Chapter 193: A Darkness They Cannot Fight

The second body was found the next day.

Then the third.

Then the fourth.

Each one mutilated, marked, drained of life in a way that wolves didn't kill.

Dante called for a war council.

The pack gathered in the meeting hall, the tension thick, the unease heavy.

"Someone is hunting us."

Dante's voice was sharp, unyielding.

"And I want to know why."

Chase leaned forward, his arms crossed, his face grim.

"This isn't wolves, Alpha."

Bella felt a chill creep down her spine.

"Then what is it?"

Sage exhaled slowly.

"A curse."

Silence.

Bella's pulse roared.

"A what?"

Sage turned to her, expression unreadable.

"Three years ago, you burned Indiana Pack to the ground."

Bella's jaw tensed.

"And?"

Sage's eyes darkened.

"You didn't just kill wolves, Bella."

"You woke something up."

Bella's breath hitched.

Because she remembered.

The way the land had screamed when she set fire to it.

The way the air had felt wrong, thick, charged with something unnatural.

She had ignored it.

Had convinced herself it had been nothing.

But now—

Now something was coming for her.

And White Moon was caught in its path.

Dante's fingers brushed hers beneath the table, his silent way of grounding her.

"We'll kill it." His voice was steady, absolute.

"Whatever it is."

But Bella wasn't sure if this was something they could kill.

Because this wasn't just an enemy.

This was a consequence.

And she wasn't sure if she could stop what she had already set in motion.