In the dimly lit red chamber of the Council of Alphas, the air is thick with tension as Wilson takes his seat at the head of the stone table. His piercing gaze sweeps across the room, falling on each council member in turn. Many avert their eyes, unwilling to meet the gaze of the man they once swore fealty to. The three traitors sit in their designated places, feigning innocence, but their deceit is palpable. Their allies among the council members shift uncomfortably, their guilt radiating from them in waves.The council meeting begins as it always does, with reports of pack affairs and city matters. But the undercurrent of unease is unmistakable. Wilson allows the conversation to flow, his sharp mind already several moves ahead. He knows what is coming, and he is prepared.When the moment arrives, it is Lucius who speaks first, his voice dripping with false concern. "Alpha Wilson," he begins, his tone measured and controlled. "There have been... concerns among some of us about the di
Secrets are the weapons of those who walk in shadow, unseen, unheard, until the moment they pierce the silence. The night is loyal to the hunter, cloaking them in its embrace, while the prey, trembling, senses the gaze that never wavers—silent, relentless, inevitable. In these dark recesses, truths are born, and betrayals murmur like whispered winds. Then again, in the folds of night, the most perilous secrets breathe and grow, for darkness is a veil that shields both predator and prey, though only one truly masters the hunt.Danger rarely announces its arrival with a roar. Instead, it treads softly, creeping on the silent feet of dread, lurking just beyond the edges of perception. To track in darkness is to merge with the night itself, to become invisible, patient, waiting for that singular, fatal instant to strike. The shadows are a kingdom where only the bold wear crowns, and the weak, paralyzed by fear, fall into the jaws of the inevitable. In this delicate dance between predator
The air thickens, becoming nearly unbreathable, as if the oxygen has been sucked out of the atmosphere. She can feel it now—its gaze on her, searing her flesh from a distance. There’s a low hum vibrating through her bones, an energy so familiar, so insidious, she can taste it in the back of her throat.Without warning, the entity emerges from the shadows, and Selena’s breath catches in her throat. It stands before her, its form wavering as though reality struggles to contain it. It’s both corporeal and ethereal, a mass of darkness that writhes and pulses with malevolent intent. Its eyes, if they can even be called that, glisten like oil in the moonlight, locking onto Selena with an ineffable hunger. It doesn’t speak—at least not with words. Its presence alone is enough to bamboozle her senses, to flood her mind with images too horrific to comprehend.The entity moves toward her, slow, deliberate, as if savoring each step closer to its prey. Selena wants to scream, but her voice falter
In the depths of the shadows, she trembles at the beast she believes stalks her every step. Yet, when the moment of revelation comes, it is no beast at all. What stands before her is something far stranger, far more human. The days spent fearing the monster behind every door, the dark shape haunting her dreams during the night, now seem foolish as the door finally opens, revealing not claws or fangs, but a mirror.What she once dreaded as a creature of nightmares—hulking, grotesque—was merely a mask, a facade that hid something far more insidious. Beneath that mask lies a truth that defies her every assumption, something altogether unfamiliar yet infinitely more dangerous. The true terror does not come from the monstrous form she expected, but from the simplicity of its real face. How easily her mind spun nightmares from shadows, fabricating horrors that were never truly there.She had prepared herself for the beast of her nightmares, but what came instead bore no resemblance to the t
Selena sits in the dimly lit room of Demika’s apartment, which hums with an unsettling quiet, the tension palpable as if the walls themselves are listening in. Her fingers clutching the rough edges of the wooden table, knuckles stark white with tension against her skin. The air in the room is oppressive, thick with the unspoken weight of fear and uncertainty. The dull amber light flickers above, casting wavering shadows across her face as her piercing blue eyes—glowing faintly in the low light—shift between Chloe and Demika. The amorous duo sit across from her, their eyes fixated on Selena's face, searching for answers as if the words she’s just spoken could shift the very fabric of their understanding. Chloe’s jaw tightens, her usually soft features sharpened by the tension in her brow. Demika sits still, her expression torn between curiosity and unease, her fingers tapping nervously against the table as she digests what she’s just heard.Chloe’s voice cuts through the silence like
Demika’s breath is heavy, her eyes fixed on the door where Selena just disappeared. She turns to Chloe, her own heart still racing. “What do we do now?” she asks, her voice barely a whisper.Chloe doesn’t answer immediately. She walks back to the bed where Demika’s seated, sits beside her reticently. The weight of the revelation is still settling in, but beneath the shock, something else stirs—she knows there’s much more to this newly unearthed revelation, considering the fact that so much have been happening around them lately. Her pulse quickens, not just from fear or confusion—nothing really surprises her anymore… after all this is Clovis City, where anything paranormal is the new norm—but something deeper. She meets Demika’s gaze, and the electricity in the room shifts.The world outside the small, dimly lit room is unraveling—bloodlines and curses, ancient powers returning, enemies lurking in the shadows—but in this moment, the storm outside fades away. All that remains is the pa
Alpha Wilson sits alone in the dim recesses of his quarters, the faint glow of the crescent moon ray flickering against the cold stone walls of the pack house. The room is suffocatingly silent, save for the distant howl of the wind slicing through the trees outside, as well as mutts in distant places, outside the borders of Clovis City. His thoughts churn violently, a tempest of paranoia and strategy, each idea more sinister than the last. The weight of Clovis City’s safety presses down on his shoulders like a boulder too massive to shift. Even though he doesn’t fully understand the gravity of the dangers that lurk around, trying to devour Clovis City, there are a few domestic threats he completely understand and must deal with before anything else.His mind seethes with the nomenclature of his enemies—Dorian, Thorne, Lucius—traitors to his reign, Alphas who sought to usurp his power and plunge Clovis City into chaos.His jaw clenches. How could they have been so foolish? Did they tru
The next day, the atmosphere in the pack house is charged with tension. The betas of Ironfang, Blackstone, and Poniros-Lycus stand before Wilson, their faces a mixture of apprehension and anger. They know why they’ve been summoned; the fall of their Alphas has left a vacuum of power, and they are not fools to think Wilson intends to leave it unfilled.Wilson sits at the head of the ginormous table in the conference room, Jason standing at his side, his presence a silent reminder of where true authority lies. The betas shift uncomfortably under Wilson’s cold gaze, waiting for him to speak.“You know why you’re here,” Wilson begins, his voice sharp as a blade. “Your Alphas have been convicted of treason against Clovis City. They will be dealt with. But I did not summon you here to discuss their fate.”The betas exchange wary glances, but no one dares to interrupt.“I summoned you because your packs need new leaders,” Wilson continues, his gaze piercing each of them in turn. “Leaders who