Chapter 20: The Estate

We drove to my family's estate in three cars. The whole pack. Armed and ready.

I sat in Cole's truck. Stacey beside me. Alex driving.

My hands shook.

"You don't have to do this," Stacey said quietly. "You could wait here. Let us handle it."

"No. She's my mother. This is my fight."

"She summoned demons to kill you."

"I know." I looked out the window. "That's why I have to be there. To end it."

Cole turned from the front seat. "When we get there, you stay behind me. Behind the pack. Clear?"

"I'm not hiding."

"You're not charging in either. You just shifted for the first time today. You don't know how to fight yet." His eyes were firm. "You stay protected. That's an order."

"You can't order me."

"I'm your Alpha. Yes I can."

"I'm not officially pack."

"You shifted. You're connected to the pack bond. That makes you pack." He looked serious. "That means you follow orders about your safety."

I wanted to argue. But he was right.

I'd shifted once. By accident. In panic. I had no idea how to control it. How to fight.

Going in blind would get me killed. Or possessed.

"Fine. I'll stay back. But I'm coming."

"Wouldn't expect anything less."

We pulled up to the estate gates. Tall. Iron. Locked.

"Security cameras," Andres said from the second car. Laptop open. "Looping the feed now. They won't see us."

"Good." Cole got out. Walked to the gate.

He grabbed the iron bars. Pulled.

The metal bent. Twisted. Broke.

The gate fell open.

"Show off," Alex muttered. But smiled.

We drove through. Up the long driveway.

My family's estate was huge. More like a castle. White stone. Columns. Perfect gardens.

I grew up here. These walls were my prison for eighteen years.

Now I was back. Not as their daughter.

As their enemy.

We parked. Got out.

The front door opened before we reached it.

My father stood there. Tall. Gray hair perfect.

He looked at me. Cold eyes.

"Lita. I wondered when you'd come home."

"This isn't home anymore."

"No?" He looked at the pack. "You prefer animals?"

"Better than demons."

Something flickered in his face. Surprise. Or fear.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do. Mother summoned demons. Sent them to kill me." I stepped forward. "Where is she?"

"Your mother is indisposed."

"I'm not a visitor. I'm her daughter. I'm here to end this."

"End what? Your delusions?" He stepped aside. "Fine. Come in. Let's settle this as family."

"It's a trap," Alex said quietly.

"I know," Cole said. "But we're going anyway."

We walked inside. The pack spread out. Alert.

The house looked the same. Expensive furniture. Artwork. Chandelier.

But something felt wrong. The air was heavy.

"You feel that?" Stacey whispered.

"Magic," Andres said. "Dark magic. The whole house reeks."

"Where's Mother?" I asked my father.

"In the study. Waiting." He pointed down the hall. "After you."

We walked. Every step felt heavier.

The study doors were closed. Dark wood. Carved with weird symbols.

Cole reached for the handle.

"Wait," Andres said. He pulled out his grimoire. Started reading. "Protection spell."

He finished. Drew a symbol in the air. It glowed blue then faded.

"Okay. Now."

Cole opened the doors.

The study was dark. Curtains closed. Candles everywhere.

In the center. My mother.

She sat in a high backed chair. Like a throne. White dress. Hair perfect. Makeup perfect.

But her eyes. Wrong.

They flickered. Brown to red. Red to brown.

"Hello, daughter." Her voice was layered. Like the demon in Erica. "Welcome home."

"You're possessed."

"Possessed? No." She smiled. Cold. "I made a deal. Power for service. Demons help me. I help them."

"By sacrificing me?"

"You were always meant for greatness. Just not the kind I planned." She stood. "The demons showed me. You're special. Hybrid. Human and wolf. Perfect vessel for their leader."

"Their leader?"

"Me." A new voice. Deep. Ancient. Everywhere.

The shadows moved. Gathered. Took shape.

A figure formed. Tall. Dark. Made of smoke.

Red eyes glowed.

"I am Moloch. Demon lord." The voice shook the walls. "And you, little wolf, belong to me."

"No I don't."

"Your mother made the bargain. Your life for power. Your body for my vessel. Deal sealed."

"I never agreed."

"You don't have to. She's your parent. She decides your fate." The demon moved closer. "And she decided you're mine."

Cole stepped in front of me. "She's not yours. She's pack. She's mine."

"Yours?" The demon laughed. "You think your pack bond is stronger than a blood contract?"

"Yes."

"Then you're a fool. You'll die with her."

The demon attacked.

Fast.

It grabbed Cole. Threw him across the room. He hit the wall hard.

The pack lunged. All of them.

But the demon was too strong. Too fast.

It tossed them aside. One by one.

Alex. Andres. Marcus. Stacey. All of them.

Until only I was left.

The demon loomed over me. "Time to come home, vessel."

It reached.

I felt the pull. Like hooks in my soul. Dragging me out of my body.

"No!" I screamed.

My wolf surged. Fought back.

But not enough.

The demon was too strong.

I was losing. Fading. Going numb.

Then I heard it. A voice.

James.

My brother. In my head. Clear.

"Fight, Lita. You're stronger than you know. Stronger than them. Than Mother. Than the demons. Believe it."

"I'm not strong enough."

"Yes you are. You always were. They just made you think you weren't." His voice got louder. "The pills. The therapy. The abuse. All to keep you weak. Controllable. But you were never weak. You were a wolf. A fighter. My sister."

"James?"

"I'm here. Always have been. Watching. Protecting." His voice wrapped around me. "Now fight. Show them what a Dillard wolf can do."

Heat exploded in my chest. Power. Raw and wild.

My wolf didn't just surface. It erupted.

I shifted. Different this time. Bigger. Stronger.

My fur glowed. Silver.

The demon pulled back. "Impossible. You're just a newborn."

"Wrong," I growled. My voice. But deeper. "I'm a Dillard. We don't break."

I lunged. Jaws open. Claws out.

The demon tried to dodge. I was faster.

My teeth sank into shadow. Into smoke. Into the demon's essence.

It screamed. Windows shattered. Walls cracked.

"How?"

"Because she's not just any wolf." Cole was back. Shifting. "She's an Alpha."