Chapter 4 The Secret

Morgan's POV

The sky stayed open. The crack above the clouds didn't close. It stayed wide, like a door that was never meant to open. Inside, the eyes still watched us. They didn't blink. They didn't look away. Elira stood below it. Her white fur glowed. Her eyes stayed on the sky. The wind moved around her, fast and loud. No one spoke. Even the dark wolves didn't move. Asher stood beside me. His hand touched my arm. I looked at him, then back at Elira. She turned her head. She looked straight at me. Her voice came into my mind again. Soft, but strong. "Someone here is not what they seem." I frowned. Someone here? Who? She didn't say. I turned to look around. Kaya. She held Thorne's arm. Her eyes were wide. She looked scared but calm. The rest of the pack stood far behind. Some wolves looked lost. Some looked afraid. Some looked at me like I was still the enemy. My heart beat fast. One of them... was hiding something. Elira walked to the edge of the stone circle. Her paws left glowing prints in the dirt. She looked at Silas. He was still on the ground. Weak. Hurt. But alive. He did not look proud now. He looked small. She stood over him. He didn't move. The light from her fur touched his chest. He screamed. Dark smoke came out of his mouth. It rose into the air and flew up-straight into the crack in the sky. The crack pulsed. Then it grew wider. Elira stepped back. She turned to us. "The shadow saw us. And now... it wants in." Asher took a step forward. He asked her what the shadow wanted. Elira said only one word. "Bond." I looked down at my hands. The glow was gone. The bond was still broken. Elira said the shadow feeds on broken hearts, lost mates, and cold souls. It looks for wolves who don't feel love anymore. That's how it grows. That's how it sneaks in. And that's why the black ring worked. It was a door. And Silas opened it. Elira said the shadow is not done. It will try again. And this time, it will not come as a monster. It will come as a friend. Asher stepped close to me. His voice was quiet. "We have to find out who it is." I nodded. We had to look, listen, and wait. But we couldn't let the pack know yet. If the wrong one found out we were looking, they could hurt more people. I looked at Thorne. He sat on a stone with Kaya beside him. His face was pale. He still held the scroll. I asked if he could still read it. He nodded. He pointed to the bottom. There were more marks. Not just Fenric's. There were five more. Each mark was different. Each mark came from a different place. North. South. East. West. One from the center. Five shadows. Only one had stepped out of the crack. The others waited. Elira turned back into her tall form. Her long hair flowed like wind. She looked tired. She said she had to rest. She said she had given too much of her light to the forest. Before she left, she touched my chest. The runes glowed again-but just a little. She whispered inside my mind. "The bond will return slowly. But be careful. If it finds the wrong heart first... it may never come back." Then she vanished into the trees. Asher helped me sit. My body was tired. My head felt heavy. The sun started to rise. The sky turned gold and soft. But the crack was still there. Hidden behind the clouds. Waiting. I closed my eyes for a moment. Then I felt something cold. I opened them fast. Kaya stood over me. Her hand held a torn cloth. She said she found it by the cave. It smelled like smoke. Not normal fire. Shadow smoke. We looked at each other. Then we all ran to the cave. Inside, nothing was broken. But the stone floor had black lines across it. The wall had marks. Long claw marks. Asher touched one. He said they were fresh. We looked around. Someone had been here. Not Silas. Someone else. Someone is still close. Someone who had watched us leave... and went inside while we were gone. Kaya picked up a small pouch. It had powder in it. Green. She said it was old forest dust. Only healers knew how to use it. Only healers could hide it. She looked up at me. I looked back at her. But she didn't speak. I didn't either.

Because behind us... Thorne screamed. We ran out fast. He stood in the grass, pointing. Up on the hill... A figure stood. Not moving. Cloaked. Watching. It turned slowly. Then walked away. Into the dark trees. We chased it. We ran fast. We jumped over rocks and logs. The wind picked up again. The air got colder. The trees grew thicker. We lost sight of the figure. But we kept going. Then the path split in two. We stopped. There were two sets of footprints. One set went left. The other went right. But both looked the same. Same size. Same boots. Same weight. Asher looked at me. I looked at Kaya. Thorne held his side. I said we would split up. Asher would go right. I would go left. Kaya would help Thorne back to the square. Asher nodded. He ran into the right path. I turned to the left. The trees were close here. The light was dim. I moved slowly. Quiet. Step by step. Then I heard a whisper. Not in my ears. In my head. Soft. Like wind. But it wasn't Elira. It was cold. Low. It said my name. Over and over. I stopped. The path ended at a river. Water rushed past. Fast and deep. And on the other side... stood a mirror. Tall. Old. Covered in roots. But inside it, I saw myself. Only-it wasn't me. Her eyes were black. Her hair was gray. Her runes were broken. She smiled at me. Then she stepped forward. Right through the mirror. My feet would not move. The girl in the mirror looked just like me, but not. Her smile was wrong. It was too slow, too sharp. Her eyes were black like a cave with no end. I wanted to turn around, to call for Asher, but my voice stayed stuck in my throat. She stepped out from the glass. Her boots did not touch the ground, but she still moved like me. Her hands hung at her sides, calm and quiet. Her skin looked pale, too pale. The runes on her arms flickered, just like mine-but hers were dark and cracked, like broken glass. I took a step back. My heart thumped in my chest. My breath came fast and loud. She didn't speak. She didn't need to. I could feel her thoughts like they were mine. She wasn't a stranger. She was a shadow. A shadow made from me. Made from my anger. My pain. My broken bond. And now she wanted more. The wind pushed at my back like it was trying to warn me. The trees made no sound. Even the river felt still, even though the water moved fast. I raised my hand slowly. My fingers glowed a little. Just a small bit of light, weak and soft. The bond was still quiet, still hurt. But I had enough to make a spark. The shadow girl tilted her head. She copied me. My fingers glowed. So did hers. But her light was not warm. It was red. Like fire. Like hate. I felt something pull deep inside me, like she was reaching through my chest, trying to grab the last piece of what made me... me. I clenched my hand into a fist. "No," I whispered, and this time, my voice worked. She frowned. The trees behind her started to bend, not from wind, but from something dark. Roots lifted from the ground. The earth cracked under her feet. I stepped back again. I turned to run-but the path behind me was gone. The river had moved. The trees had shifted. I was trapped. She took another step toward me. And then her mouth opened. She said one word. "Trade." That word hit me like cold rain. I didn't understand. She pointed at her chest, then mine. Trade. She wanted to take my place. And give me hers. I shook my head. I said no again. She smiled. Then she opened her hand. A ball of red fire formed there, twisting and spinning. I stepped back, but there was nowhere to go. My feet hit the river's edge. Behind me, water rushed past like a voice in a dream. In front of me, the shadow me raised her hand higher. I closed my eyes. But then-I heard a howl. Loud. Clear. Asher. His voice cut through the trees like a knife through fog. I opened my eyes. The red fire vanished. The mirror behind her cracked. She looked up, confused. I ran. I jumped into the river. The water pulled me under right away. It was cold and strong. I hit a rock, turned, and then kicked with all my strength. I didn't know where I was going. But I knew I had to get away.

The river carried me fast, twisting through roots and branches, tumbling over stones. I gasped for air, then slipped under again. I fought my way back up. Then I saw the edge. I reached for it. A hand grabbed mine. Asher. He pulled me out. We both fell back onto the dirt, coughing and wet. He looked at me. "What happened?" he asked, breathing hard. I wanted to answer. But just before I spoke... I saw her. Behind him. Standing at the top of the hill. My shadow self. Smiling. Waiting. Watching. She didn't need to fight. Not yet. Because now I knew. She wasn't the only one.