CHAPTER 46: POWER AWAKENING

Lily POV

The shadow chains burned through my skin as electricity shot through my body.

I screamed, my back rising against the pain. The Shadow Wolf’s ritual was tearing something important out of me, piece by piece. I could feel my life force being pulled away like water down a drain.

"More power," the thing hissed. "Give me more."

But something strange was happening. Instead of getting weaker, I was starting to feel... different. Like my mind was growing, reaching out beyond my own body.

I could feel Caleb chained to the stone behind me, his terror and determination mixing together. But it wasn’t just Caleb. I could feel Aiden and Brock somewhere in the darkness, both of them desperate to reach me. Luna’s mind touched mine, full of pain and guilt as she fought the creature’s control.

Wait. That wasn’t normal. I’d never been able to sense other wolves’ feelings this clearly before.

The shadow chains pulsed again, sending another wave of pain through me. But this time, I understood what was really happening. The ritual wasn’t just taking my power - it was connecting me to every wolf in the area.

Every. Single. Wolf.

I could feel them all now. Pack members I’d known my whole life, friends from other territories, even the controlled wolves standing around the grove. Their thoughts were like lights in the darkness, and I could sense the connections between them.

But those ties were broken. Cut. The Shadow Wolves had severed the bonds that kept packs together, leaving everyone isolated and afraid.

That’s how they controlled people. By making them feel alone.

"Interesting," the Shadow Wolf boss said, noticing something different about me. "The Triple Moon bearer is adapting to the routine. This could be useful."

A new rush of power tried to rip through me, but this time I was ready. Instead of fighting it, I let it run through me and out toward the other wolves. If this creature wanted to connect me to everyone, I’d use that link.

I reached out with my mind toward Luna first, since her signal felt the strongest.

Luna, I thought as hard as I could. Can you hear me?

Her thought voice came back faint and shaky. Lily? How are you...?

I don’t know. But I can feel all of you. The pack ties aren’t really broken - they’re just hidden under the shadow magic.

Hope flared in Luna’s mind. Can you fix them?

Before I could answer, the Shadow Wolf boss grabbed my face, its claws digging into my cheeks. "What are you doing, little omega? I can sense you talking."

"Nothing," I gasped. But I kept reaching out with my mind, this time toward the controlled dogs standing around the circle.

What I found there made me sick. These weren’t willing servants of the Shadow Wolves. They were prisoners in their own bodies, just like Luna had been. Their real selves were trapped deep inside, screaming quietly while the shadow magic puppeted their bodies.

I’m here, I whispered into their heads. You’re not alone.

Some of them stirred, their empty eyes flashing with confusion. The shadow control was strong, but it couldn’t fully erase the pack bonds. Not when I was actively strengthening them.

The Shadow Wolf leader snarled and boosted the ritual’s power. "Stop interfering!"

Pain burst through every nerve in my body, but I gritted my teeth and kept working. I could feel Aiden and Brock getting closer, along with other free wolves. They were planning some kind of attack.

But they didn’t understand the real problem. Fighting the Shadow Wolves wouldn’t free the controlled pack members. It would just get everyone killed.

The answer wasn’t violence. It was healing.

Caleb, I reached out to my mate’s mind. I know what we have to do.

His thought voice was strained but determined. Tell me.

The pack joins. I can fix them, but I need help. The Shadow Wolves are using the corrupted grove to block the links between us. If you can fix even one of the symbol rings...

I tried, Caleb’s thoughts were full of frustration. It just made things worse.

Because you were trying to fix the marks themselves. But that’s not what’s broken. The marks are fine - they’re just being used backwards. You need to stop the energy flow.

I felt Caleb’s understanding bloom like a flower opening. As the pack’s expert, he knew exactly what I meant.

While he started working on the stones, I focused on the controlled wolves. One by one, I reached into their minds and found the part of them that was still free. It was like untangling invisible knots, difficult and exhausting work.

But it was working. The first wolf I freed was from the River Pack - a young beta who’d been captured during the opening attack. When the shadow control broke, he stumbled and looked around in confusion.

"Where... what happened to me?" he gasped.

The Shadow Wolf leader spun around, its eyes blazing with anger. "Impossible! The control is absolute!"

"No," I said, my voice stronger than it had been in hours. "Nothing is absolute. Every link can be healed if you know how."

I freed another wolf, then another. Each time, the pack ties grew stronger, making it easier to reach the next prisoner.

The Shadow Wolf raised its claws to strike me, but suddenly Caleb shouted from behind us.

"Now, Lily! The first circle is flipped!"

Power flowed differently through the grove, and I felt my powers explode outward. Instead of being connected to just the wolves in the immediate area, I could feel packs for miles around. Hundreds of dogs, many of them under shadow control, all of them afraid and alone.

But not anymore.

I reached out to all of them at once, my mind stretching further than I’d ever thought possible. Pack ties lit up like stars in the darkness as I began repairing the connections the Shadow Wolves had severed.

In the River Pack area, controlled wolves suddenly stopped their attack and looked around in confusion. In the Mountain Pack lands, shadow puppets fell as their real selves took control again. Everywhere, the terrible isolation that had made the Shadow Wolves’ rule possible was breaking apart.

"Stop her!" the Shadow Wolf boss screamed.

But it was too late. The healing was spreading faster than they could control it. Free wolves were helping controlled ones, pack bonds were strengthening, and the shadow magic was losing its power.

That’s when I felt something that made my blood freeze.

A presence so dark and powerful that it made the Shadow Wolf boss look like a tiny puppy in comparison. Something ancient and hungry was waking up, pulled by the massive amounts of magic I’d just released.

The real enemy behind all of this wasn’t the Shadow Wolves.

They were just slaves.

And their master was coming.

The ground began to shake as something huge moved beneath the Sacred Grove. The altered stones cracked, releasing bursts of red energy. Even the Shadow Wolves looked frightened.

"Master," the leader whispered, dropping to its knees. "We didn’t mean to wake you so early. The rite isn’t complete..."

A voice answered from deep beneath, so low and terrible that it hurt to hear.

"FOOLISH SERVANTS. YOU HAVE LET THE OMEGA DISCOVER HER TRUE POWER."

The voice turned toward me, and I felt its attention like ice water in my veins.

"CLEVER LITTLE WOLF. BUT YOUR HEALING MAGIC WILL NOT SAVE YOU FROM WHAT COMES NEXT."

Cracks spread across the grove as something started pushing up from below. Whatever had been sleeping under our sacred ground was huge. And angry.

"I HAVE WAITED CENTURIES FOR ENOUGH POWER TO BREAK FREE," the voice continued. "YOUR PACK BONDS WILL FEED ME WELL."

I realized with horror what was happening. My healing hadn’t stopped the enemy’s plan - it had finished it. By reconnecting all the pack bonds, I’d made a massive network of energy that this ancient thing could drain all at once.

I’d just given our worst enemy exactly what it needed to destroy every wolf pack in existence.

The ground split open beneath the Sacred Grove, and something with too many teeth and eyes started crawling toward the surface.

And it was smiling.