The gathering storm
1079 Words
CHAPTER SIX
Selene’s breath was shallow, her mind racing as she and Damien stood over Lucian’s lifeless body. The wind howled through the trees, carrying the scent of blood, power, and something far darker—something unnatural.
“Camille,” Selene muttered, her jaw tightening.
Damien’s golden eyes gleamed under the moonlight, his wolf still lurking just beneath the surface. “If she’s behind this, she won’t live to see another sunrise.”
Selene knew that tone. It was the voice of a man who had already decided to kill.
“We don’t even know where she is,” Selene said, though her body itched to act. “If she’s capable of turning an Alpha into a Forsaken, she’s more dangerous than we thought.”
Damien’s gaze flickered to Lucian’s body, then back to her. “There’s one way to find out.”
Before she could ask what he meant, Damien bent down and pressed his palm to Lucian’s bloody chest. A faint pulse of energy crackled in the air. Selene’s breath caught as she recognized it—pack magic, the kind only Alphas could wield.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Damien didn’t answer immediately. His eyes fluttered shut, and then—
A sharp gasp. A voice split the silence.
Selene staggered back as Lucian’s dead body convulsed, his head snapping up, his eyes wide open—but they weren’t the eyes of the man she had once known.
They were black. Void-like.
A guttural sound crawled from his throat. His lips barely moved, but the words slithered out like venom.
“She’s coming.”
Selene’s heart slammed against her ribs.
Damien’s hand clenched into a fist. “Who?”
Lucian—or whatever was left of him—let out a broken, twisted chuckle. “You already know.”
A sudden c***k echoed through the trees. Damien yanked his hand away as Lucian’s body collapsed back to the ground, the unnatural energy fading as quickly as it had come.
Selene took a shaky breath. “That was—”
“Dark magic.” Damien’s voice was like steel. “And not just any. That was blood-forged magic, the kind that should have died out centuries ago.”
Selene stared at him. “Then how the hell is Camille using it?”
Damien didn’t answer right away. His jaw clenched, his mind clearly racing. Then, at last, he said, “Because she’s not working alone.”
Selene’s fingers curled into fists. If Camille had a greater force behind her, this was bigger than she had thought.
A war was coming.
And it had already begun.
The Council’s Warning
“We need answers,” Damien said, standing to his full height. “And there’s only one place to get them.”
Selene already knew what he was going to say before the words left his lips.
“The Council.”
She exhaled sharply. “They won’t help us.”
“They will if they value their own survival,” Damien said darkly. “If Camille has access to old magic, she’s a threat to all of us.”
Selene wasn’t so sure. The High Council of Alphas only involved themselves when it benefited them. They ruled from the shadows, passing judgment over the packs without ever dirtying their own hands.
But Damien was right about one thing—if Camille had turned an Alpha into a Forsaken, the Council had to be warned.
Selene nodded. “Fine. But we need to move fast. If Camille is already making her move, we don’t have much time.”
The High Council’s Domain
The journey to the Council’s stronghold was not one Selene enjoyed. The air within their domain was thick with power, laced with centuries of dominance and unyielding control.
The Council sat in a massive circular chamber, their thrones carved from ancient stone. Five Alphas, each ruling over a different faction of their kind. Their presence was suffocating, like standing before gods who had long forgotten what it meant to be mortal.
Selene and Damien stood before them, their shoulders squared.
An elder Alpha with silver hair and piercing blue eyes leaned forward. “You come before the Council unannounced. This had better be worth our time.”
Damien didn’t flinch. “It’s worth more than that.”
He tossed a bloodied cloth onto the stone floor. It was from Lucian’s body, soaked in the lingering essence of corrupted magic.
The Council’s reaction was immediate.
The eldest Alpha, a man known only as Magnus, narrowed his eyes. “Where did you find this?”
Selene stepped forward. “Lucian.”
A ripple of murmurs spread through the room.
“He was Forsaken,” Damien added. “Turned by an outside force.”
Magnus steepled his fingers. “Forsaken don’t turn on their own.”
Selene’s stomach twisted. “We know.”
A younger Alpha, Tobias, leaned back in his chair. “And you believe Camille is behind this?”
Damien’s voice was cold. “We don’t believe. We know.”
Another murmur. The Council didn’t like surprises.
Magnus finally stood. “If what you say is true, then this is a problem for all of us.”
Selene exhaled. Finally. Progress.
“But,” Magnus continued, “this is your war to fight.”
The air turned to ice.
Selene stiffened. “Excuse me?”
“This Council does not interfere in personal matters,” Magnus said smoothly. “If Camille is truly working with dark forces, then it is your responsibility to stop her. However…” He paused. “We will grant you one thing.”
Selene didn’t like the way he said that.
“What?” Damien asked.
Magnus smiled—a slow, dangerous thing. “We will tell you what you are up against.”
The chamber fell deathly silent.
Then Magnus uttered a single name.
A name that shouldn’t exist anymore.
A name that sent chills down Selene’s spine.
“The Hollow.”
Selene’s breath caught. “That’s a myth.”
“No,” Magnus said. “It is history. And Camille is trying to bring it back.”
The room spun.
The Hollow. A force older than the packs. Older than the Moon Goddess. A darkness so powerful it had nearly consumed the world once before.
And now—
Camille was trying to revive it.
Selene’s hands trembled at her sides.
The war had already begun.
And they were running out of time.
- Writer
