Chapter 113 Chapter 113

Chapter 113 Chapter 113
113

"You're thinking too hard," Kane observed as we entered our rooms. "I can practically hear the gears turning."

I managed a small smile. "Just trying to make sense of it all. Moonstone, Operation Eclipse, the shadow realm...it's like pieces of a puzzle that don't quite fit together yet."

"They will," Liam assured me, already turning down the bed. "Once we gather more intelligence, the pattern will become clear."

Fin emerged from the bathroom with a glass of water and the herbal supplements the pack healer had prescribed. "In the meantime, you need to take care of yourself. Both of you," he added, his gaze dropping meaningfully to my stomach.

I accepted the pills with a nod of thanks, swallowing them dutifully. As exhausted as I was, my mind continued to race, replaying everything we'd learned about the Northern Alliance's operations.

"What if we're missing something obvious?" I asked as Brent helped me change into a nightgown. "Something right in front of us?"

"Like what?" he prompted, his hands gentle as they worked the buttons of my shirt.

"I don't know. It just feels like..." I struggled to articulate the nebulous concern gnawing at me. "Like we're seeing the individual trees but missing the forest. What's the endgame here? Why go to all this trouble? What does opening a doorway to the shadow realm actually accomplish for them?"

Kane settled on the edge of the bed, his dark eyes thoughtful. "Power, presumably. The kind that corrupted wolves crave."

"But power for what purpose?" I pressed. "The Northern Alliance already had significant influence over multiple pack territories. They had facilities across the country, resources, and warriors. What more could they want?"

"Maybe it's not about what they want," Fin suggested slowly. "Maybe it's about what this 'ancient one' wants. If the shadow realm entity Marcus mentioned is real..."

"Then we're dealing with something far older and more dangerous than the Northern Alliance," Liam finished, his scholarly mind making the connection. "Something that's been planning this for centuries, using the Northern Alliance as its tools."

The thought sent a chill through me. Diamond stirred uneasily, her silver energy pulsing with protective concern for both me and the potential life growing within me.

"We should consult the Priestess tomorrow," I decided. "She might have knowledge about the shadow realm that isn't in the written records."

"Good idea," Kane agreed, pulling the blankets over me as I settled into bed. "But for now, you need to rest."

I nodded, finally surrendering to the exhaustion that had been tugging at me. My mates arranged themselves around me in their familiar pattern, Kane at my back, Fin and Liam flanking us, Brent sprawled protectively at the foot of the bed. Their presence soothed me, the bond between us humming with steady reassurance.

Yet even as sleep claimed me, unsettling dreams followed. I found myself standing at the edge of a vast darkness, a void that pulsed with malevolent awareness. Something ancient waited there, watching me with hungry patience. I couldn't see it, but I could feel its attention—cold and calculating.

"Sister," it whispered, though not in any language I recognised. Somehow, I understood anyway. "Soon."

I woke with a gasp, my heart pounding. The bedroom was dark, but moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting silver patterns across the floor. My mates slept peacefully around me, undisturbed by my sudden awakening.

Diamond stirred within me, her silver energy wrapping protectively around both me and the tiny spark of life we guarded. She had sensed it too—the malevolent presence from my dream. It hadn't been just a nightmare born of stress and worry. Something had reached out to me across the veil between worlds.

I slipped carefully from the bed, not wanting to wake my mates. They needed their rest as much as I did, and there was nothing they could do about a dream. Moving to the window, I pushed aside the curtain to gaze at the moon hanging low in the night sky. It was waning now, past its full glory, but still bright enough to bathe the gardens in silver light.

"What are you?" I whispered to the darkness beyond the glass. "What do you want with us?"

No answer came, of course, but Diamond's unease continued to ripple through me. Whatever entity lurked in the shadow realm, it was aware of us, Lucious and me, of our combined power. And it was waiting for something.

Operation Eclipse. Three weeks from now, coinciding with the council meeting.

A soft knock at the bedroom door startled me from my thoughts. Who would be seeking us at this hour? I moved quietly across the room, careful not to wake my sleeping mates, and opened the door to find Lucious standing there, his expression troubled.

"You felt it too," he said, not a question but a statement of fact.

I nodded, stepping into the hallway and pulling the door mostly closed behind me. "The presence. The voice."