Chapter 86: A Shadow in the Dark

The celebration lasted into the night.

The war was over.

The pack had accepted her as Luna.

But even as Bella stood in Dante's arms, surrounded by the warmth of their people—

She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Something was coming.

Dante felt it too.

He kept her close, his blue eyes sharp, his wolf on edge.

"You feel it, don't you?" Bella whispered.

Dante's grip on her waist tightened.

"Something isn't right."

Bella exhaled slowly.

They should have had time to breathe.

Time to heal.

But peace?

It never lasted for wolves like them.

Then—

A scent hit the air.

Familiar.

Unmistakable.

And Bella's stomach twisted.

Because she knew that scent.

It was Gabriel's.

But that was impossible.

He was dead.

Dante stiffened beside her, his body going rigid.

Then—

A low, mocking voice drifted through the shadows.

"You really thought it was over?"

Bella turned—

And froze.

Because standing at the edge of the clearing, smirking, alive, untouched—

Was a man who shouldn't exist.

"Hello, little wolf."

And just like that?

The war wasn't over.

It was just beginning.