation. Vendors hawked wares under tarps sagging with old snow—rusted tools, cracked batteries, jars of murky liquid that might’ve been fuel or piss. A gaunt man in a bloodstained apron stood behind a folding table, cleaver in hand. His stall reeked of iron and something sweetly rancid. Meat. Thick slabs of it, glistening under a flickering bulb. My stomach twisted, but not from hunger.“Try a cut?” The vendor grinned, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Ash dusted the meat. “Fresh today.”The wo
The cold seeped into my bones as I crouched in the shadows, my breath fogging in the air. The lab loomed ahead, a monolith of concrete and barbed wire, its windows glowing a sickly yellow in the night. I'd been watching for hours, tracking the guards' patrols, counting the seconds between each sweep of the floodlights. Waiting for my chance.This is a fucking stupid idea, I imagined Rona’s voice whisper in my head. Risking your sorry ass for some chick who stabbed you in the back? Pathetic."Shut up," I muttered, flexing my corrupted hand. I was going mad, and the itch was getting worse tonight, the black veins pulsing under my rotting skin like they knew what I was about to do. Like they were hungry for it.But I couldn't shake Bella's face from my mind. Those wide, pleading eyes boring into mine as they dragged her away. She betrayed you, Silas's voice echoed. She set you up!Maybe he was right. Maybe I was just another sucker, chasing ghosts and lost causes. But I owed it to the gi
SilasThe stairs nearly killed me.Each step sent fresh agony through my side, the wound pulsing hot and angry beneath my rain-soaked shirt. Blood dripped onto the concrete, leaving a trail any half-decent wolf could follow. Not that they needed it—Jarek's howl had already echoed through the district, calling his Silver Claw brothers to the hunt.I stumbled at the landing, shoulder slamming into our apartment's door hard enough to rattle the hinges. The lock was intact. No signs of forced entry. But that meant nothing in this city."Stella?" My voice came out rougher than intended, scraping past the copper taste in my throat. The silence that answered churned my gut worse than the infection burning through my ribs.The apartment was exactly as I'd left it—mattress shoved against the far wall, medical supplies scattered across the floor, her scent still lingering in the stale air. But no Stella. No note. Just the empty space where she should have been, accusation hanging in every shado
SilasThe dumpster broke my fall, and It was starting to rain.Rotting cardboard and black garbage bags cushioned the impact, but didn't stop the burst of agony that exploded through my side. The infection pulsed, hot and angry, as I rolled onto wet pavement. Above, Jarek's curse echoed off brick walls."Find him! Don't let that blood trail go cold!"I dragged myself behind the dumpster, pressing my back against grimy metal. Each breath felt like swallowing glass. The mate bond twisted in my chest, Stella's fear a dull roar underneath the pain. They were doing something to her. Something that made our connection stutter and fade like a dying radio signal.Boots scraped concrete nearby. I closed my eyes, willing my heart to slow. The hunters would track my blood, but the garbage stench might buy me minutes. Maybe less."Over here!" A voice hissed from the shadows. "Quick!"I squinted through the rain. A figure crouched in a doorway, gesturing urgently. The dim light caught the edge of
SilasConsciousness returned in fragments.First came sound—a monitor's steady beep, distant drips echoing through stone, someone murmuring in a language I'd forgotten. The sensation crawled back, nerve endings sparking awake. The infection's burn had dulled to an ache, replaced by something colder. Different.I opened my eyes to darkness."Welcome back." Rey's voice drifted from somewhere left. "Thought we lost you for a minute there."The mate bond pulsed weakly, but at least it was there. Whatever Veronica was doing to Stella hadn't severed our connection. Not yet."How long?" My throat felt raw."Seventeen minutes." Footsteps approached. A light clicked on, revealing Rey's scarred face. "The treatment worked. Mostly."I pushed up onto my elbows, ignoring the vertigo. The doctor stood by a bank of monitors, her surgical mask pulled down to reveal features carved from granite. Ancient texts lay scattered across her desk—Andrea's research, judging by the handwriting."The infection's
The elders agreed to my terms, of course. What choice did they have? Silas would die without the ritual, and the pack needed both of us.The ceremony room was deep beneath the pack house, a circular chamber carved from bedrock, walls decorated with ancient symbols of the Moon Goddess. Moonlight filtered in through a shaft in the ceiling, illuminating a raised stone platform in the center. Behind it stood a carved altar bearing ceremonial knives, bowls, and herbs.Zeta Clara, the oldest of the pack elders, supervised the preparations. Pack members laid Silas on the platform, his body covered only by a thin sheet. The black poison lines stood out starkly against his pale skin, like veins of obsidian beneath the surface. I could see how they pulsed with each labored heartbeat."You understand what this ritual entails?" Zeta Clara asked me as I changed into the simple white shift they'd provided."Bella explained it.""Not just physically," she pressed. "Spiritually. Emotionally. You will
Three days. Three fucking days, and Silas hadn't opened his eyes.I hadn't left his side except to piss or when Zeta Ruth forced me to eat something. The room stank of sickness, silver poisoning, and my own unwashed body. Dark circles tattooed themselves under my eyes. I didn't care."His temperature's rising again," Zeta Ruth said, checking the digital thermometer. "103.8."The pack's head healer looked as exhausted as I felt. She'd been working around the clock, trying every treatment in the book and some that weren't. Nothing touched the silver poisoning. The black lines had spread across his entire torso now, up his neck, down his arms. Some had reached his face, thin dark veins like cracks in porcelain."More ice," she instructed her assistant, who hurried off to fetch it. She turned to me. "You need to rest, Stella. You're not helping him by making yourself sick.""I'm fine," I said for the thousandth time.She sighed but didn't argue. Smart woman.The door opened, and Bella wad
I couldn't wait any longer. I reached for that building pressure inside me and PUSHED, just as Rona had suggested.BOOM!The power exploded outward from my chest, following the paths of the needles and tubes. The burning silver became a conduit rather than a barrier. The black lines on my skin brightened to silver-white, spreading rapidly across my entire body."What the—" Logan began, but was cut off as the tubes connected to me burst, spraying blood in all directions.The restraints holding me shattered as the power wave hit them. I sat up, ripping the remaining needles from my body. Each extraction point sealed itself instantly, the white-silver lines on my skin concentrating around the wounds."Stop her!" Logan shouted.The human woman backed away, terror in her eyes. Angela rose from her chair, shifting as she moved. Her pregnant form distorted the shift, making it slower, awkward. Logan reached for something under the console—a weapon, probably.I couldn't worry about them. I tu
She smiled, a cold expression that reminded me of our father. "I made sure you and Silas never completed your mate bond. I made sure you ran. I arranged everything."A chill ran through me. "What?""The attack five years ago," she said, her voice matter-of-fact. "I arranged it. Aaron, Marcus, Jacob—they were all following my suggestion. 'Teach the wolfless bitch a lesson,' I told them. 'Show her what happens to omegas.'"My vision blurred with rage. Five years of nightmares, of trauma, of struggling to survive—all because my sister orchestrated my assault?"You fucking bitch," I snarled, thrashing against the restraints. "You set me up to be raped?""I set you up to be scared off," she corrected, unperturbed by my rage. "The rape wasn't the plan. That was the boys getting carried away. But your leaving was exactly what I wanted. You were supposed to die in the woods, vulnerable and alone. No one expected you to survive, much less thrive.""Why?" I demanded. "What did I ever do to you?
I'd heard enough. I needed to see what I was dealing with before bursting in. Near the ceiling was a ventilation grate. I jumped, grabbed the edge, and pulled myself up. The metal groaned under my weight but held. I peered through the slats.The room beyond was larger than the others, clearly the main lab. Scientific equipment lined the walls—centrifuges, computers, machines I didn't recognize. In the center was a metal table, and strapped to it was Silas.My breath caught in my throat. He was naked except for a cloth draped over his hips, his body covered in fresh cuts and burns. Silver-infused needles pierced his arms and chest, connected to tubes that ran to collection bags hanging beside the table. The bags were already half-filled with dark red blood.Logan stood at a workstation, examining something on a computer screen. He'd removed his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves, looking like a fucking corporate exec taking a casual Friday. Angela sat in a chair nearby, one hand res
I didn't go back to the pack house. There wasn't time.The fading scent trail led northeast, toward the old industrial district. I followed it at a dead run, not bothering with stealth. Logan had given me twelve hours, but the silver-laced blade he'd pressed against Silas's throat would still be burning, still be poisoning him. Every minute counted.That tiny thread of our broken bond pulled me forward like a compass needle. I could feel Silas's pain—distant, muffled, but there. It had surprised the hell out of me when our bond snapped partially back during the attack. Five years of nothing, and now this. Fucking inconvenient timing.I stuck to the woods when I could, avoiding the roads where someone might spot a blood-covered woman sprinting through the night. The last thing I needed was human interference. Luckily, at three in the morning, even the occasional passing car didn't slow down.The industrial district loomed ahead, a collection of abandoned warehouses and factories that h
The tunnel was narrow, barely wide enough for two wolves to walk side by side. The walls were rough-hewn stone, occasionally reinforced with rotting timber supports. Water dripped somewhere in the distance, and the air smelled of damp earth and mold. And blood. Fresh blood.We found the first body about fifty yards in—a young pack member named David. I'd seen him at training sessions, eager to please, always trying to impress the older wolves. Now his throat was torn out, his eyes staring sightlessly at the tunnel ceiling. He couldn't have been more than eighteen.Liam made a pained sound beside the body. I placed a hand on his trembling shoulder."We keep moving," I said, my voice harder than I intended. "We'll come back for him after."The tunnel forked ahead, splitting into three separate passages. I closed my eyes, focusing on my senses. The smell of chemicals and wrongness was stronger in the center tunnel."This way," I said, pointing.We moved deeper, the ceiling growing lower
Screams tore through the darkness, yanking me from sleep.Not nightmare screams—I knew those too well by now—but real ones. The wet, gurgling kind that meant someone was dying, and they were close. Too close.My limbs wouldn't fucking move. Heart pounding, lungs burning, but I couldn't even lift a finger. Couldn't blink. Sweat soaked the sheets under me while the screams got louder.Get up.Rona's voice cut through the fog in my head.GET UP NOW.Spots clouded my vision. I realized I hadn't breathed since the screams started. My lungs hurt.STELLA!I finally gasped for air, my body responding at last. I fell off the bed, shoulder hitting the floor hard. The pain shocked me alert. Adrenaline kicked in, my hand shaking as I grabbed the wall and pulled myself up.More screams, now closer, and beneath them a sound from below—stone grinding against stone. The tunnels. Someone was coming through the tunnels.I took one step toward the door, then my brain fractured. The hardwood under my fee
The hours before sunset passed in a blur of preparations. After Silas left to investigate the tunnel entrance, I forced myself to eat, knowing I'd need my strength for whatever came tonight. My body still ached from the wolfsbane withdrawal, muscles trembling occasionally as the last traces worked their way out of my system.I had just finished showering when a hesitant knock sounded at my door. I opened it to find a teenage girl, maybe sixteen, shifting nervously from foot to foot."Alpha Morrigan asked if you could come to the training hall," she said, eyes downcast. "Some of the younger wolves want to try shifting before..." She swallowed hard. "Before tonight."My first instinct was to refuse. These weren't my problems. This wasn't my pack. But the fear in the girl's eyes struck something in me—the memory of my own desperation to shift, years of failure and humiliation."Fine," I said. "Give me five minutes."The training hall was in the east wing of the pack house, a large open s