CHAPTER 107: THE BETRAYAL

Chapter 107: The Betrayer

It was like they went through space and hit solid ground hard. Liana’s land didn’t look at all like the quiet pack lands Darius remembered.

Council walls buzzed in the air like electric fences, enclosing everything in a dome of energy that cracked. "Darius!" Liana ran after them, but stopped when she saw the twelve kids floating behind her.

Each baby was so full of power that it made the air sparkle. "What are those?" Moon gasped. "Second generation hybrids," the scaled girl whispered.

"They appeared an hour ago and walked right through the Council barriers like they were made of paper." The kids weren’t crying. They weren’t even moving much.

They just hung in the air, their eyes mirroring colors that didn’t exist in normal reality. "Where are their parents?" Sera asked. "Dead," Liana said quietly.

"The Council killed them all. These children lived because they were... different." Marcus stepped forward, his vampire features sharp with worry.

"We need to get them somewhere safe. The Council will come for them next." That’s when Talia’s seer powers exploded with warning. Her hazel eyes went completely white as visions rushed through her. "No," she breathed.

"Oh no, no, no." "What is it?" Darius asked. "The homeless camp. Hidden Valley. Marcus, you said it was safe!" Marcus nodded.

"Three hundred people there. Well protected, far from Council patrols." "It’s not safe!" Talia screamed. "It’s a trick! Council ships are already there!"

She grabbed Marcus by the shirt, her seer power showing her flashes of near future. "You told them where it was!" Marcus stepped back, confusion crossing his face.

"What are you talking about? I would never—" "The purification squads are landing now," Talia cut him off. "Children are crying. Families are being torn apart.

Because someone gave the Council exact locations!" The scaled girl’s network link suddenly blazed with desperate messages. "She’s right! Hidden Valley is under attack!

They’re taking the children!" Through her link, they could hear it. Supernatural children crying as white-armored troops dragged them toward Council ships. Parents fighting desperately to protect their kids.

"How did they find us?" came a worried voice through the network. "Someone betrayed us," another answered. "Someone who knew all our locations." Darius turned to stare at Marcus.

The vampire had gone very still, his pale features showing no expression. "Forty years," Marcus said softly. "I’ve been running this operation for forty years."

"Forty years of what?" Liana asked, though something in her voice suggested she already knew. Marcus smiled, and for the first time, it reached his eyes. But it wasn’t a kind smile.

It was the smile of someone who’d been wearing a mask for decades and was finally allowed to take it off. "Forty years of gathering information.

Forty years of mapping every supernatural group. Forty years of building trust so that when the final purge came, I’d know exactly where everyone was hidden."

The air in the barrier dome went dead quiet. Even the floating babies stopped glowing for a moment.

"You’re Council," Death said, his shadows instantly wrapping around Marcus. "High Council, actually," Marcus amended. "Placed in the supernatural society when I was barely twenty.

My goal was simple - integrate, gain trust, and prepare for harvest day." "Harvest day?" Luna spat. "Today. The day we collect every magical being on Earth for processing."

Talia’s visions were coming faster now. Through her seer powers, she could see the truth spreading across dimensions.

"It’s not just Hidden Valley. Every safe house, every refugee camp, every hiding spot - they’re all being hit simultaneously."

"The Toronto Pack," the scaled girl gasped, receiving network updates. "Gone. The Seattle Coven - caught. The Denver Vampire House - surrounded."

"Stop it!" Liana yelled at Marcus. "Call them off!" Marcus laughed. "Why would I do that? This is the sum of my life’s work.

Every supernatural being catalogued, found, and ready for purification." "What about the people who trusted you?" Sera wanted. "The families you saved?"

"I never saved anyone," Marcus said coldly. "I delayed their arrest until the Council was ready to process them all at once. Much more practical than hunting them one by one."

Darius felt anger building in his chest. "The children at Hidden Valley. The babies. The people who thought they were safe." "Assets," Marcus answered.

"Nothing more." That’s when something unexpected happened. The twelve floating babies suddenly turned their bright eyes toward Marcus.

And they spoke - not with words, but straight into everyone’s minds. BETRAYER. LIAR. ENEMY. Marcus stumbled backward. "That’s impossible.

They’re babies. They can’t—" WE REMEMBER EVERYTHING. WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID. WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE. The babies began to glow brighter. The Council barriers around Liana’s area started to crack. "They’re breaking through the barriers," Talia whispered in wonder.

"How?" Liana asked. WE ARE NOT BOUND BY YOUR RULES. WE ARE NOT LIMITED BY YOUR DIMENSIONS. WE ARE THE BRIDGE BETWEEN WHAT WAS AND WHAT WILL BE.

Marcus pulled out a Council contact device. "Emergency rescue needed. The assets are developing beyond expected parameters."

But before he could activate it, Death’s shadows wrapped around his neck. "You’re not going anywhere." "You don’t understand," Marcus gasped. "This was always the plan.

The hybrid children, the dimensional hurdles, the mate bond spreading - we wanted all of this to happen." "Why?" Darius asked. "Because the Void Feeders aren’t the real threat.

They’re running from something worse. And that something has been following them across dimensions, eating entire worlds."

"The Council knows about it?" "The Council made a deal with it." Everyone went silent. "What kind of deal?" Liana asked, though she looked like she didn’t want to know.

"Safe passage for Earth in exchange for every supernatural being in this world. We feed your kind to the thing chasing the Void Feeders, and it leaves our planet alone."

The floating babies’ glow turned angry red. YOU PROMISED US TO MONSTERS. YOU SOLD OUR PEOPLE FOR YOUR SURVIVAL. YOU WILL PAY. Marcus smiled one last time. "Too late. The deal is already complete.

Even now, the harvester ships are collecting magical beings from around the world. And once they have enough..." He pushed a hidden button on his device.

Immediately, the Council barriers around them changed. Instead of keeping the Council out, they were now keeping everyone in.

"What did you do?" Sera shouted. "Created the final collection point," Marcus said. "Every supernatural being not yet caught will be drawn here by the mate bond network. And then..." Above them, the sky began to tear.

Not like the dimensional cracks they’d seen before. This was something else. Something hungry. Through the hole, they could see it. The thing the Void Feeders had been running from.

It looked like a living shadow the size of a rock, with eyes like dying stars. THE HARVESTER COMES, the babies said in unison. IT COMES TO FEED. "How long do we have?" Death asked.

Marcus checked his device. "According to my calculations? About six minutes before it starts eating." That’s when Talia’s seer powers showed her the final, terrible truth. "The other supernatural beings," she whispered.

"The ones being collected from around the world. They’re not being taken to safety." "Where are they going?" "Here. All of them. Every single supernatural being left living is being brought to this exact spot."

"Why?" "To feed the Harvester everything at once." Above them, the tear in the sky widened. The Harvester’s shadow began to descend.

And somewhere in the distance, they could hear the sound of hundreds of Council ships coming, carrying every supernatural being they’d captured. The final meal was about to begin.