Chapter 106 Rogue Pack Alert
POV: Luna
The next morning, my mark is still glowing faintly.
Nova notices immediately. "What's wrong with your mark?"
"I don't know. It's been like this since last night. After talking with Cole."
"Did something happen during your meeting?"
"We just talked. About loss. About connections. About... things."
Nova raises an eyebrow. "Things?"
"Personal things. Nothing inappropriate. Just honest conversation."
"And your mark is reacting because?"
"I really don't know."
But I'm worried. The glow feels like a warning. Like my Eclipse nature is trying to tell me something.
I'm still thinking about it during breakfast when I feel it.
A shift in the air. A wrongness.
My wolf senses snap to attention. Alert. Defensive.
"Something's coming," I say quietly.
Aria, sitting across from me, immediately goes still. "What do you sense?"
"Movement. In the forest. Multiple signatures. Moving toward campus."
"Rogues?"
"Has to be. But there are a lot of them. More than usual."
I stand. Following the sensation. Walking toward the windows that face the forest.
The others follow.
We can't see anything yet. But I can feel them. Getting closer. Organized. Deliberate.
"We need to warn faculty," Nova says.
"Already on it." Lyric is typing rapidly on her tablet. "Sending emergency alert to all senior staff."
Within minutes, alarms sound. Campus-wide.
"All students to the Great Hall. Faculty to defensive positions. This is not a drill."
Students panic. Running. Pushing. Trying to get inside.
But I stay at the window. Watching. Waiting.
That's when I see them.
Rogues emerging from the treeline. Dozens of them. Red eyes glowing. Moving in formation.
Too organized for corrupted creatures. Too coordinated.
"They're being controlled," I say. "Someone is directing them. This is an attack."
Professor Cael appears beside us. "Miss Eclipse, you need to get to safety."
"I can help. I can fight."
"You're also the primary target. Which makes you a liability in defense situations." He's firm. "Great Hall. Now."
Reluctantly, I follow my friends toward the Great Hall.
But halfway there, I stop.
My mark is burning. Pulling. Directing me somewhere else.
"Luna?" Nova looks back. "What are you doing?"
"My mark. It's pulling me toward the eastern perimeter. Something there is calling to me."
"Absolutely not. We're going to safety like we were told."
"But—"
A massive magical signature flares. From exactly where my mark was pulling me.
Something powerful. Far more powerful than the other rogues.
"What was that?" Aria asks.
"Something big. Something that just broke through the eastern wards."
The ground shakes. Students scream.
And then we see it.
A creature. Massive. Wolf-shaped but wrong. Covered in magical symbols. Eyes burning red.
But this isn't just a corrupted wolf. This is something else. Something enhanced. Augmented with dark magic.
It stands at least twelve feet tall. All muscle and rage and unnatural power.
And it's looking directly at me.
"Luna Eclipse," it says. Voice distorted but comprehensible. "The shadow caller sends his regards."
Then it charges.
Straight toward us. Through the campus. Destroying everything in its path.
"Run!" I shout.
We scatter. The creature pursuing me specifically.
It's fast. Too fast for something that size.
I shift partially. Enhanced speed. Enhanced senses.
But it's still gaining.
I need to fight. Need to stop it before it reaches other students.
"Everyone else get to safety!" I yell. "I'll handle this!"
"Like hell you will!" Aria is beside me, fully shifted. "We're pack. We fight together."
The others join. Sienna casting defensive barriers. Lyric deploying disruptors. Nova creating shields.
Together, we face the creature.
It's stronger than anything we've fought before. Shrugging off spells. Breaking through barriers. Unstoppable.
I channel otherworld energy. Miguel's essence. The ring's amplification. Everything I have.
My mark glows bright. Silver light pouring from me.
The creature hesitates. Like the Eclipse power actually affects it.
"Keep it up!" Sienna shouts. "Your light is hurting it!"
I push harder. More power. More light.
The creature roars. Backing away. Wounded by pure Eclipse energy.
But then I feel it. Someone else's magic. Flowing into the creature. Healing it. Strengthening it.
The rune network. Someone is using it to enhance the creature remotely.
"It's being powered by the runes!" I realize. "We need to disrupt the network!"
"How?" Lyric asks.
"I don't know! But if we don't, this thing will keep regenerating!"
Faculty arrive. Professor Cael. Cole. Others.
They attack together. Coordinated. Professional.
But even their combined magic barely slows it down.
Cole appears beside me. "The network. Where's the nearest node?"
"Eastern gate. Maybe fifty yards that direction."
"Go. Disrupt it. We'll hold this thing off."
"I can't leave you—"
"Go! Now!"
I run. Aria and Lyric with me. Following my mark's pull toward the nearest rune.
We find it. Glowing bright. Feeding power to the creature.
"How do we break it?" Aria asks.
"Eclipse power countered the creature. Maybe it can counter the rune too."
I place my hand on the symbol. Channel everything I have into it.
Light versus dark. Eclipse versus corruption.
The rune fights back. Trying to overload me again. Burn me out.
But I have help now. My pack. Channeling their strength through our bond.
Together, we overwhelm the rune. Shatter it. Break the connection.
In the distance, the creature screams. Weakened. No longer enhanced by network power.
Faculty capitalize immediately. Combined attack. Overwhelming force.
The creature falls. Defeated.
Campus is safe. For now.
But the damage is done. Buildings destroyed. Students injured. Wards compromised.
And everyone knows. The rogues are getting stronger. More organized. More dangerous.
This wasn't a random attack. This was a message.
From the shadow caller. Demonstrating his power. Showing what he's capable of.
And telling me that I'm running out of time.
The trials. The attacks. The political pressure.
Everything is converging. Building toward something massive.
And I'm standing right in the middle of it.
Ready or not.