Chapter 261 The Omega that isn’t one

Chapter 261 The Omega that isn’t one
Aria's pov
My frustration boils and I tell Julie to get Val and stay at Dante and Jaxon’s side. 

Then I shift and drop my snout low to the stone path, growling at the wall of council guards standing in our way. 

Come on, Lux, we really need to fly out of here I plead, staring up at the open sky as a clear path of escape. 

Even though Kael said we all need to go together, every moment Benson has my father is more time he has to torture and kill him.

Lux remains silent, her fiery wings staying tightly retracted against her ribs as that same deep-seated apprehension washes over me.

Come on 

We stopped time back there for chrissake! I’m pretty sure we can handle flying even if neither of us knows how yet!

Just then I hear a bone-rattling roar come from the edge of the dark forest beside us. My stomach drops and I turn, fully expecting an unstoppable wave of the dark forest creatures to come rushing out to butcher us all. Instead, a single, massive beast bursts through the trees, its powerful limbs tearing up the earth as it charges directly toward Kael. 

I throw my body forward to intercept it, but the creature ignores both Kael and the fleeing students entirely, leaping over them to rip into the council guards. 

I skid to a halt, confused. 

Looking closer at the beast, I realize it lacks the darkness of Misha or the monsters I had fought in the forest. The creature has the head of a wolf and the body of a man all covered in grey fur. There is no darkness radiating from it, instead, a familiar scent hits my nose, making me instantly shift back.

Wait a minute…..

"Isla?" 

The wolf creature freezes mid-strike, her head snapping toward me as familiar, green eyes lock onto mine. My breath hitches in my throat just as Ghost rears back, his claws extended and ready to drive into her exposed flank. 

"No, Kael, don't!" I scream, throwing my arms out. "It's Isla! Stop!" 

Around us, some of the guards and students pause their frantic fighting, staring at the terrifying beast in disbelief. How is this possible? What kind of monster is she? Did the dark forest twist her into this, or is she possessed by something far worse?

"By the Gods... that's a Lycan," Alpha Thalric now shifted, stands beside me.

"A what?" I ask, my gaze never leaving the creature.

"A Lycan. I haven't seen one in centuries. The old legends speak of them—an ancient, brutal bloodline of primordial wolf."

The beast suddenly collapses onto the ground, her body contorting and shrinking until Isla's naked body lies on the hard ground. She wraps her arms tightly around her naked chest, sobbing uncontrollably as her body trembles with heavy whimpers. I recall her mother mentioning during Parents' Weekend that she was having trouble with her wolf. Is this it? She is a Lycan?

I take a step toward her, my heart breaking from her pain, but Thalric snatches my wrist, holding me back. 

"Aria, don't. If she is a Lycan, it means she killed someone close to her to trigger the curse."

I yank my arm out of his grip, stepping past and dropping to my knees beside her. 

"I'm sorry," Isla whimpers, her body shaking as tears stream down her face. "I'm so sorry, Aria... I killed them... I killed Aisha and Penelope..."

I pull her shivering frame tightly into my arms. "You have nothing to apologize for. We have all done horrible things to survive this place." 

A profound relief washes over me knowing the forest hadn't claimed her, even if her sudden transformation is a mystery we will have to solve later. Around us, the chaos only intensifies as wave after wave of fresh council guards march onto the road, making me wonder if Mr. Benson is opening portals to send his army straight into the academy.

"We have to move," I tell her gently, helping her to her feet as I scan the chaotic battlefield. "Come on, stay close to the omegas."

"I will take her," Dante says, appearing beside me. He gently lifts Isla into his arms. "Get to your father. We'll hold the line here."

I nod, shifting back and throw myself into the oncoming wave of guards, my sharp claws tearing through armor and flesh as I fight my way forward. Yet no matter how many I strike down, more keep pouring down the road, blocking my path to the administration building. My anger builds. 

I need to get to my father. 

Lux growls. I haven’t known my wolf for long but I know this isn’t a standard growl. It feels different. And when Ghost comes to stand beside me and growl too, it comes from deep within him and I feel the strength in our bond. 

One by one the people in front of us stand and lower their gaze. Students and guards alike. It isn’t something I usually like but I understand my wolf now. If we aren’t going to fly out of here then this is the only way. 

By pure dominance. 

Together, Kael and I launch forward, but before we can cover a few paces, an unnatural, heavy presence settles in the air all around us. It’s more than the darkness I feel in Lux’s soul and feels like the same darkness I felt in the dark forest both times I was in there. The same darkness I feel when Mr Benson is close and the same darkness I felt from Misha and her friends. The scent of fear and terror increases in the air. 

Icy, gut twisting terror that fills me with dread. 

Kael and I stop in our tracks as a wave of whimpers and gasps erupts behind us. And we turn around to see them.

The forest creatures.

The real ones this time.

The exact red-eyed monstrous beast that are neither man nor beast that I had fought in the dark forest, and seeing them in the broad daylight proves that my worst nightmares didn't do them justice. They are terrifying, their hulking bodies covered in patchy, discolored fur ranging from gray to matted black, every inch of their flesh covered with scars. They tower over standard wolves, with the largest among them almost matching Lux's height. Slithering below their paws are thick, discolored snakes that I had previously mistaken for living tree roots, their black, fork-tipped tongues flicking out as they hiss.

The crowd parts as the nightmare army marches onto the road, their monstrous heads turning as they survey the battlefield.

Dear God.

This is Mr Benson

He had called them to finish the job.

There is no way we can fight both this horde of monsters and the council guards at the same time. 

Mr. Benson has won.

What should we do? Dante asks through the mind link. 

I look over to see my friends standing their ground in a tight circle, while everyone else on the grounds retreats in sheer panic. 

I don't think they're going to hurt us Kael responds.

I turn to him in disbelief, then look back at the monsters as they advance. To my utter shock, several of the beasts begin nudging the panic-stricken students backward toward the residence area almost as if herding them while the rest of the creatures move to the edges of the  road, dropping their massive hindquarters onto the stone and sitting in a neat, orderly line exactly like the guards had done earlier. 

The largest of the beasts continue marching straight toward Kael and me, their fearsome presence resembling a demonic army summoned from the deepest pits of hell.

How can Kael possibly think they won't harm us? 

I have suffered horrific nightmares about these exact monsters. I can still feel their gnarly limbs wrapping around me whenever I close my eyes. 

But as they get closer, they lower their gazes and their body to the ground and remain there. The rest of the horde follows suit, sinking into complete, motionless submission.

What the…..