CHAPTER 4: THE TURNING
1077 Words
With his paws digging into the wet ground and his black fur slick with rain, Kael struck the forest floor in full wolf form. As he ran toward the clearing from which the shockwave had originated, his growl reverberated through the trees.
Now the smell was indecipherable.
Death, magic, and rot.
And underneath it all—Cormac.
However, it was no longer just Cormac.
Jarek was already upright and dripping blood from a cut above his eye when Kael arrived at the clearing. With a groan, Rhys sat up and held a twisted arm. Lena stood staring at the figure in the middle of the clearing, her body trembling and her claws outstretched.
Cormac. But not the Cormac they’d known. His body was convulsing, ribs rising unnaturally against his skin. Black veins spiderwebbed up his neck and across his face. His eyes glowed with a haunting, ink-dark sheen, and the mark—a twisted version of the Hollowed One’s symbol—was carved across his chest in pulsing crimson light.And then… he laughed. “Still so loyal,” he said in that layered, warped voice. “Still so predictable. You followed the call right to me, Alpha.” Kael shifted mid-stride, returning to his human form with a c***k of bone and a snarl. “What have you done to him?”
The voice said, "Cormac is gone. This flesh belongs to me now." Kael didn't wait; instead, he lunged. "Alpha… please… I—I can't—" Then the darkness swallowed him again. Rhys, despite his injury, changed into a gray wolf and went low, striking together—teeth, claws, fury. For a brief moment, it appeared as though they had him, but then Cormac screamed—not in pain, but in rage.
All three warriors were knocked into the trees by a burst of shadow that exploded from his chest. Lena hit a trunk with a sickening thud and remained motionless, while Kael coughed and pushed himself to his knees, blood dripping from his mouth. "I warned her," he said, "I warned Aria it would follow her. But she didn't listen. Now your pack will fall like the others." Kael's heart stopped. "What do you mean—others?" Cormac—or the thing inside him—c****d his head. "You think she's the first marked one? The only escapee? The Veil has been leaking for years. She's just the one who survived long enough to make it here."
Kael stood, anger blazing in his eyes.
"She is no longer alone."
The creature appeared amused for a moment.
Then Kael lunged once more, with all his might.
With perspiration trickling down her brow, Aria clutched the edge of the cot back at the infirmary. The mark on her shoulder burned with pain, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
She felt the fight.sensed Cormac's suffering.
He was afraid.
And another thing.
Additional hosts. More voices, more marks.
They were waking up.
sensed Cormac's suffering.
He was afraid.
And another thing.
Additional hosts. Additional points. More voices.
They were waking up.
Aria closed her eyes, reaching inside—past the fear, past the darkness. There, in the back of her mind, something stirred. Something ancient. Bound to her since the day she was marked.
"Not whole yet," the voice muttered. However, you can clear the way.
Aria gasped. "The mark is more than just a curse. It is a key.
"A key to what?" Mari inquired.
Aria stood, a little unsteady. "To re-bind the Hollowed One into the Veil." But I need to get to the heart of the pack. The sacred ground. Where the Alpha bloodline first took root.”
Mari’s eyes widened. “You mean the Ritual Circle?”
Aria gave a nod. "The Veil will tear through this pack if we don't take action right away, and it won't stop there."
How he managed to stay upright was a mystery to Kael.
His ribs cracked and his muscles burned as his body screamed in protest. The parasite, or Cormac, was unrelenting. The shadows always repaired their hits. The entity got stronger each time they resisted.
By the time Aria got there, he was bleeding profusely. Her eyes glowed silver as she stepped barefoot into the clearing.
The animal whirled. "Oh, there she is. The traitor.
Kael got up and staggered over to her side. "Why are you in this place?"
She hurriedly said, "I have to get to the Ritual Circle." "I need time, but I can stop this."
Kael kept staring at the creature. "Then I'll purchase it."
Aria gave him a look. looked closely. The wounds. The suffering. Despite his body failing, he maintained the fire in his soul.
She muttered, "You were never supposed to face this alone."
Then she turned and took off running.
Hidden behind centuries of protective magic, the Ritual Circle was located deep within Shadowridge. When she first arrived, Kael had taken her, but neither of them understood why the forest permitted it. Only Alphas knew the way.
She knew now.
It had been holding out.
Inscribed with symbols older than any pack language, the stones were worn and ancient. Ancestral power pulsed through the air.
As soon as Aria entered, the mark on her shoulder began to burn.
You are the gate. The lock is you. The only person who can close what has been opened is you.
She fell to her knees and started the chant, which was made up of words that were ingrained in her blood rather than ones she had learned.
The circle erupted with energy.
Kael fell to one knee back in the clearing. His vision became hazy.
With his claws ready, Cormac towered over him. Alpha, good bye.
The creature then let out a scream.
It clutched its head and staggered back.
"No—NO—SHE'S SEALING IT—SHE'S—"
Kael's eyes were burning with defiance as she looked up.
"Yes," he snarled. "She is."
He made a final shift and took off.
His teeth dug into the creature's throat, and the darkness didn't go away this time.
After convulsing, Cormac's body became motionless.
The stain on his chest disappeared.
And for a moment, Kael believed it was over.
Then—
The earth shook.
Behind them, a rift split open in the ground.
And from its depths… a second host emerged.
glowing eyes. Black flame marks it.
However, this one was pack.
Kael was also familiar with his face.
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