Mated To The Unforgiving Alpha

Chapter Five: Power Unleashed, Shadows Drawn

The moment the ground cracked beneath Eliot’s hands, he knew he couldn’t ignore it.Something inside him had awakened. Something ancient. Something powerful.And yet, he didn’t understand it.The pack was already on edge. If they knew their Alpha’s mate was somehow connected to the force draining their wolves… what would they do?So Eliot kept quiet.But he needed answers.For the next few nights, he snuck away into the forest, far beyond the patrol lines, where no one could see.Where he could experiment.He started small.At first, it was just an awareness—feeling the pulse of the earth, the way the wind moved, the way the trees almost… spoke.Then came the control.One night, when he focused, he felt a pull beneath his skin. When he pressed his palm against the dirt—it trembled.Another night, he tried again. This time, the roots of the trees twisted toward him, like they were answering a silent call.And then, when he reached out toward a stream—the water rose.Just for a moment.Just enough to make his breath hitch.This… isn’t normal.Whatever this was—it wasn’t just some hidden strength.It was primal.And it terrified him.But the more he used it, the more he felt… right. Like he had been missing a part of himself all this time.He just didn’t realize the enemy was already watching.The attack came without warning.The pack was already on high alert, but it wasn’t enough.The enemy didn’t send a warning howl.It didn’t come through the borders like a typical rogue attack.No—it came from the shadows.The sick wolves—the ones who had been weakened by the strange force—turned first.One by one, their eyes burned red, their bodies twisting unnaturally as they rose from their infirmary beds.They weren’t just sick.They were claimed.Possessed.And when the first wolf lunged at a packmate, tearing into them with a snarl that wasn’t their own—All hell broke loose.By the time the alarms rang, Eliot was already running toward the chaos.Killian was in the middle of the fight, his wolf form tearing through the corrupted ones, but the problem was—they weren’t dying like normal wolves.Even when torn apart, their bodies twisted and reformed, a dark mist knitting their wounds back together.They weren’t just fighting rogues.They were fighting something unnatural.And then—Eliot felt it.A pull. A pressure.Like something whispering in his blood.This darkness—it wasn’t just attacking the pack.It was trying to consume him.Eliot’s pulse pounded.Then, instinct took over.He didn’t think. He just moved.The moment his hands hit the ground—the earth trembled.The possessed wolves froze.And then, the roots of the forest erupted.Vines and branches lashed out, wrapping around the enemies, yanking them down.The corrupted mist screeched, writhing as if in pain.Killian whirled, his wolf’s silver eyes locking onto Eliot.And in that moment—Killian saw.The earth answering Eliot.The trees bending to his will.The enemy faltering in the presence of his power.Eliot wasn’t just a mate.He wasn’t just an Omega.He was something else.Something even the darkness feared.---The battle was over.The possessed wolves—once their own packmates—lay still, wrapped in the vines Eliot had summoned. Their bodies were no longer twisted, but their breathing was shallow. Whatever dark force had infected them had retreated the moment Eliot’s power surged through the battlefield.But the pack wasn’t celebrating.They were staring.At Eliot.At the way the earth had answered him.At the way the trees still trembled around him, as if they were waiting for his next command.Killian had been silent ever since.Now, as the survivors gathered, licking their wounds and securing the unconscious wolves, Killian finally turned to Eliot.His silver eyes burned in the dim light.“We need to talk.”Eliot’s stomach twisted.Killian wasn’t just looking at him like a mate anymore.He was looking at him like a threat.Killian didn’t take him to the packhouse.He took him to the edge of the woods, away from the others. Away from prying eyes.The second they stopped, Killian rounded on him.“What the hell was that?”Eliot flinched. “I—I don’t know.”Killian’s jaw clenched. “Don’t lie to me.”“I’m not!” Eliot snapped. “Do you think I understand any of this? One moment, I was trying to help, and the next, the damn ground was moving!” He took a breath, his hands trembling. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”Killian exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. His wolf was restless, barely held back beneath his skin.“Eira knew something,” he muttered. “She knew you weren’t normal. But she didn’t tell us everything.”Eliot bit his lip. “Then maybe we should go back to her.”Killian was about to answer—But then—The wind changed.A chill crawled up Eliot’s spine.The trees stilled.And then—a voice.“There is no need. We have always been watching.”The shadows at the base of the trees moved.A figure emerged.Tall. Cloaked in black.And when they stepped forward, the pack’s bond shattered with a wave of dark energy.Killian’s breath hitched. The mind-link was gone.They were cut off.And then—Eliot’s head throbbed.A presence pressed against his skull, deep, ancient, curling like smoke.And it knew him.“We have been waiting for you, child of the twin moons.”Killian growled, stepping in front of Eliot. “Who the hell are you?”The figure tilted their head.And then, with a flick of their wrist—Killian was thrown back.Eliot barely had time to react before his own body locked in place.Dark tendrils coiled around him, not touching, but holding.And then—a face emerged beneath the hood.Not a wolf.Not a vampire.Something in between.Skin pale, but cracked like old stone. Eyes black as the abyss, but burning with silver fire.And when they spoke again, the forest shuddered.“You are the key, Eliot. The blood that was lost. The power that was stolen. You belong to us.”Eliot’s chest tightened.This wasn’t just about his powers.It was about who he was.---