Chapter 54: Pack Division

Chapter 54: Pack Division
Beta Sarah's Point of View

The Overeditor's arrival made us tremble, but a stranger thing happened and took our focus. Aria's real self leaked into our minds, and our links felt like they were snapping.

"She tricked us a lot," Derek groaned, sounding like his heart had been ripped out. "How do we trust anything from her now?"

"She did rescue us so much," Rebecca snapped back. "Does her name even matter now?"

I felt our link start to crack, like ice splitting. Wolves who loved Aria now glared at her, and others stood by her side, like they would die for her now.

"It's worse than just lies," Elder Morrison spoke up, his voice deep. "If she is Nora Silverback, she pulled strings all along."

"How could that be?" I questioned, my faith starting to bend.

"Think back. She showed up when Elena needed the Moon's gift. She won us over to lead us into doom. She set herself up to call the shots in this storm."

His words hit hard, and I felt others sink into them. The stress had kept questions at bay, but now they clawed to get out.

"But Elena did say she was bad," Marcus spoke up. "She said she offered Nora. Why fib about that?"

"They could be a team," an old fighter growled. "Maybe turning good was just a trick to mess with our heads."

I felt Nora notice we were falling apart in our minds. She did not try to sway us or fight back. She just stood there, letting us pick sides.

That holding back should've felt like a warm blanket. But it made some pack folks even more uneasy.

"See how she's not wrestling for our hearts?" Derek piped up. "A true Luna would be glueing the gang together."

"Or maybe a real Luna trusts her gang to pick their own paths," I threw back, but my words felt hollow.

Honestly, I was lost in the fog. All I knew 'bout Aria - her past, her whys, her very self - was just a fancy tale.

"I chased her into war with star beasts," one young wolf snarled, voice rising. "I gambled my all on make-believe."

"You gambled your all on what she did," Rebecca fixed. "What she did kept us all breathing."

"Stuff that fit her plan," Elder Morrison snapped back. "Whatever she's really chasing after."

All around us, the star change kept rolling. The cranked-up First Makers were with the Story God to lay fresh story stones. But our pack was pulling itself in bits over who to trust and who we are.

"Maybe ask Elena," Derek threw out. "She's the one who truly knows the score."

The thought sent shivers down my spine. Elena owned up to years of messing and killing, but she was still the pack's first boss. Some wolves were drifting back to her known power 'cause of Nora's big fib.

"Elena's been straight with us," Elder Morrison chimed in. "Rawly straight 'bout her wrongs and whys. Beats what we can say for... whoever she is."

He waved at Nora, by Kai, near our gang's edge. Her silver glow felt weak, not from outside, but from us not trusting her.

"That's Nora Moonwhisper," I stated, battling my wavering doubt. "She’s Luna Nora, passed away like fifteen years prior, but hopped back here inside Aria's frame."

"Says who?" Derek wondered aloud, voice laced with disbelief. "Claims Elena, who we now see twists facts? Some star folks with their hidden plays?"

His doubts cut deep, the kind that twist in your gut. In chaos, when truth blurs, you grab whatever feels solid.

And now, Elena's raw words felt realer than Nora’s calm command.

"Count me with Elena," a fighter spoke up, voice echoing in the clearing. "She tells us her game, at least."

"Yeah, me too," one more added sharply, filling the tense air. "Give me bad guy truth over hero lies."

I shuddered, seeing nearly half our bunch drift near Elena, the other half hugging close to Nora. Split was harsh and quick, ripped through cracks I never saw.

"That's their aim," I begged, voice catching in my throat. "The Edit pushers, folks stamping out minds - want us broken and frail."

"Nah," Elder Morrison mused, cool as ice water. "They just hate that we blindly follow anyone, no questions asked. Picking sides when honest is how sharp minds act."

He had a point there. Figuring out who’s real, choosing who gets your back, that’s the brawl we signed up for.

Yet, seeing our own fall apart still stung like a fresh wound.

"Elena," Derek bellowed. "Will you guide those of us who pick truth over the fake?"

Elena glanced across the gap at her kin, and I spied a storm flash through her new face. Hurt, sorry, and a glimmer that seemed like joy.

"Anyone can tag along, if they want," she said, a bit slow. "However, I won't make you pick between what's real and being true. Those should match up."

"For sure," Elder Morrison chimed in. "But right now, they just don't line up."

The group was splitting up for good, it looked like. Wolves shifted around, showing where they stood by being close to some folks. The loose way we picked leaders was turning into firm sides.

"Sarah," Nora called out, like a whisper. "So, which way are you going?"

That question walloped me hard, like a punch. Since I sort of became the go-to person when things got tough, what I did next would matter. Whichever way I leaned, others would follow, ditching the other crew.

I spied Elena, with about half our pals around her. She was glowing with realness now, like someone who had no secrets left. Going her way meant saying yes to tough stuff and facing hard facts.

Then I glanced at Nora, not as many wolves nearby, but she held herself so calm. She was all about... wishing for good stuff. Thinking folks could try harder, be better than their bad moments, and move past where they began.

"I'm picking both," I said at last.

"No can do," Derek griped back.

"Really?" I walked to stand right between both crowds, facing both girls. "Elena's real talk and Nora's good vibes don't fight each other. They fit together."

"You're stuck if you pick two bosses," Elder Morrison grumbled.

"I'm not stuck to anyone. I'm saying yes to these two who are trying to grow up better than folks thought they could."

I could sense other wolves around me picking up on where I was heading. Not splitting up, but joining in. Not taking sides, but picking growth.

"The pack doesn't have to break," I kept on. "It can be... bigger. Room for being real and wishing, for truth and kindness, fairness and a fresh start."

Before folks reacted to what I said, the Top Shapers showed up.

They popped into the Story Place, bossing around even the changed First Makers, who took a step back. These folks didn't just run stories; they ran how running things worked.

"Not okay waking," their main person said, their voice like reality getting tweaked. "Too much thinking is happening all over the story places."

"You can't halt how people change," the Story Goddess said, but she sounded a bit unsure.

"We're not stopping it," the Top Shaper said, icily. "We're fixing it. Changing how people think so things stay in order."

And just like that, our group issues were nothing.

Because the Top Shapers didn't want to kill our waking up.

They wanted to mess with our heads, turning us into thinkers who could never get better.