CHAPTER 101: LILY’S NEW PURPOSE

Lily POV

The shade beneath the old oak tree moved wrong, rippling like water instead of staying still. I froze mid-step, my hand flying out to stop Caleb from walking into what looked like empty air.

"What is it?" he whispered, trusting me quickly even though he couldn’t see what I saw.

"Void Walker," I breathed. "A big one. Right in front of us."

Caleb’s eyes widened as he stared at the seemingly normal shadow. "I don’t see anything."

That’s when I realized how different I’d become. Ever since losing my pack ties during the Shadow Council’s attack, I could see things that were hidden from everyone else. The invisible threads of supernatural energy that linked all magical creatures. The weak spots in reality where Void Walkers liked to hide. The dark rot spreading through possessed pack members.

"Trust me," I said, pulling out the silver blade Elder Iris had given me. "On three, dive left. One... two... three!"

We rolled apart just as the shadow exploded upward, showing a Void Walker the size of a small building. Its hungry darkness reached for where we’d been standing, finding only empty air.

"How did you know?" Caleb gasped, jumping to his feet.

"I can see its energy pattern," I explained, watching the creature’s moves. "It’s like looking at a puzzle where one piece doesn’t fit right."

The Void Walker turned toward us, and I saw something that made my heart stop. Inside its darkness, faces were trapped - pack members who had been eaten. They were still alive, still screaming quietly for help.

"We have to save them," I said, gripping my blade tightly.

"Lily, we can’t fight that thing alone," Caleb argued. "We need to get back to the others."

"By the time we get help, those people will be completely absorbed," I argued. "Look with your mind, not your eyes. Can’t you feel their pain?"

Caleb closed his eyes, focusing. His face went pale. "Oh gods. I can hear them. How are they still aware in there?"

"Void Walkers don’t just eat people," I said, understanding hitting me like a punch to the gut. "They keep them alive to feed on their fear and misery. That’s why they’re getting stronger."

The thing moved toward us, and I could see exactly how it planned to attack. The energy patterns showed me everything - where it would hit, how fast it would move, what angle would hurt us most.

"When I say move, go right and count to five, then throw your dagger at the spot I point to," I told Caleb.

"What spot? I can’t see anything!"

"You don’t need to see it. Just trust me."

The Void Walker lunged, and I shouted, "Move!"

Caleb dove right while I rolled left, both of us barely missing the creature’s grasping tendrils. I counted under my breath, watching the energy patterns shift and change.

"Now! There!" I pointed to what looked like empty air.

Caleb threw his dagger without pause. It struck something invisible, and the Void Walker shrieked as silver light erupted from the wound. The faces trapped inside became clearer, reaching toward us with desperate hands.

"Again!" I called out, seeing another weak spot appear. "Two feet higher!"

My own blade found its mark, and more silver light poured out. The Void Walker began to dissolve, but instead of disappearing, it started pulling the trapped people down with it.

"No!" I screamed, diving forward without thinking.

My silver light blazed brighter than ever before, reaching into the creature’s fading form. I could feel the trapped souls, their fear and pain, their desperate hope for rescue. Without knowing how I was doing it, I started pulling them back toward the living world.

One by one, pack members appeared on the ground around us. They were unconscious but breathing, living but changed. I could see new energy patterns around them, like scars that would never fully heal.

"Lily," Caleb said softly, looking at me with wonder and fear. "Your eyes are glowing silver."

I touched my face and felt the strange warmth there. "Is that bad?"

"I don’t know," he admitted. "But you just did something impossible. You pulled people back from the Void."

That’s when I realized what I’d become. Not just someone who could see supernatural energies, but someone who could control them. The loss of my pack ties hadn’t made me weaker - it had freed me to connect with something much bigger.

"We need to get back to the others," I said, helping him group the rescued pack members. "I think I know why the Shadow Council really wanted to break our bonds."

As we carried the unconscious wolves toward camp, I described what I’d figured out. "Pack bonds limit us to werewolf energy. But without them, I can tap into all supernatural force. That’s why they had to separate us from our packs first."

"So they could create soldiers like you?" Caleb asked.

"No," I said, understanding rushing through me. "So they could stop people like me from living. Someone who can see their plans, manipulate their power, help their victims - I’m exactly what they don’t want."

We reached the camp to find chaos. Aiden was arguing with supernatural leaders while Brock planned defenses. Everyone looked tired and frustrated.

"The alliance is falling apart," Aiden said when he saw us. "Half the species think we led them into a trap. The other half want to quit the fight entirely."

"What if I could show them something that would change their minds?" I asked.

"Like what?"

I gestured to the rescued pack members, who were beginning to wake up. "Proof that we can beat the Void Walkers. And proof that the Shadow Council has been lying to all of us."

That’s when the oldest saved wolf, a woman I’d known since childhood, opened her eyes and looked directly at me.

"Lily," she said in a voice that wasn’t quite her own. "The Shadow Council wants to thank you."

My blood turned to ice. "What?"

"You’ve just shown us exactly how your new powers work," the woman continued, her eyes now glowing with dark energy. "And now we know how to steal them."

The other saved wolves began to sit up, all of them looking at me with those same corrupted eyes. I hadn’t saved them at all.

I’d brought the enemy right into our camp.