23. ASANI

23

ASANI

The morning sun barely touches the edges of the forest as I step over the soft earth, my paws sinking into the loam with each quiet step. The crystal forest hums faintly in the distance, magic pulsing through it like a heartbeat.

River’s mindlink hums softly at the back of my thoughts.

Anything yet?

Not yet, I reply, my wolf staying sharp as I prowl along the boundary line.

River’s focusing on the super wolf sightings, keeping close to town, but I volunteered for the borders. Someone has to check. Someone has to make sure that the veil is still holding. And I need an outlet.

The air is cold, almost unnatural here for spring. It presses against my fur, prickling along my skin like a warning. Something feels off —wrong in the way that puts me on edge, my instincts screaming at me to pay attention. I slow near the southern edge of the veil, my nose catching a faint scent. Something foreign. Something desperate.

And then I see them.

Just beyond the veil, a small group of wolves lies in the clearing, huddled together. Their fur is ragged, their bodies trembling as though they’ve fought their way through hell itself. I freeze for a moment, my chest tightening as I count them—five, maybe six—but none of them move.

I step closer, my growl rumbling low in my chest as I try to take stock of the situation. Their ears twitch at the sound, heads slowly lifting to look at me through the veil. I recognize them immediately—wolves from the pack of the Forbidden. Wolves that shouldn’t be here.

The moment their gazes meet mine, their heads lower in submission, their bodies bowing instinctively even through their obvious exhaustion. My wolf rumbles with satisfaction at the show of respect, but there’s no victory in it—not with the state they’re in.

I shift back into my human form, the cold air biting at my skin, but I ignore it. “Come forward,” I call out, my voice carrying through the silence. “If you can.”

The wolves hesitate, ears flicking nervously, before one of them—a smaller Beta with matted fur and hollow eyes—steps forward. The veil shimmers faintly as he pushes through, the magic crackling around him before finally letting him pass.

The others follow, one by one, stumbling and weak. Two of them collapse the moment they cross, their bodies slumping to the ground with ragged breaths. My chest tightens as I take in the sight of them—bones too visible under their coats, their breathing shallow as if they’ve been running for days.

“Stay with me,” I murmur, kneeling beside the first wolf who’s collapsed. My wolf aches to help, but I don’t know how—not yet. I look up as the Beta who led the way steps toward me, swaying slightly on his feet but remaining upright.

“What happened?” I demand, my voice low but steady. “Why are you here?”

The Beta lowers his head, his voice hoarse when he speaks. “Darkness,” he rasps. “It’s spreading.”

“Darkness?” I echo, my brows furrowing as I rise to my feet.

The Beta nods, his dull eyes filled with something I can only describe as fear. “The wolves…” He swallows hard. “They’re no longer animals. They’re… demons. Twisted. Controlled. We tried to resist, but it’s getting worse.”

The words send a chill down my spine, my fists clenching at my sides. I glance at the wolves collapsed around us—some barely conscious, others staring blankly ahead as though their souls were left somewhere in that darkness.

“What do you mean ‘controlled’?” I press, my voice sharper now. “Who’s controlling them?”

The Beta’s eyes flick to mine, hollow and haunted. “We don’t know. We’ve never seen him. We only hear him.”

“Hear him?” My chest feels tight, my wolf pacing restlessly beneath my skin. “Who is he?”

The Beta’s voice trembles. “The Alpha,” he whispers. “Whoever it is, he’s taken control. He’s there —everywhere. In our heads, in our blood. It took everything we had to break away.”

I stare at him, my mind racing. An Alpha they’ve never seen? Control like that isn’t natural—not even for the most dominant wolves. It’s… something else.

Magic.

The realization sinks in like a stone and I glance back at the others—wolves who’ve fought their way through that hell to be here. To survive.

“You were offered something, weren’t you?” I ask quietly. “The serum.”

The Beta nods once, his shoulders sagging. “Yes. They told us it would make us stronger—make us unstoppable. We saw what it did to the others, though. They weren’t wolves anymore. They were… gone.”

His words confirm what I already knew but didn’t want to admit. This isn’t just a lingering evil. This is organized. Someone is leading the remnants of the pack of the Forbidden—someone more powerful than we ever realized. And this darkness isn’t staying on the outskirts. It’s creeping closer.

I step forward, taking control before anyone else can. “You can stay,” I say, my voice steady but loud enough to leave no doubt about my authority here. “But only under one condition.”

The wolves—all five of them—lift their heads, watching me cautiously with tired, wary eyes. I let the silence linger for just a moment longer before I finish.

“You will pledge your loyalty to the Alpha of the Nightshades—Mateo. He is your Alpha now. You follow his rules or you leave.”

There’s no hesitation. The small Beta who led them nods first, lowering his head in a sign of submission. “We accept,” he says hoarsely, and the others murmur agreement, their heads dipping one by one.

Good.

Mateo? I send through the mindlink, keeping my focus sharp.

We need to talk, he replies immediately, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Meet me behind the pack house, I respond, already turning to guide the new wolves up toward the crystal forest. They stumble behind me, their bodies still too weak, but there’s a flicker of relief in their eyes—like they’ve been freed from something that’s been choking them.

I don’t look back. I keep walking, leading them toward the thin path behind the pack house where the forest opens up. Mateo’s already waiting, his expression a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

Maverick, Bo, and Elias stand with him, silent as they watch us approach. Their wolves hover just beneath the surface—I can see it in the way their bodies hold still, poised for anything. These are wolves who have been through war, who have seen betrayal, who don’t trust easily.

But they’re here. We’re here.

Mateo steps forward as I bring the stragglers to a halt. His eyes flick over them, his face unreadable, but his voice carries with the weight of his power when he speaks. “Kneel,” Mateo commands, his voice a low growl, filled with the kind of dominance that leaves no room for disobedience.

The wolves drop to their knees instantly, their heads bowed, their bodies trembling—not out of fear, but something else.

“Pledge your loyalty to me,” Mateo continues, his Alpha authority brushing over all of us like a wave. “I am your Alpha now. You will follow my command, live under my protection, and belong to the Nightshades.”

One by one, the wolves speak the vow, their voices soft but resolute. “I pledge my loyalty to Alpha Mateo of the Nightshades. You are my Alpha.”

Mateo steps closer, his gaze burning as he focuses on each wolf individually. His magic crackles through the air, leaving me breathless even though it isn’t directed at me.

The moment the words are spoken, a faint light glows above each wolf’s heart and I watch as the crest of the pack of the Forbidden—the mark that tethered them to Silas, to darkness—begins to burn away. They flinch as it happens, their bodies tense, but none of them make a sound.

Slowly, the mark of the Nightshades emerges in its place. A crest of unity, rebirth, and loyalty.

When it’s done, they all sigh in unison, their bodies slumping forward with something that looks like relief—like they’ve been freed of a weight they didn’t even realize they were carrying. Mateo steps back, his gaze sweeping over them once more. “The magic has seen that your intentions are pure. You belong here now,” he states.

Bo steps forward, his broad frame calm as he tilts his head toward me. “What do you want us to do with them, Asani? They look like they’re barely holding together.”

I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face as I try to calculate the logistics of it all. “They can’t stay in my clinic,” I mutter. “There’s no room.”

Mateo’s gaze snaps to mine and without missing a beat, he commands, “They’ll use the other pack house.”

“The other pack house?”

Mateo nods once. “The one that would have been for Calista and Gael,” he clarifies, his tone dark but steady. “It’s time that house is used for something more than just darkness.”

I feel a pang of something sharp in my chest—grief, maybe. History. That house has been nothing but a monument to old wounds and old battles, a place none of us have used since Gael passed away.

But Mateo’s right. It’s time for something new.

The moment the new wolves disappear into the distance, guided by Bo and Elias toward the second pack house, I feel the shift. It's subtle, a tug on the edge of my senses, like a thread being pulled through a needle, tightening. I can’t explain it, but it’s there— constant . The hum of magic that’s been clawing its way back into the packlands is growing stronger every day, and now? It practically crackles in the air.

Mateo is standing next to me, arms crossed, his gaze locked on the treeline where the wolves vanished. He doesn’t move, doesn’t speak—just stares like he’s trying to see past what’s right in front of him.

I clear my throat, breaking the heavy quiet. “They told me there’s another Alpha. We were right.”

Mateo’s head snaps toward me, his eyes narrowing. “Another Alpha?”

I nod once, crossing my arms over my chest. “The Beta—the one who led them through the veil—he said there’s someone new. An Alpha they’ve never seen. But he’s there. In their heads. In their blood .” I pause, feeling a chill crawl down my spine. “It’s not just physical, Mateo. This Alpha has them all wrapped up tight—control like I’ve never heard of. It’s not natural.”

Mateo lets out a low growl, his wolf brushing against the surface as he processes the information. He doesn’t say anything at first, his jaw tight as he works through whatever storm is raging in his head. Then he sighs and scrubs a hand down his face. “Maybe that’s who Nepheline is hearing,” he mutters, almost to himself. “The whispers. She’s mentioned that whoever is in her head has her brother more than once.”

I blink, the thought catching me off guard. “You think Locke is tied to this?”

Mateo looks at me, his gaze hard and unflinching. “I think there’s a connection we haven’t figured out yet. And I don’t like coincidences.”

Neither do I.

He inhales slowly, his expression shifting until no emotions are riding on his face. “We’ll introduce the new wolves into the pack as soon as they’re strong enough to stand. No exceptions. The faster they find their footing here, the better.”

I nod, my mind already ticking through what needs to be done. But just as I open my mouth to reply, a ripple of energy cuts through the clearing, sharp and sudden like the snap of a wire.

My wolf bristles immediately, on edge, as the air around us changes—heavier, electric, almost alive. I whip my head toward the source, my heart pounding instinctively in my chest as my eyes land on Maverick.

He’s standing a few feet away, his expression blank, his body swaying faintly. Blood drips from his nose in a slow line, his hand lifting to dab at it with the back of his wrist. His shoulders shake slightly, and he lets out a quiet, nervous chuckle.

“Maverick?” Mateo calls out, but the Alpha doesn’t answer.

His eyes roll back suddenly, stark white, glowing faintly as his body shudders.

“Fuck—Maverick!” I bark, already stepping forward to grab him, but it’s too late.

The magic pulses outward like a shockwave, knocking me back a step as it floods the air around us. My wolf growls, ready to shift, as I stare at Maverick— changing .

Right in front of us.

His body bends, folding forward as the magic wraps around him like a cocoon. There’s no agonized shifting, no sound at all—just the eerie quiet as his form melts , his skin darkening, his bones cracking into something smaller, leaner, lighter .

And then he’s there.

A massive crow —not some regular bird, but a creature of magic and shadow. His wings stretch out, black as midnight, with faint iridescent streaks of silver glinting when they catch the sunlight. He’s almost the size of one of our wolves, his talons gleaming sharp as obsidian, his beady black eyes glowing faintly with that same white energy as before.

Mateo and I stand frozen, stunned into silence.

“Maverick?” I manage, though the word barely leaves my lips.

The crow lets out a loud, sharp caw that echoes through the clearing, its wings flapping once—twice—before lifting its body off the ground. He rises with impossible grace, the shadow of his form sweeping across the ground as he hovers a few feet above us.

And then, just like that, he takes off.

“Son of a—” Mateo growls, already moving. He doesn’t hesitate for a second, shifting into his massive wolf in one fluid motion. His crimson eyes flash once toward me before he bolts into the forest, paws pounding the ground as he races after Maverick’s impossible form.

I watch for half a second, stunned, before snapping out of it. My wolf is restless, pushing at my skin, begging to run after them, but I can’t tear my eyes from the sky.

Maverick soars above the trees, a dark shape that moves like liquid, impossibly fast as he dips and weaves through the canopy. For a moment, I swear I see his wings pulse with that faint glow of magic again, a shimmer of power that feels too ancient, too wild to belong to anyone but him.

And then Mateo’s wolf howls as he vanishes deeper into the trees, chasing the magic in the sky.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, my heart still pounding in my chest. “What the fuck just happened?” I mutter to no one in particular, staring after them. There’s no answer. Just the wind rushing through the trees and the distant echo of wings in flight.