Silver Moon Rising

Chapter 5

MADISON

"Hello, little silver wolf," Alpha Stone's voice carried across the battlefield. "Did you miss me?"

The world tilted. He was supposed to be dead. I'd attended his funeral. Watched them bury him.

"Surprised?" He laughed, the sound sharp and cruel. "Death is negotiable when you have the right friends."

Dark magic. The smell of it rolled off him in waves, making my wolf recoil.

"Dark magic is forbidden," Nile snarled, his massive black wolf form trembling with rage.

"So is harboring stolen property." Alpha Stone's red eyes fixed on me. "The girl belongs to us. We raised her. Fed her. Kept her safe after her parents' unfortunate accident."

"You mean after you murdered them," Marcus growled, shifting into his silver wolf form.

Gasps rippled through both packs. Two silver wolves, side by side, hadn't been seen in generations.

"Ah, Marcus. I thought we'd killed you too. Sloppy work on my hunters' part." Alpha Stone stepped forward. "No matter. I'll correct that mistake today."

"You'll try," I said, letting my wolf surge forward. The shift was instant, my silver fur catching the firelight.

More gasps. Some of the Crimson Pack wolves actually stepped back.

"Three hundred against sixty," Ryker sneered. "Surrender now, and we might let some of your pack live."

"You assume you're only fighting sixty."

A new voice echoed through the clearing. From the east, warriors emerged from the forest. Dozens of them, led by a scarred Alpha I recognized from the council meetings—Alpha Chen of the Mountain Ridge Pack.

"The Shadow Mountain Pack called for aid," Alpha Chen announced. "The alliance answers."

More wolves appeared from the north. The west. Suddenly, we weren't outnumbered. We were even.

"This isn't your fight," Alpha Stone snarled.

"You use dark magic and threaten a silver wolf. That makes it everyone's fight." Alpha Chen shifted, his gray wolf massive and battle-scarred. "The old laws are clear."

"The old laws are dead!" Alpha Stone raised his hand, dark energy crackling between his fingers. "Just like you'll all be."

The magic hit like a sledgehammer. Wolves on both sides cried out, some dropping to their knees. But I felt... nothing.

No, not nothing. I felt the magic hit me and dissolve like smoke.

"Impossible," Alpha Stone breathed.

"Silver wolves are immune to dark magic," Marcus said, pride in his voice. "Didn't your witch friend mention that?"

I looked at Nile, who was struggling against the magic's weight. Without thinking, I pressed against his side. The moment our fur touched, the magic's hold on him shattered.

He looked at me with wonder.

"Everyone, to the silver wolves!" Alpha Chen commanded.

Our allies rushed toward us, and as each wolf came within a few feet of Marcus and me, the dark magic's effect broke. Alpha Stone's face contorted with rage.

"Kill them all!" he roared.

The clearing erupted into chaos.

Wolves clashed with savage fury. The metallic scent of blood filled the air. I lost sight of Nile in the melee, panic clawing at my chest until I heard his distinctive howl from the right. He was holding his own against four wolves, but more were coming.

I fought my way toward him, my wolf moving with a grace and power I'd never felt before. Every movement was precise, lethal. Wolves fell before me, some submitting without even fighting—the power of a silver wolf's presence.

A weight slammed into my side. Ryker. His teeth aimed for my throat, but I twisted, using his momentum against him. We rolled across the ground, snapping and clawing.

"You were supposed to be weak," he snarled through our mental link. "Supposed to be nothing."

"Your father lied to you too," I replied, catching him off guard.

That moment of hesitation cost him. My teeth found his shoulder, tearing deep. He howled, retreating, but Veronica took his place.

She'd shifted into a russet wolf, smaller but vicious. "He's mine!" she screamed through the link.

"You can have him."

I dodged her attack, but she was faster than expected. Her claws raked across my flank, drawing blood. The pain sharpened my focus.

We circled each other, looking for openings. Around us, the battle raged. I caught glimpses of Marcus fighting three wolves at once, his silver form a blur of motion. Nile was backing toward me, five wolves surrounding him.

"Can't fight your own battles?" Veronica taunted.

"I don't need to."

I howled—not just any howl, but something that came from deep within my soul. A silver wolf's call.

Every wolf in the clearing froze. The power in that sound was undeniable, ancient, absolute. Even the Alphas lowered their heads slightly.

"Submit," I commanded, and my voice carried the weight of our bloodline.

Half the Crimson Pack wolves immediately dropped to their bellies. They couldn't help it. The command of a silver wolf was stronger than their Alpha bonds.

"No!" Alpha Stone roared, sending another wave of dark magic.

This time, I was ready. I caught the magic somehow, held it in my chest, then sent it racing back at him. He barely dodged, the dark energy shattering trees behind him.

"You can't control what you don't understand," he snarled.

"Watch me."

I reached for that power inside me, the one Marcus had mentioned. The ability to command Alphas. It was there, warm and pulsing, waiting to be used.

But before I could, pain exploded through my side. Veronica had struck while I was distracted, her teeth sinking deep. I heard Nile roar, felt him fighting to reach me, but there were too many wolves between us.

"Not so powerful now," Veronica growled.

Blood poured from the wound. My vision blurred. But then Marcus was there, slamming into Veronica with the force of a freight train. She flew across the clearing, hitting a tree with a sickening crunch.

"Together," Marcus said, pressing his side against mine.

Power flowed between us, silver wolf to silver wolf. My wound began healing immediately. But more than that, our combined presence radiated outward.

Every wolf not actively fighting stopped and turned to us. The authority we projected together was overwhelming.

"The Crimson Pack has committed crimes against the old laws," I announced, my voice carrying to every ear. "They murdered innocent wolves. Used dark magic. Created false mate bonds."

"Lies!" Alpha Stone shouted, but his voice sounded weak compared to mine.

"You killed my parents. Tried to enslave me. Used your own son as a tool." I stepped forward, and wolves parted before me. "Your reign ends tonight."

"You have no authority—"

"She has every authority."

Elder Marcus from the Shadow Mountain Pack stepped forward, along with several other elders from the allied packs.

"The old laws are clear," Elder Marcus continued. "A silver wolf can call for justice. Two silver wolves can enforce it."

"I am your Alpha!" Stone roared at his pack.

"Not anymore," Ryker said quietly.

Everyone turned to stare at him. He was bloodied, beaten, but standing.

"Father, you lied to me. To all of us. You said you were protecting the pack, but you were only protecting your power." He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw regret in his eyes. "I revoke my challenge. The Crimson Pack withdraws."

"You can't!" Alpha Stone lunged for his son, but Nile intercepted him.

The fight was brutal and quick. Alpha Stone had dark magic, but Nile had something stronger—a mate to protect. His jaws found Stone's throat, and with one powerful bite, it was over.

The false Alpha fell, his red eyes fading to brown in death.

The clearing went silent except for harsh breathing and the moans of the wounded.

"The Crimson Pack will face judgment," Alpha Chen announced. "Those who participated in the crimes will be punished. The rest may choose—join other packs or go rogue."

Ryker approached me slowly, head low. "Madison, I—"

"Don't." I shifted back to human form, and someone quickly threw a blanket around me. "You have a chance to be better than your father. Take it."

He nodded and turned to his pack. "Crimson Pack, we're leaving. Anyone who wishes to stay and join another pack may do so."

About half chose to leave with him, including a limping Veronica. The rest looked to the allied Alphas for acceptance.

Nile shifted and pulled me against him, not caring that we were both covered in blood and dirt. "You commanded Alphas," he murmured. "Do you understand what that means?"

"It means the packs will never be the same," Alpha Chen said, approaching with respect in his eyes. "The silver wolves have returned. The old powers are awakening."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Marcus, now in human form and wrapped in a blanket, joined us. "It means our parents' death wasn't just about preventing two silver wolves from existing. There's something bigger coming. Something that requires our bloodline to stop."

"What kind of something?"

Before anyone could answer, a howl echoed from the distance. But this wasn't a normal howl. It was wrong, twisted, carrying a darkness that made everyone shiver.

"No," Elder Marcus breathed. "They're just stories. Legends."

"What?" Nile demanded.

"The Forsaken," Alpha Chen whispered. "Wolves who sold their souls for power. If they've returned..."

Another howl, closer this time. Then another. Dozens of them, coming from all directions.

"Everyone back to the pack house!" Nile commanded. "Now!"

As we ran, supporting our wounded, I looked back to see eyes in the darkness. Not the golden or silver eyes of normal wolves.

Pure black, empty of anything that could be called a soul.

The war with the Crimson Pack had just been the beginning.

The real enemy had been waiting, watching, and now they knew exactly where to find the silver wolves they'd been hunting.

Marcus grabbed my hand as we ran. "Mom's journal mentioned something about this. We need to read the rest. Tonight."

"If we survive the night," I muttered.

Nile heard me and squeezed my other hand. "We will. Together."

The pack house came into view, but those black eyes were getting closer. Whatever the Forsaken were, they moved differently than normal wolves. Faster. Deadlier.

And they were focused entirely on Marcus and me.

The silver wolves they'd been waiting a century to destroy.