CHAPTER 368: _THE VEIN’S KEEPER

Odessa’s POV

*****

My desire to help Kaelos and the others, right here in Blood Oak, led me to the ceremonial ritual building in the pack house compound.

I sat at the centre of a black circle I had drawn with several runes conjoining it like the joints of a limb. Candles were placed on top of each rune, their flames waning and rising in tune with my magic.

And then for the real tea.

"Are you sure about this?" Marcellus asked from a corner of the dimly lit room, his spectral form visible only due to the lights spilling from cracks in the ceiling. "Once you truly tap into the Vein... It can consume you. We’re—"

"Look around you, Marcellus." I interrupted, squinting. "The world is literally fracturing under the brunt of whatever the fuck Ryker is doing. First, it was you, but who knows how many more unwanted ghosts are let loose out there?"

Marcellus was silent now, his arms folded in front of his chest.

I tore my gaze away from him, drawing in a deep breath and ignoring his current words. Instead, I focused on what might perhaps be the most useful thing he’s said to me both in life and in death.

Marcellus has always offered great pieces of "advice" during my stay in Blood Oak. But all those moments were probably the bastard’s way of gaining access to my kindness and getting closer for easier manipulation.

Now? I was the one in control and could easily decide what was useful or not.

"Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement..." I whispered to myself, drawing out a knife from my dress. "Own them..." I stretched out my right hand, cutting my wrist.

A gasp ripped through me but I ignored the pain, focusing instead on the mate bond. On Kaelos.

I watched as my blood dropped like beads onto the dark stone of the ground, flowing like a stream toward the fringes of the black circle surrounding me.

Outside, lightning flashed, the air rumbling with the weather’s might. A howling wind blew into the dark room through the entrance and the cracks in the ceiling.

And at the centre of it all was me, my blonde hair whipping behind me like the beginning of a storm that had waited too long to act.

My eyes flicked to Marcellus one last time.

The ex-Beta slowly lowered his arms, staring around himself wearily as the magic in the air thickened. The lightning flashes became more violent, clearly mirroring the chaos rising inside me.

I arched my back, staring at the ceiling as I dropped the knife. "... Let them fuel your control."

Little did Marcellus know I was using his words of advice to heighten my intention. Like the building blocks of a spell.

The air stilled. Just for a moment, letting me hear almost everything happening outside.

Lightning and thunder had stopped splitting the sky. The wind fell silent. For once, the world felt like it was slowing down. Like it was finally at peace.

The pack was quiet save for the whispers of pack soldiers patrolling and civilians hiding behind closed doors. Somewhere in the elite district a housewife was baking a cake.

But just as my senses noticed these mundane details—my higher self was open to things beyond.

Suddenly, it happened.

The mate bond thrummed with a sharp pain, hitting my chest like a hammer. I jolted, lowering my head as my eyes flashed with a plethora of images all at once.

First, it was a mountain covered in snow.

’Mount Logan...’ Sirena’s voice in my head was distant but ever present.

I clenched my fists on the ground, my teeth gritting as I tried focusing on the images.

A pillar of black chaotic energy shot up from the mountain in a spiral, connecting it to the heavens while also creating cracks through space and time itself.

That had Ryker’s name written all over it.

The preceding images were even more violent and rapid.

Blood. Claws slashing. Spells ripping through flesh. A black pool brimming with the Vein’s chaotic energy. A throne room on the verge of collapse.

’You’re... You’re getting glimpses.’ Sirena noted, grounding me through the madness. ’Glimpses of what’s happening at the battlefield! Let’s try finding him.’

Kaelos.

I followed the beat of the mate bond, skimming through the chaos in the throne room. My mind’s eyes blinked before appearing in a vast void.

It cracked with chaotic magic from the Vein, storm clouds twisting like they could ravage civilisations.

And there he was. Kaelos.

He was shifted but his wolf form was almost unrecognisable with all the claw marks, burns and blood matting his thick fur and hide.

I got an aerial view of the whole thing, soon spotting Ryker standing a few meters away from him. With his clawed arm raised in preparation for a finishing blow.

"No..." My voice cracked, desperation boiling through every other emotion.

But it wasn’t just my desperation.

Even in his pitiful state Kaelos still had a flicker of hope burning like a firefly in a storm.

A hope I shared until it began bouncing back. His hope bounced to me and mine to him in a repeated cycle that only strengthened my resolve.

Physically, even though I could no longer see what was around me... I could feel it. My fists clenched until my nails bit skin.

And underneath my skin, pulsing in my blood were the dark sigils. Connecting me to the Vein. Reminding me that no matter how much I tried avoiding it—it has always been my destiny.

"You don’t run from the Vein, Odessa Pierce." A voice—not Sirena or Marcellus—whispered in my mind just then.

It sounded female. And oddly familiar.

"The Vein needs its keeper." Another voice chirped, this one sounding masculine.

"That keeper is you."

More of these whispers slid into my mind, becoming louder and louder until they echoed in a maddening cacophony I couldn’t ignore.

My mind’s eyes locked on Ryker through the remote viewing, the Vein’s magic pulsing through the dark void soon recognising me.

All it took was three words from me:

"Come to me..."

And then like he was struck by lightning, Ryker froze, his body spasming.

I watched with a cold smirk as the Vein’s energies he’s been siphoning for decades began snapping out of him in waves, forcing him to stagger backwards in pain.

But I wasn’t done.

My eyes flitted to Kaelos, who strained his neck, staring at the storm clouds, which now spilt with violet light. My violet light.

"Odessa..." He whispered and in that moment, I felt like teleporting to him.

I felt like dropping everything and running into his arms. To whisper into his ears that everything would be okay.

But everything wasn’t okay. Not by a long shot.

My mind’s eyes scanned the black domain, the Vein energy reaching out to me.

"Break." I let the words slide out of my lips, my mind set on a clear intention.

The void responded, crumbling in on itself and shattering like a mirror.

Ryker was sucked into one of the cracks, disappearing back to the physical world. And Kaelos...

He managed to get on his feet, swerving his head with confusion as the pocket dimension collapsed.

’We will find each other again.’ I managed to reach his mind through the bond, whispering reassuringly.

And he heard. For the briefest second, his silver eyes flashed with pride.

"I—" Unfortunately, before he could say a thing, one of the cracks sucked him out of the pocket dimension.

My mind’s eyes fractured, forcing my consciousness to slam back into my physical body. I gasped, my eyes batting open.

I was lying on the ground now, still within the black circle. All the candles had turned off and the room was empty.

No sign of Marcellus anymore.

"Argh..." I grunted, brushing aside strands of my hair as I got on my feet. "Did... Did the bastard swim back into the afterlife or something?"

A sharp pain stung through my arm. I bit my bottom lip, huffing a breath as I squeezed the spot on my right wrist that I had cut.

But when I raised my head, staring at the ceiling, I noticed shadows floating past the cracks. I thought I was imagining things after everything I just experienced and those were just clouds.

I couldn’t be further from the truth—

Soon the shadows were accompanied by unnatural screeches, echoing like banshees from hell. My heart dropped to my stomach as I ran out of the room, navigating through the narrow hallway before waltzing out of the ceremonial building.

When I stepped outside, my lips parted with dread when I saw what was happening.

The "shadows" were spectral figures, floating above in what seemed like their hundreds. The ghosts snarled at the living folks below, like they had a grudge to score.

The air reeked of burnt ozone and sorrow. Every ghost carried the same twisted expression — half rage, half grief — like the Vein itself was vomiting memories."

People’s screams boomed through the pack like they were being hunted down. Because they were.

"Dessa!" I turned to spot Marcellus appearing beside me.

Clearly not back in the afterlife like I had hoped.

"Whatever you did back there..." Marcellus continued, his features twisted in a frown. "It all but shattered the veil between realms. These ghosts have been popping up for minutes now."

My fists clenched beside me. And as I looked up at the ghosts haunting the people of Blood Oak—my people—I came to a sharp realisation.

"Even controlling the Vein from here isn’t enough." My voice was resolute as I locked eyes with Marcellus. "Stay here. If the vengeful ghosts become violent you can use the tether binding us to reach out."

His frown only deepened but I didn’t care to explain what I wanted to do.

Instead, I swiped my right hand through the air in front of me, creating a literal tear through space and time. The tear leaked with chaotic energy and a powerful gust of wind.

Without another word, I jumped into it, closing it behind me with a wave.

If I wanted to end this, I needed to seal the part of the Vein Ryker had opened in his throne room.

And the only way to do that? Was from the throne room.