The alpha I hated

Chapter 21:The pack's Alpha

ELENA’S POV

"The kind that involves opening a permanent gateway between the world of the living and the world of the dead," Alex said. "Using Daisy's power as the key."

Noah's face went pale.

"They want to raise an army of the dead?" he asked.

"Not just raise them," Maya said. "They want to merge the two worlds completely. Make it so that death has no meaning. So that the ancient ones can live forever in bodies that never decay."

"That's insane," I said.

"That's why we're here," Alex said. "To help stop them."

Noah looked down at Daisy, who was still sleeping peacefully despite the terrible conversation happening around her.

"What do we have to do?" he asked.

Maya and Alex looked at each other one more time.

"First," Maya said, "we need to move Daisy somewhere safer. This pack territory is too exposed."

"This is our home," I said. "We're not abandoning it."

"You're not abandoning it," Alex said. "You're protecting it. If Daisy stays here, the ancient ones will keep sending things to attack. Shadow demons, blood wraiths, bone collectors. Things that will kill your entire pack just to get to her."

"Where would we take her?" Noah asked.

"There's a place," Maya said. "A sanctuary that exists between worlds. A place where the ancient ones can't reach."

"And how do we get there?" I asked.

Alex reached into his jacket and pulled out a small silver pendant.

"With this," he said. "But we have to move quickly. The next attack will come at dawn."

"How do you know that?" Noah asked.

"Because," Maya said, "that's when the blood moon rises. And blood moons make Daisy's power stronger. The ancient ones won't be able to resist trying to claim her when her power is at its peak."

Noah looked at me, then at his unconscious mate, then at his childhood friends who had just revealed themselves to be something entirely different than what they seemed.

"I need time to think about this," he said.

"Time is the one thing we don't have," Alex said. "The blood moon rises in six hours. If we're going to move Daisy, it has to be now."

That's when we heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway outside. Someone was coming toward the guest room.

Maya and Alex immediately tensed up, like they were ready for a fight.

"Who is that?" Maya whispered.

I listened carefully to the footsteps. They were slow and deliberate, but not threatening.

"It's Elder Sarah," I said. "Probably coming to check on Daisy."

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Noah?" Elder Sarah's voice called from the hallway. "Is everything all right in there?"

Noah looked at Alex and Maya, then at me.

"What do I tell her?" he whispered.

"The truth," I said. "She deserves to know what we're dealing with."

Noah walked over to the door and opened it. Elder Sarah was standing in the hallway, looking worried.

"I heard voices," she said. "And I wanted to check on the hybrid."

"Her name is Daisy," Noah said firmly. "And she's going to be fine." “you don't have to pretend not to know her name.”

Elder Sarah looked past Noah and saw Alex and Maya standing in the room.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"Old friends," Noah said. "They helped drive off the shadow demons."

Elder Sarah's eyes narrowed as she looked at Alex and Maya.

"I can smell magic on them," she said. "Strong magic. Not the kind that werewolves usually use."

"They're not werewolves," Noah said.

"Then what are they?"

Maya stepped forward and smiled at Elder Sarah.

"We're guardians," she said. "People who have been chosen to protect those with special gifts."

"Guardians of what?" Elder Sarah asked suspiciously.

"Of the balance between worlds," Alex said. "Of the line between life and death. Of the barrier that keeps the ancient ones from destroying everything."

Elder Sarah stared at them for a long moment.

"And you're here because of her," she said, nodding toward Daisy.

"We're here because Noah needs our help," Maya said. "And because this pack is in danger."

"What kind of danger?"

Alex walked over to the window and pointed toward the forest.

"Look," he said.

Elder Sarah joined him at the window, and I saw her face go pale.

"What is that?" she whispered.

I looked out the window too, and my heart sank.

The forest was glowing. Not with natural light, but with a sickly red glow that seemed to pulse like a heartbeat.

And in that red light, I could see shapes moving. Hundreds of shapes, all heading toward our territory.

"The second wave," Maya said grimly. "They're coming.”