Chapter 10: The Alpha's Daughter

Emma's POV

A massive red wolf crashed through the woods just as the Void Walker's howl echoed again, closer this time.

"Everyone get back!" Kai shouted, his silver light sparking as he moved to protect me.

But the red wolf wasn't attacking. Instead, it changed into a tall girl with fiery hair and fierce green eyes who looked about my age. She was breathing hard and had cuts on her arms like she'd been fighting something.

"Which one of you is the so-called Moon Daughter?" she asked, her voice sharp with anger.

"That would be me," I said, moving forward despite Kai's protective stance. "Who are you?" "Zara Moonhowl, daughter of Alpha Derek Moonhowl of the Eastern Territory," she answered, looking me up and down like I was some kind of disappointing science experiment. "You're smaller than I expected."

"Well, you're ruder than I expected," I shot back.

Sarah grabbed my arm. "Emma, we don't have time for this. The Void Walker—"

"Is exactly why I'm here," Zara interrupted. "That thing wrecked my pack's northern border. It ate the memories of twelve wolves before I could get them to safety."

My heart sank. "Are they okay?"

"They're alive, but they don't remember who they are," Zara said, her anger cracking to show pain underneath. "They don't even remember their own names."

The weight of guilt crashed down on me. This was my fault. My power surge had called the Void Walker, and now innocent dogs were suffering.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't know—"

"Sorry doesn't fix anything," Zara snapped. "But maybe you can."

"What do you mean?"

"My father sent me to bring you back to our land. If you really are the Moon Daughter, you should be able to recover their memories."

"I don't know if I can do that," I said honestly.

"Then prove you're worth all the trouble you've caused," Zara challenged. "Heal something right now."

She rolled up her sleeve to show a deep gash on her wrist that was still bleeding. "I got this fighting dark creatures that are following the Void Walker. If you're really a healer, fix it."

I reached out to touch the cut, but Zara jerked her arm away.

"No golden light magic," she said. "Anyone can fake pretty lights. Use real healing power."

My heart beat. What if I couldn't do it without the light? What if I was just trying to be special?

"She doesn't have to prove anything to you," Kai said angrily.

"Yes, she does," Zara answered. "Half the vampire world is ready to worship her, and the other half wants her dead. She'd better be worth the chaos she's caused."

I took a deep breath and put my hand on Zara's wound without calling up my golden light. Instead, I tried to feel what was wrong and fix it from the inside.

At first, nothing happened. Then slowly, I felt the torn skin knitting back together. The blood stopped, and the cut sealed shut without even leaving a scar.

Zara stared at her healed arm in shock. "How did you do that without the light show?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "It just felt right."

"Interesting," Magnus said, studying me with his black eyes. "You're learning to use pure healing energy instead of relying on visible manifestations."

"Is that good or bad?" I asked.

"It's evolution," Sarah responded. "Your powers are growing stronger."

Zara looked between all of us like we were crazy. "Can someone please explain what's going on? My pack scouts reported bursts of light, interdimensional monsters, and government helicopters all in one night."

"It's complicated," Jake said.

"Try me."

So we told her everything. About the prophecy, the Alpha King power, my past life memories, and the Void Walker that was currently hunting us.

Zara listened without interrupting, but her expression got more serious with each description.

"So let me get this straight," she said when we finished. "Emma is the reincarnation of the Moon Goddess's daughter, Kai is the lost royal heir, and there's an interdimensional monster that wants to eat Emma's soul?"

"That's the short version, yes," Elena said.

"And if Emma chooses Kai as her mate, he becomes the Alpha King but might get corrupted by the power?"

"Exactly," Magnus confirmed.

Zara was quiet for a long moment. Then she started laughing.

"This is insane," she said. "Absolutely insane."

"But you believe it?" I asked hopefully.

"I believe my pack members have no memories. I believe something powerful enough to scare my father is coming this way. And I believe you just healed my arm with a touch." She looked straight at me. "So yeah, I believe it."

Relief flooded through me. Having another Alpha's daughter on our side felt like a big victory.

"There's something else," Zara continued. "Something I haven't told you yet."

"What?" Kai asked.

"The reason my father really sent me to find you," Zara said, her face going pale. "It's not just about healing the memory-wiped wolves."

"Then what?"

"The Void Walker isn't working alone," she said quietly. "It's being controlled by someone. Someone who knows exactly who Emma is and what she can do."

My blood turned to ice. "Controlled by who?"

"We don't know for sure, but my father's scouts found proof at the attack site. Werewolf smell mixed with something else. Something that shouldn't exist."

"What do you mean?" Sarah demanded.

"The scent of a werewolf who died centuries ago," Zara said. "But somehow came back wrong."

Magnus went rigid. "That's impossible. The dead can't return without—" He stopped, his face going white.

"Without what?" I pressed.

"Without making a deal with the Void Walkers themselves," Magnus whispered. "Someone traded their soul for a second chance at life."

"Who would do that?" Kai asked.

Before anyone could answer, little Luna gasped and pointed toward the sky.

"Look!" she cried.

Above us, the stars were going out one by one, leaving patches of total darkness in the night sky. The Void Walker was getting closer, and its very presence was removing light itself.

But that wasn't the worst part.

As we watched in horror, shapes started dropping from the dark patches in the sky. At first, I thought they were meteors, but as they got closer, I realized they were much worse.

They were werewolves. But not live ones.

Dead werewolves with glowing red eyes and bodies that flashed between solid and shadow were falling from the sky like rain.

"The Void Walker brought an army," Zara breathed.

"An army of the dead," Magnus corrected grimly.

As the first zombie werewolf hit the ground and rose to its feet with bones creaking, I heard something that made my heart stop.

A familiar voice calling my name from among the dead.

"Emma, my dear child. I've come to take you home."

It was Magnus's voice. But Magnus was standing right beside me.

I looked at him in confusion, and his face was filled with the same fear I felt.

"That's not me," he said quietly. "That's my brother. The one who was supposed to be the first Alpha King before the power drove him crazy."

"Your brother is alive?" Sarah gasped.

"Not alive," Magnus replied. "But not dead either. Somehow, Aldric made a deal with the Void Walkers."

The undead werewolf army surrounded us, and from their middle stepped a figure that looked exactly like Magnus but with red eyes and a smile full of too many teeth.

"Hello, brother," the fake Magnus said. "Thank you for keeping my niece safe. I'll take her from here."