Chapter 4 18

* Forest Edge - Midnight *

The moon hung high and heavy in the sky, its crimson glow casting an eerie light across the forest floor. Crystal's heart pounded as her feet carried her deeper into the woods.

The pull inside her chest was undeniable, her wolf stirred restlessly beneath her skin.

The altar... The Seer's warning... Midnight will reveal him.

Mist curled between the trees as she reached the clearing. The ancient stone altar stood silent and cold and before it stood George.

Her breath caught.

His cloak was thrown back, his face pale, tense but full of dark purpose.

In his hands, he held a scroll pulsing with dark energy. The scent of forbidden magic filled the air.

"Crystal" George's voice was soft, familiar, almost gentle. "You came. I knew you would feel it, the bond that should have been ours"

Her wolf growled low within her.

"George... what are you doing?" she whispered. "Why here? What is that scroll?"

His expression darkened.

"Correcting my mistakes. I let you go. I rejected you when I shouldn't have but I can fix that. The old magic will make you mine forever"

"No!" Crystal gasped as she stepped back, the silver light flickering to life at her fingertips. "You can't. You broke the bond and chose Amy, besides this is forbidden!"

His gaze hardened "You were meant for me. Ryder poisoned your mind but I will undo it. The spell will bind your soul to me, as it should have been before he came"

The wind shifted. A familiar scent swept into the clearing.

Ryder.

Ryder moved from the shadows, his golden eyes burning with fury.

"Enough!" his voice thundered, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

George froze during the incantation, startled but too late.

Aiden snarled savagely in Ryder's mind, demanding blood but Ryder kept his beast leashed.

"You dare?" Ryder growled as he strides forward. "Beta of the Moonlight Pack and you betray the ancient law? You break the sacred code of the Alphas? The bond of the mate cannot be stolen, especially by your filthy dark magic!"

George's fear flashed but anger overtook it. "She was mine! Until you came and stole her"

"She was never yours to force!" Ryder snapped, his power radiating outward in waves, his half-shifted form towering over

Ryder's claws gleamed as he bared his fangs.

"Drop the scroll, George," he warned darkly. "Or die where you stand"

But George only lifted the scroll higher, his lips parting to finish the spell.

Ryder moved faster than thought.

In a blur of shadow, he was between them, tearing the scroll from George's hands.

The parchment crumbled to ash in his grasp, dark magic cracking and vanishing into the night.

The altar shuddered. The forest trembled. The spell was broken.

George stumbled back, visibly stunned.

Ryder's growl rumbled deep in his chest. "You broke sacred law, Beta. You dared to force the mate bond, the highest crime against the Packs"

Movement in the woods. Wolves emerged, many wolves. Warriors. Elders including the Seer.

All had come, drawn by the scent of dark magic

Elder Melvin strode forward, eyes locked on George.

"Beta of Moonlight Pack... son of the Alpha himself" Melvin said coldly. "You have not only disgraced your title, you have shamed your bloodline. You will answer the pack members for this act"

The Seer's blind eyes turned toward George.

Her voice, soft and cracked, was laced with judgment.

"Bound by greed and envy, you reached for that which was forbidden. You sought to steal fate itself. The Daughter of the Moon cannot be chained. Your crime stains not only your soul but the honor of the Moonlight Pack and the Alpha's line"

George fell to his knees, face pale, breath ragged.

"I... I only wanted.."

"Silence" The Seer's voice cracked like thunder. "You sought to steal destiny. You have betrayed your Alpha, your Pack and the ancient laws. The Council will judge you but the shame upon your house is already sealed"

The warriors moved in, surrounding George as his fate sealed before all eyes.

Ryder turned to the gathered wolves as he announced clear and sharp.

"By Pack Law, George's rank as Beta is stripped. He will answer to the Council of Alphas for this forbidden act. No Beta stands above the Law"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Elder Melvin nodded grimly. "Yeah. the council should decide"

"The Daughter of the Moon remains free. The flame unbound but beware, the adversary watches" the sear murmured.

Ryder's gaze flicked to Crystal.

Her wolf quieted but her heart remained restless.

The spell was broken but she could feel something darker lurked beyond this night.

Ryder approached slowly, his golden eyes soft but firm.

"You are safe," he murmured. "He cannot touch you again and no one will"

"I know," she whispered. "But it isn't over, is it?"

His gaze darkened. "No. They are hidden in the shadows but when the time comes, we will be ready"

Crystal looked toward the moonlit sky, feeling her wolf stir deep within her chest.

She wished to shift sooner. To understand herself clearly.

But not tonight.

As the pack led George away in silence, the Seer turned her blind eyes skyward.

"The balance holds for now but the storm is approaching"

And far beyond the forest, in dark forgotten places, something else awoke... smiling.