Chapter 53 Chapter 53

Chapter 53 Chapter 53


Luci

The creatures had a taste.

Metallic. Violent. Unforgiving.

It filled my mouth as I tore through the last of them, my claws ripping through their unstable forms as they screamed and twisted below me. 

They didn’t bleed like normal beasts would have, they almost evaporated. Like smoke being forced apart, yet they kept coming.

It was if they were endless. 

A low, furious snarl escaped from my throat as another lunged toward me. I caught it midair, my jaws snapping shut around its form before slamming it into the ground. The earth cracked beneath the impact.

It dissolved. But more still remained at the edges of the clearing.

I could feel my pack behind me, their claws and teeth clashing against the unnatural enemies. The air was thick with chaos, fear, and the remnants of whatever dark magic had been unleashed here tonight.

And beneath it all….

Her. Even in the middle of the fight, I could feel her. Yulia.

My instincts wanted to split me violently in two directions. One demanded I finish the threat. The other, more concentrated , dragged my attention back to where she had fallen.

She hadn’t moved since she lost consciousness. She was vulnerable. My Yulia was vulnerable. 

A warning growl rumbled deep in my chest as another creature made its way toward her.

It didn’t make it.

Rhys got to it before it could get to her, his wolf form slamming into the creature and tearing it apart with brutal efficiency. A few of the elders stood nearby, their voices low and urgent as they formed a protective barrier around her body.

Good. She was safe. That was the only reason I didn’t abandon the fight entirely.

The remaining creatures began to hesitate.

Their movements became erratic and unstable, as though something was pulling them back.

Or breaking them apart.

One by one, they let out loud, unnatural sounds before dissolving into nothingness, their forms collapsing into shadows that sank back into the ground as if they had never existed.

Silence followed. The clearing was suddenly quiet as though it wasn’t a battleground a few moments ago. 

My chest rose and fell as I stood there, my gaze sweeping the clearing for any remaining threat. There was nothing left.

Only destruction and the lingering scent of dark magic.

Only Yulia. I shifted instantly.

Bones snapped and reformed as I returned to human form, ignoring the sharp sting that came with it. My body barely felt like my own as I moved.

I was already running. “Yulia.” Her name came out rough, unsteady. Maybe because I was still catching my breath.

I dropped to my knees beside her, my hands immediately reaching for her. She was limp when I lifted her, her body unnaturally still as her head fell slightly against my arm.

“Yulia.”

No response. My chest tightened dangerously.

“Yulia, wake up.”

Nothing. Her skin was warm but too still. Too quiet.

A dangerous edge crept into my voice as I looked up. “What happened?”

The elders exchanged glances. None of them answered immediately. That alone made something in me snap.

“I asked,” I said, my voice dropping, “what happened?”

One of the older elders stepped forward slowly, his expression troubled in a way I didn’t like.

“That was no simple disruption,” he said carefully. My grip on Yulia tightened slightly.

“I can see that.”

He hesitated. “Something… reacted.”My eyes narrowed. “To what?”

“The ritual,” he replied. “And… her.”
My gaze darkened immediately.

Before I could respond, Rhys approached, shifting back into human form as he wiped blood, blackened and unnatural, from his arm.

“That didn’t look like a mistake,” he said bluntly. Silence fell. His eyes flicked toward Elisse’s parents.

“So I’ll ask directly,” he continued. “Who interfered with the ritual?”

The tension in the air shifted instantly.
All eyes turned.

Elisse’s father stepped forward, his expression carefully controlled, though I caught the brief flicker of unease that crossed his face.

“This is exactly what I warned about,” he said, his voice rising slightly. “The ritual was flawed—”

“No.” The word came out sharp. Certain. 

His gaze turned to me.

I stood slowly, still holding Yulia in my arms. My entire body felt like it was moments away from doing something violent.

“You said it was a summoning ritual,” I continued, my voice calm. “Yet you only realized that at the exact moment those creatures appeared.”

He stiffened slightly.

“That is because—”

“Because it was convenient?” Rhys cut in.

A murmur spread through the remaining pack members. Doubt? Suspicion? 

Good. They were finally thinking.

Elisse stepped forward then, her expression carefully arranged into shock.

“This is insane,” she said. “Why would my father lie about something like this?”

I didn’t answer her. I was watching. Listening.

The way her eyes flickered, not to me, not to Yulia. But to the elders.

She was calculating. Something about it didn’t sit right.

One of the elders spoke again, his voice quieter this time.

“Shadow creatures do not appear without cause,” he said. “They are not easily summoned… and they do not linger in this realm without being drawn to something.”

A cold stillness settled over me. “Drawn to what?” I asked.

He looked at Yulia. “Power.” The word landed heavily.

My gaze dropped to her unconscious face. “…Or a specific bloodline,” the elder added.

Everything clicked. The timing. The reaction.

The way the ritual had shifted the moment her blood touched the ground.

This wasn’t just an attack. They had been drawn here. To her.

My arms tightened around her instinctively.

A low, warning presence settled in my chest. Whatever had awakened inside her…. It wasn’t normal.

But it was hers. And that was enough. Around us, the pack had grown quieter.

The earlier division had shifted into something else entirely. It had become uncertainty.

Some of them looked toward Elisse’s parents now with unease rather than trust.

Good. They should. Rhys stepped closer to me, his voice low.

“This isn’t over.” He said in a low tone. “I know.”

My gaze lifted once more, settling on Elisse’s father. There were questions.

Too many. And I would get answers.

But not here. Not now.

Yulia stirred slightly in my arms, or maybe I imagined it. Either way, it was enough.

That was all that mattered. Without another word, I turned.

“Luci—” someone started.

I didn’t stop. Nothing else took priority over her. Not the pack.

Not the accusations. Not the growing tension behind me.

My grip on her remained firm as I carried her away from the ritual grounds, my mind already set.

Whatever had awakened inside her tonight…

Whatever power had answered that ritual…

It didn’t matter. I would stand in front of it. Against it. Or beside it.

But I would never

Let it take her away.