The Dying Pack
1866 Words
Isabella stepped out of the elevator and walked straight through the Blackthorn Tower lobby.
She didn't look back.
She could still feel Adrian's hand around her wrist.
She hated that her body had reacted when he touched her.
That silver mark.
That sudden burst of energy.
And most of all, the look on Adrian's face.
Fear.
He knew something.
Something about her.
Something about her mother.
Something about the mark.
And Isabella was going to find out what it was.
She stepped outside.
Daniel was already waiting beside the car.
“You're late.”
Isabella opened the door.
“Change of plans.”
Daniel looked at her carefully.
“What happened?”
“Take me to the Silverpine facility.”
His expression immediately changed.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“That's inside Blackthorn territory.”
“I know.”
“It's abandoned.”
“That's what they want everyone to believe.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You found something.”
“I found a lot.”
She got into the car.
Daniel followed.
As the vehicle pulled away, Isabella looked back at Blackthorn Tower.
Adrian stood behind one of the windows.
Watching her.
She turned away.
“Drive.”
Twenty minutes later, Adrian entered the underground command room beneath Blackthorn Tower.
Marcus was waiting.
Three large screens displayed maps of the territory.
Adrian walked toward them.
“How many?”
“Three dead.”
“Cause?”
Marcus shook his head.
“We don't know.”
“Wolves?”
“No.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Then what?”
Marcus hesitated.
“There's something strange.”
He changed the screen.
A photograph appeared.
One of the dead guards.
His chest had been marked with a strange symbol.
A crescent moon.
Three stars.
Adrian's stomach dropped.
“Where did you find that?”
“On all three.”
Adrian stared at the screen.
“Someone is sending us a message.”
Marcus nodded.
“That's what I think.”
Adrian turned toward him.
“Evacuate the eastern villages.”
Marcus looked shocked.
“Alpha, that's almost three hundred families.”
“I know.”
“Where will they go?”
“North.”
Marcus hesitated.
“The northern territory belongs to the Council.”
“Then tell the Council I'm sending them.”
“Alpha—”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“Do it.”
Marcus nodded.
Then he looked at the screen again.
“There is another problem.”
“What?”
“The attacks aren't only happening here.”
Adrian turned.
Marcus opened another report.
“Seven neighboring packs have reported the same thing.”
“Dead guards?”
“No.”
Marcus swallowed.
“Something worse.”
He opened a medical report.
“Wolves are losing their powers.”
Adrian stared at the screen.
“How many?”
“Across the northern territories?”
Marcus looked at him.
“Almost two thousand.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“When did this start?”
“Five years ago.”
Silence.
Five years.
The same year Isabella disappeared.
Adrian slowly turned away.
“Keep this information away from the Council.”
Marcus looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because if they know the numbers, they'll panic.”
“And if they find out Isabella is here?”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“They'll do more than panic.”
Meanwhile, Isabella's car stopped outside the Silverpine facility.
The building was enormous.
Its windows were broken.
Vines covered the walls.
A rusted metal sign hung above the entrance.
SILVERPINE RESEARCH CENTER
Daniel looked at it.
“Are you sure this is the place?”
Isabella stepped out.
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
She looked at the symbol carved into the wall.
The crescent moon.
Three stars.
“Because they left a trail.”
Daniel followed her.
The main doors were locked.
Isabella reached for the handle.
Nothing.
She stepped back.
“Move.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“Move?”
She kicked the door.
The metal lock snapped.
Daniel stared at her.
“I wasn't expecting that.”
Isabella walked inside.
“Don't get used to it.”
The interior smelled of dust and chemicals.
Old equipment sat beneath white sheets.
Most of the lights were dead.
Daniel turned on his flashlight.
“Where do we start?”
Isabella pulled out her phone.
“The records room.”
“How do you know where it is?”
“My mother.”
Daniel stopped.
“What about her?”
“She used to work here.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You never told me that.”
“I didn't know until last night.”
They continued deeper into the facility.
The hallway split into three directions.
Isabella stopped.
A faint sound came from the left.
She turned.
“What?”
Daniel heard nothing.
“What is it?”
Isabella didn't answer.
She could smell something.
Blood.
Fresh blood.
“Stay here.”
Daniel grabbed her arm.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“Daniel.”
“If something is inside, you're not going alone.”
She nodded.
They moved together.
The smell became stronger.
Then they reached a room.
The door was half open.
Isabella pushed it.
Inside was a laboratory.
Broken glass covered the floor.
Old files were scattered everywhere.
But one thing caught Isabella's attention.
A single computer was still running.
Its screen displayed a blinking message.
WELCOME BACK, MOONBORN.
Isabella froze.
Daniel stared at the screen.
“Moonborn?”
Before she could answer, the computer changed.
A video began playing.
A woman appeared on the screen.
Isabella's breath stopped.
“Mom?”
Her mother looked directly into the camera.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were filled with fear.
“If you're watching this…”
She paused.
“Then they failed to kill you.”
Isabella stepped closer.
“What happened to you?”
The recording continued.
“I don't have much time.”
Her mother looked behind her.
Someone was coming.
She lowered her voice.
“Isabella, there is something you need to know.”
The screen flickered.
“Your father wasn't human.”
Isabella's eyes widened.
Daniel looked at her.
“What?”
Her mother continued.
“He was the last King of the Moonborn.”
The recording suddenly distorted.
Then a man's voice came through the speakers.
“She's here.”
The screen went black.
Isabella stared at it.
Her heart pounded.
“My father…”
She couldn't finish.
Daniel looked around.
“Isabella.”
“What?”
“We're not alone.”
She turned.
The hallway outside was dark.
Then came a sound.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming toward them.
Isabella reached beneath her jacket.
“Stay behind me.”
The footsteps stopped.
A figure appeared at the end of the hallway.
A man.
Tall.
Wearing a black coat.
His eyes glowed silver.
Daniel stepped backward.
“That's not human.”
The man smiled.
“No.”
His eyes locked onto Isabella.
“Neither is she.”
Isabella's wolf suddenly awakened.
A roar exploded inside her.
RUN.
The lights went out.
The man disappeared.
Then something slammed into the wall behind them.
Daniel screamed.
Isabella turned.
Three creatures were crawling across the ceiling.
Their eyes were completely black.
Their mouths opened unnaturally wide.
Daniel whispered:
“What the hell are those?”
Isabella didn't know.
But she knew one thing.
They weren't wolves.
And they weren't human.
One of the creatures dropped from the ceiling.
Isabella moved instinctively.
Her hand shot forward.
A burst of silver energy exploded from her palm.
The creature flew across the room and crashed through a metal cabinet.
Everything became silent.
Isabella stared at her hand.
Silver light danced between her fingers.
Daniel stared at her in disbelief.
“You…”
Isabella couldn't speak.
She had never done that before.
The creature slowly stood.
Its body twisted back into place.
Then it smiled.
“Finally.”
Isabella's blood ran cold.
“What?”
The creature's voice sounded almost human.
“The Moonborn has awakened.”
It lunged.
Before Isabella could react—
A massive black wolf crashed through the laboratory window.
It slammed into the creature.
The two monsters disappeared into the darkness outside.
Isabella stared through the broken window.
The wolf stood beneath the moon.
Black fur.
Golden eyes.
She knew those eyes.
The wolf transformed.
Adrian stood there, breathing heavily.
His shirt was torn.
Blood covered his shoulder.
His eyes locked onto hers.
“What are you doing here?”
Isabella stared at him.
“You followed me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“I don't need your protection.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“You have no idea what you've awakened.”
Isabella's expression hardened.
“Then tell me.”
He looked at the destroyed laboratory.
Then back at her.
“I can't.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Of course you can't.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Isabella, listen to me.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“You've been lying to me for five years.”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
“My mother is alive.”
Adrian froze.
Isabella saw it.
That tiny reaction.
The hesitation.
The fear.
“You knew.”
Adrian said nothing.
“You knew my mother was alive.”
“I—”
“Where is she?”
He looked away.
“Adrian!”
“I don't know.”
Isabella stared at him.
“Liar.”
“I haven't seen her in years.”
“Then why did you look afraid when I said her name?”
He couldn't answer.
Isabella stepped closer.
“Who is my father?”
Adrian's face went pale.
“Who told you?”
“My mother.”
Adrian looked toward the broken computer.
His expression changed.
“Then we have a bigger problem.”
“What?”
He looked directly at her.
“Your mother didn't make that recording five years ago.”
Isabella froze.
“What?”
Adrian pointed toward the computer.
“That system hasn't had power for five years.”
Daniel looked at the machine.
“But it was running.”
Adrian nodded.
“Exactly.”
Isabella's heart began racing.
“If the recording wasn't made five years ago…”
Adrian finished the sentence.
“Then someone recorded it recently.”
Silence.
Isabella stared at the dark screen.
Her mother's message had been waiting for her.
Not for five years.
Someone had known she would return.
Someone had prepared for her.
And somewhere inside the darkness of Silverpine...
someone was watching them.
A phone suddenly rang.
All three turned toward the sound.
It was coming from inside an old metal cabinet.
Isabella opened it.
Inside was an ancient phone.
The screen displayed one word:
MOTHER.
Isabella's hands trembled.
She answered.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, there was nothing.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
“Isabella…”
Her breath stopped.
She knew that voice.
Her mother's.
“Mom?”
A quiet sob came through the phone.
Then her mother whispered:
“Don't trust Adrian.”
The call ended.
Isabella slowly lowered the phone.
Adrian stared at her.
And this time...
Isabella didn't know who to believe.
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