198

198
Lina's POV

The sound of battle hits us before we even clear the treeline—snarls, screams, and the sickening crunch of bone against bone echoing through the forest. Leo and I race through the woods at inhuman speed, our enhanced bond allowing us to move in perfect synchronization without conscious thought.

Status report, I send through the pack link as we close in on the eastern perimeter.

They're not like anything we've faced before, Noah's mental voice is strained with exhaustion and horror. They move like wolves but think like humans. Some kind of hybrid creatures. And Lina... Paul MacKenzie is here. He's leading them.

My blood turns to ice. Paul, here, on our territory, commanding an army of monsters while Sophia's body still lies warm in her sitting room. The rage that's been building since we found her explodes outward, and lightning arcs between the trees as we run.

Casualties? Leo demands through the link, his Alpha authority cutting through the chaos even as grief still radiates from him in waves.

Minor injuries so far, but we can't hold them much longer. They're too strong, too coordinated. It's like they know our tactics before we use them.

We burst from the treeline into a scene from a nightmare. Our pack's defensive line stretches across the eastern border, wolves in both human and shifted forms fighting desperately against creatures that shouldn't exist. The attackers are grotesque parodies of werewolves—humanoid but elongated, with too-long limbs and faces that shift between human and lupine in disturbing ways. Their movements are fluid and predatory, but their eyes burn with cruel intelligence.

And standing behind their front lines, orchestrating the assault like a conductor leading a symphony of violence, is Paul MacKenzie.

He looks different than the last time I saw him—taller, more imposing, with an aura of dark power that makes my skin crawl. But his eyes are the same, burning with that obsessive hunger that has haunted my nightmares for months.

Beside him stands a woman who can only be Morgana, though she's shed any pretense of being Elena. Her hair whips in an unnatural wind, and symbols glow along her skin as she weaves spells that strengthen the hybrid creatures and deflect our pack's attacks.

"There," I breathe, pointing them out to Leo. "The puppet masters."

Leo's eyes lock onto Paul, and the grief in his expression transforms into something far more dangerous. "He's mine," he growls, power radiating from him in waves that make nearby trees bend away.

"Not alone," I say firmly. "We do this together, or not at all."

Before Leo can argue, one of the hybrid creatures breaks through our defensive line and charges straight at us. Up close, it's even more horrifying—its face constantly shifts between human and wolf, as if it can't decide what it wants to be. Saliva drips from fangs that are too long for its mouth, and its claws extend like razor-sharp knives.

I don't think, just react. Lightning erupts from my hands, striking the creature center mass and sending it flying backward into a tree with bone-crushing force. It doesn't get up.

All fighters, shift now, Leo commands through the pack link, his Alpha authority compelling immediate obedience. Use your wolf forms. Stay in pairs, watch each other's backs.

Around us, the air fills with the sound of transformation as our pack members shift en masse. Within seconds, the battlefield is transformed—our human defenders replaced by powerful wolves whose enhanced speed and senses give them a better chance against these unnatural enemies.

I let my own shift take me, feeling my bones restructure and muscles expand as Snow's consciousness merges more fully with mine. In wolf form, my enhanced abilities become even more pronounced—I can smell the corruption on these creatures, the magical taint that marks them as Morgana's creations.

Leo's massive black wolf appears beside me, Shadow's presence making him even larger and more intimidating than usual. Through our bond, I feel his barely contained rage, his need to tear Paul MacKenzie apart with his bare fangs.

Together, I remind him, pressing my silver coat against his dark one. We're stronger together.

We charge into the battle side by side, our enhanced bond allowing us to fight as a single entity. Where I go, Leo follows, covering my flanks while I provide devastating ranged attacks with precisely controlled lightning strikes. The hybrid creatures that seemed so formidable against our individual pack members fall back before our combined assault.

But for every creature we bring down, two more seem to take its place. And worse, I can see Morgana's magic actively healing their wounds, repairing damage faster than we can inflict it.

We need to cut off the source, I send to Leo as we regroup behind a cluster of boulders. As long as Morgana's casting, they'll just keep coming back.

Then we go after the witch, Leo replies, his mental voice carrying Shadow's bloodthirsty satisfaction. And Paul.

We're about to charge again when Amy's wolf form appears beside us, her coat matted with blood—some her own, most belonging to enemies.

Luna, Alpha, she pants through the pack link. There's something else you need to know. These things... they're not just enhanced. I think some of them used to be our people.

The words hit me like a physical blow. I look more carefully at the nearest hybrid creature and see, beneath the magical corruption, features that look almost familiar. A jaw line that reminds me of someone, eyes that carry a spark of recognition even through the madness.

Dear God, Leo breathes. She's turning captured wolves into those things.

The realization adds a new dimension of horror to the battle. We're not just fighting monsters—we're fighting the twisted remnants of wolves who were once like us, who had families and packs and lives before Morgana got her hands on them.

New plan, I send to our entire pack. Non-lethal takedowns where possible. Some of these creatures might still be saveable.

It's a harder way to fight, requiring precision and restraint when every instinct screams for decisive violence. But as I watch our pack adapt their tactics, using stunning strikes and restraining holds instead of killing blows, I feel a surge of pride in their discipline and compassion.

The battle rages on, neither side able to gain a decisive advantage. Our pack's coordination and enhanced abilities keep us from being overwhelmed, but Morgana's magic and the sheer numbers of hybrid creatures prevent us from breaking through their lines.

And through it all, Paul MacKenzie watches with those hungry eyes, occasionally issuing commands that shift the enemy's tactics just enough to counter our strategies. He's studying us, learning our patterns, waiting for his moment to strike.

He's planning something, I warn Leo as we fall back to regroup again. Several of our pack members are showing signs of exhaustion, while the magically sustained hybrids seem as fresh as when the battle began.

Let him plan, Leo replies grimly. When he makes his move, we'll be ready.

But as I look across the battlefield at Paul's confident smile and Morgana's glowing hands weaving another enhancement spell, I can't shake the feeling that we're walking into a trap that's much larger than anything we've anticipated.