The mountain was collapsing.
Stone groaned and shattered above them as Dominic led the way through the narrow passage, his senses stretched to their limit. Every second mattered.
"Faster," he urged.
Behind him, the Alpha Killers moved with controlled urgency, carrying the wounded while Marcus kept watch at the rear.
Leila followed—
But something was off.
Not her pace.
Not her strength.
Her presence.
It flickered.
Like a flame fighting the wind.
The Silence Between Them
Dominic glanced back.
"Leila."
She didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes were forward, distant, as if she wasn't fully here.
"…I'm fine," she said finally.
But he knew better.
"No, you're not."
She stopped.
Just for a second.
The others moved ahead, giving them space without being told.
Leila exhaled slowly.
"You felt it too."
It wasn't a question.
Dominic didn't lie.
"Yeah."
A pause.
"That wasn't just power."
Leila's jaw tightened slightly.
"I know."
What She Became
She looked down at her hands.
"They listened to me before."
Her voice was quieter now.
"The Alpha Killers… the bond… everything made sense."
Her fingers curled slightly.
"But that…"
A flicker of darkness rippled faintly across her skin—
Then vanished.
"…that didn't feel like mine."
Dominic stepped closer.
"It isn't."
Leila's eyes lifted sharply.
"You don't know that."
"I do," he said firmly.
His gaze locked onto hers.
"Because I've seen power like that before."
That caught her off guard.
Dominic's Truth
Leila frowned slightly.
"When?"
Dominic hesitated.
For the first time since she met him—
He looked… reluctant.
"…Before I built the Cursed Pack."
Her expression shifted.
"You've never talked about that."
"I don't," he said simply.
But then—
"I almost lost myself to something like that."
Silence settled between them.
Leila studied him.
"You?"
A faint, humorless smirk touched his lips.
"Yeah. Hard to believe, right?"
The Past He Buried
They began walking again, slower this time.
Dominic's voice was low.
"There was a time I thought strength meant removing limits."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"I pushed too far."
Leila listened.
Carefully.
"I stopped recognizing myself."
A pause.
"I didn't care who got hurt."
Leila's chest tightened.
"What stopped you?"
Dominic looked at her.
"You think I had a choice?"
The answer was clear in his silence.
Someone had paid for it.
Just like Kael.
The Fear
Leila looked away.
"That's not what I want."
"I know."
Dominic's voice softened slightly.
"But that kind of power doesn't care what you want."
The words hit harder than anything else.
She clenched her fists.
"So what?"
Her voice sharpened.
"I just ignore it? Pretend it's not there?"
"No."
Dominic stepped in front of her again.
"You control it."
Her laugh was short.
Bitter.
"You saw what happened."
"Yes," he said.
"And I saw you stop."
That made her pause.
The Truth He Holds Onto
Dominic's gaze didn't waver.
"You didn't lose yourself."
Leila's voice dropped.
"I almost did."
"But you didn't."
His tone was firm.
"Remember that."
The tension between them shifted slightly.
Not gone—
But different.
The Interruption
"Uh… guys?"
Marcus's voice echoed from ahead.
They both turned.
Marcus stood at the mouth of the passage, looking back at them.
"You might want to see this."
Dominic's expression hardened instantly.
"What is it?"
Marcus didn't answer directly.
"…We're not alone."
Outside the Ruins
They stepped out of the collapsing mountain—
And into something worse.
The forest beyond was silent.
Too silent.
The wind didn't move.
The trees didn't sway.
Even the air felt… wrong.
The Alpha Killers tensed immediately.
Leila felt it too.
A presence.
Familiar.
But different.
Stronger.
Older.
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"…He's not done."
The Return of Malachar
A figure stepped forward from the shadows of the trees.
Malachar.
Unharmed.
Untouched.
Like the battle had never happened.
Leila's power stirred instantly.
But this time—
She held it back.
Dominic stepped forward slightly.
"You really don't know when to stop."
Malachar's gaze shifted between them.
Calm.
Measured.
"I told you."
His voice was steady.
"This is only the beginning."
The Truth Unfolds
Leila stepped beside Dominic.
Her voice was colder now.
"Then start talking."
Malachar tilted his head slightly.
"You've already begun to understand."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"The First Bloodline was never meant to lead."
A pause.
"Or to control."
Leila's chest tightened.
"Then what is it for?"
Malachar smiled faintly.
Not with amusement—
But with certainty.
"To open the way."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Unsettling.
Dominic's voice dropped.
"…What way?"
Malachar's gaze lifted slightly—
Beyond them.
Beyond the forest.
Beyond everything.
"Something far older than wolves."
Leila felt it then.
That same resistance.
That same presence she felt from the beast—
But greater.
Much greater.
And for the first time—
She understood.
They weren't fighting for control anymore.
They were standing at the edge of something far worse.
The Final Warning
Malachar took a step back.
"I suggest you prepare."
Leila's eyes narrowed.
"For what?"
His answer was simple.
"For what your power is about to awaken."
And with that—
He disappeared into the shadows.
The Real Fear
Silence returned.
But it wasn't empty.
It was waiting.
Marcus exhaled slowly.
"…I don't like where this is going."
Kael wasn't there to analyze.
But everyone felt it.
Dominic looked at Leila.
"This just got bigger."
Leila nodded slowly.
Her eyes distant.
Because deep inside—
That power—
That darkness—
Was no longer sleeping.
It was listening.