CHAPTER 45: THE SACRED GROVE REVEALED

Caleb POV

The Shadow Wolf’s claws dug into my shoulder as it dragged me toward the old stone circle.

"Move faster, scholar," it snarled, pushing me forward so hard I stumbled and hit the ground.

My hands scraped against something that made my skin burn. Looking down, I saw symbols carved into the dirt - but they were all wrong. These weren’t the protective marks I’d studied in the old pack books. Someone had changed them.

"Get up!" Another Shadow Wolf kicked me in the ribs.

I gasped and rolled away, but my mind was racing even through the pain. The Sacred Grove had been our pack’s most holy place for hundreds of years. The stone circle was supposed to protect us, not hurt us. What had they done?

As they hauled me to my feet, I got my first real look at what used to be our refuge. My heart sank.

Every single protective symbol had been changed. Where there should have been marks for healing and safety, now there were twisted lines that seemed to pulse with dark energy. The stones themselves looked sick, covered in some kind of black moss that hadn’t been there before.

And in the middle of it all, Lily hung suspended in chains of shadow, unconscious but glowing with that terrible light.

"Beautiful work, isn’t it?" The biggest Shadow Wolf stepped forward. This one was different from the others - it could talk properly instead of just growling. "Your precious grove now serves a much better purpose."

"You destroyed it," I said, anger making me forget to be scared.

The thing laughed. "Destroyed? No, boy. We improved it. This circle has been sucking power from your pack for months now. Every time you held events here, every time you came to pray, you were feeding us."

That hit me like a punch to the stomach. All those times our pack had met here for celebrations, for the Triple Moon Festival, for blessing ceremonies - we’d been making ourselves weaker without knowing it. "The best part," the Shadow Wolf continued, "is that your own scholars helped us. Did you know there’s a spy in your pack? Someone who gave us the original marks so we could corrupt them properly."

My blood went cold. A traitor? Someone from our pack had helped ruin the Sacred Grove?

They chained me to one of the twisted stones, the metal burning my wrists. But being tied up actually helped, because now I could study the changed symbols up close without them noticing.

The Shadow Wolf leader began barking directions to the others. "The ritual starts at moonrise. Make sure the power lines are full. We can’t afford any mistakes."

As they worked around the circle, I pressed my hands against the stone behind me. The surface was warm - no, hot - like it was full of trapped energy. If I was right about how they’d changed the symbols, all that stolen power was being stored right here in the stones.

The question was: could I figure out how to release it?

I’d spent my whole life reading about pack magic and ancient rituals. My brothers always teased me for having my nose in a book instead of training or talking. But right now, all that learning might be the only thing that could save us.

Carefully, so the Shadow Wolves wouldn’t notice, I started tracing figures with my finger on the stone. Not the corrupted versions they’d carved, but the original protective marks I’d learned from the old texts.

Nothing happened at first. Then I felt a tiny tingle, like static electricity.

Hope flared in my chest. The original magic was still there, hidden under the corruption. If I could find the right mix of symbols, maybe I could undo what they’d done.

But I had to be careful. If the Shadow Wolves caught me, they’d probably kill me before the rite even started.

The boss was speaking to someone I couldn’t see, its voice getting excited. "Yes, master. The Triple Moon bearer is protected. The power drain is working perfectly. By midnight, we’ll have enough energy to control every pack in the area."

Every pack? This was bigger than I’d thought. They weren’t just planning to hurt our pack - they wanted to take over everyone.

I worked faster, tracing more marks on the stone. Each one made the feeling stronger. The trapped energy was reacting, trying to break free from the corruption that held it.

One of the smaller Shadow Wolves came over to check my chains. I quickly stopped tracing figures and pretended to be slumped over in defeat.

"Still awake, little scholar?" it growled. "Don’t worry. You won’t have to watch what happens to your mate for much longer."

Rage filled me at the threat to Lily, but I forced myself to stay cool. Getting angry wouldn’t help her. I needed to be smart about this.

After the Shadow Wolf left, I went back to work on the marks. I was starting to understand the pattern now. They’d taken each protective mark and twisted it just enough to flip its meaning. Healing became draining, safety became danger, protection became weakness.

But that also meant I could reverse their work.

The trouble was time. The moon was getting higher, and I could feel the ritual preparations hitting their peak. Dark energy crackled through the air, making my teeth ache.

I managed to finish three corrected symbols before the Shadow Wolf leader returned. This time, it brought friends.

"The master wants to speak with you," it said, grabbing my chin and causing me to look up.

That’s when I saw something that made my heart stop. Standing behind the Shadow Wolf, partly hidden by shadows, was a figure I recognized. Someone from our own pack, just like the thing had said.

But before I could see who it was clearly, they stepped back into the darkness.

"You’ve been busy, haven’t you, scholar?" The leader’s eyes glowed red as it stared at me. "Did you really think we wouldn’t notice you playing with magic?"

My blood turned to ice. They’d caught me.

"But that’s fine," it continued with a terrible smile. "Your little trick actually helps us. You see, tainted magic works best when it has something pure to feed on. Your attempts to fix our marks just gave us more power to steal."

No. That couldn’t be right. I’d been so careful, so exact with the original markings.

The Shadow Wolf pressed its claw against the stone where I’d been working. The figures I’d traced began to glow, but instead of the silver light they should have shown, they pulsed with the same sick red energy as everything else.

"Thank you for the assistance," it laughed. "Now the ritual will be even stronger."

Horror washed over me as I realized what had happened. The corruption was so deep, so full, that even trying to fix it just made things worse. The Sacred Grove wasn’t just changed - it was poisoned all the way to its heart.

And I’d just made it more dangerous.

The Shadow Wolf leader raised its arms, and every corrupted sign in the grove began to glow brighter. The energy buildup was amazing, making the air itself feel heavy and wrong.

"Begin the final phase," it commanded.

Around the circle, more Shadow Wolves came from the darkness. But these weren’t the same creatures I’d seen before. These looked almost like regular wolves, except for their dead, empty eyes.

With a sick feeling, I recognized some of them. Wolves from the River Pack. Wolves from the Mountain Pack. Other friends who’d come to help us fight.

They’d all been caught. All been turned into these terrible controlled puppets.

The Shadow Wolf boss noticed my expression and laughed again. "Oh yes, we’ve been busy tonight. Every pack that came to help you is now under our control. Soon, your brothers will join them."

The ritual circle blazed with red light as the corrupted symbols reached full strength. In the middle, Lily’s chains began to pulse with the same energy, and she screamed even though she was still unconscious.

That’s when I saw the rogue step forward into the light.

And my world fell.

Because the face looking back at me was someone I’d trusted totally. Someone who’d been helping plan our rescue missions and defense tactics.

Someone who’d had access to all our pack’s most precious knowledge.

The traitor smiled at my shocked look and said four words that destroyed everything I thought I knew: "Hello, little brother Caleb."