THE BEAST IN THE DARK

THE BEAST IN THE DARK

THANE

I’m not a light sleeper. Never have been.

So when something jerks me out of sleep in the middle of the night, it takes me a second to realize I’m not dreaming. There's a hand on my shoulder, shaking me, and low whispers right near my ear.

“Alpha! Wake up. Hey, Alpha!.”

I blink fast, trying to get my bearings. Ayla is still curled against me, warm and soft, breathing steady. I don't want to move. But the whisper comes again, urgent now.

“Alpha, it’s Jace. I am sorry but you need to come.”

I sit up fast, heart already pounding. Jace is standing at the edge of the bed, eyes wide, hair messy, like he ran straight from somewhere. He looks tense. Not panicked, but definitely close.

“What’s going on?” I mutter, already swinging my legs out from under the blanket. I try not to wake Ayla, but she stirs anyway.

“Someone is gone missing,” Jace says. “Two, actually. From Garrick’s side. Scouts.”

That wakes me all the way up.

I reach for my pants, tugging them on quickly. “Gone? Like how?”

“We’l are not sure. They went to do a sweep through the outer ruins like usual. Never came back. Garrick sent someone to find them. Still nothing.”

Behind me, Ayla’s voice comes out groggy but sharp. “What time is it?”

“Almost three,” Jace answers.

She rubs at her eyes, already sitting up. “You said two people are missing?”

He nods. “Yeah.”

I glance back at her. She’s pulling a hoodie over her head. There’s no way she’s staying behind so I don’t bother arguing.

Jace leads us outside into the cold night air. The wind has picked up. Not loud, but enough to rustle the trees and carry that unease you can’t explain but feel deep in your gut.

The clearing’s already buzzing. A bunch of wolves are gathered near the fire pit, some shifted, others not. I spot Garrick pacing, his jaw clenched, face tight. One of his men, a younger guy named Bryn, is speaking low and fast. Garrick doesn’t interrupt. Just listens with that stormy look in his eyes.

We head straight over.

“Any word?” I ask.

Garrick glances at me and shakes his head. “Nothing. Two scouts were supposed to check the eastern ruins an hour ago. Never reported in.”

“Could they have gone rogue? Got spooked and ran?”

Garrick gives me a hard look. “Not these two. They have done this route a dozen times. They don’t scare easy.”

Ayla’s standing next to me, arms crossed tight, her eyes darting between everyone.

“What about scent trails?” she asks.

“Faint,” Bryn says. “Real faint. Like something tried to cover them up.”

I frown. “Cover them up how?”

He shrugs. “Don’t know. It’s like the air’s... wrong out there. Warped, kinda. Everything feels off.”

That’s when Leona comes up. She’s wrapped in a thick coat, her eyes wide and glowing a little too bright.

“I heard what’s going on,” she says. “Something’s coming. I can feel it.”

“Deity?” Ayla asks quickly.

Leona swallows. “Maybe. Maybe not. But there’s definitely something in those ruins. Something big. And angry.”

A shiver crawls up my spine. Not fear, just that sense that something’s watching.

Garrick growls low. “I don’t believe in bedtime stories. But I do believe in dead bodies. And if that thing is killing my people, we find it. Tonight.”

Before anyone can respond, another wolf rushes into the clearing. His fur is matted, his breathing ragged. He shifts mid-step, stumbling slightly as he does.

“Found one of them,” he says. “It’s bad.”

We follow him. No hesitation. Ayla walks right next to me, even though I try to subtly edge her behind me. She sees it, frowns, and doesn’t move. Of course she doesn’t.

The body is lying in a ditch, just beyond the treeline. One of Garrick’s men. I don’t recognize him, but his scent is familiar.

He’s twisted, literally. Like something bent him the wrong way and left him like that. Limbs snapped at strange angles. Neck crooked. Eyes still open.

Ayla turns her head, pressing her mouth shut. I can tell she’s trying not to be sick.

“Holy shit,” Jace mutters behind me.

“No blood,” I say quietly. “Not much, anyway.”

“Yeah,” Garrick says. “Almost like whatever did this didn’t need it.”

We all stand there in silence. The woods feel way too quiet. No owls. No bugs. Nothing.

Leona kneels beside the body, not touching him but leaning close. She’s frowning hard, like she’s concentrating.

“There’s residue,” she whispers. “Old magic. Real old. Like what we felt when Nadira summoned that thing.”

Ayla stares at her. “So it is out?”

“I don't know.” Leona’s voice is barely above a whisper. “but something is out there.”

We head back fast. The mood is tense, tight, like a wire pulled too far. Everyone feels it.

Back in the clearing, no one’s joking anymore. Garrick calls for full patrols, double shifts. No one goes anywhere alone. Not even to piss.

And now I’m sitting on the edge of the bed again, staring at the wall, heart still racing. Ayla’s pacing the room barefoot.

“You think it is already out?” she asks.

I nod. “I don't know. Nadira didn’t finish the ritual, but maybe she didn’t need to. Maybe she just woke it.”

“And now it’s killing people.”

“Seems that way.”

Ayla stops pacing. “We’re not ready for this.”

“No,” I agree. “We’re not.”

Silence again. She walks over and sits next to me, her hand brushing mine.

“Thane,” she says, voice soft now. “What if it’s not just killing randomly? What if it’s hunting?”

I look at her. “You think it’s looking for someone?”

She doesn’t answer right away. Just looks back at me, her expression unreadable.

“It’s drawn to power, right?” she says. “You said it yourself. Wolves. Old blood. People like Garrick. People like…”

She doesn’t finish the sentence. But I know what she’s thinking.

People like her.

I reach for her hand and hold it tight. “We’ll figure this out. Whatever this thing is, we’ll stop it.”

Ayla gives a small nod, but her eyes are still distant.

Outside, the wind howls again. Louder this time. It doesn't sound natural.

And I swear, just
for a second, I feel something brush against the edges of my mind. Like a whisper that doesn’t use words. Like something’s laughing.