Darius had known for a while now. He wasn't an idiot, and Kael certainly wasn't as secretive as he thought. The late-night disappearances. The distracted looks. The scent of salt and ocean always lingered on his Alpha's clothes whenever he returned.
At first, Darius had assumed it was just Kael seeking solitude. The weight of leadership was a heavy burden, and if his Alpha found peace in the moonlit cliffs, then so be it. But when the disappearances became more frequent—when Kael started slipping away even during urgent war council meetings—it became clear.
Kael was still seeing Lyra.
Darius had spent years by his Alpha's side therefore he knew Kael better than anyone else. The brooding, stubborn werewolf had always been too duty-driven to let emotions compromise him. But this? This was different. And it worried him.
Not just because Kael was keeping secrets, but because the pack was on the verge of war and Kael's distraction would only put the pack in grave danger.
The wraith wolves had already begun scouting their borders. The shadow wolves—those soul-less monsters that thrived in darkness—had been sighted closer than ever before. Their enemies were growing bolder, yet Alpha Kael was slipping away, lost in whatever secret he was hiding.
Darius had given Kael space, hoping he would come to his senses. But when Kael missed another council meeting, Darius knew it was high time for him to take action.
So, he followed him
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kael moved through the trees like a shadow, swift and silent, his steps were already familiar with the path to the cliffs.
Darius trailed him from a distance, keeping downwind so his scent wouldn't betray him. His wolf instincts sharpened, every muscle tense. He wasn't just a Beta. He was Kael's right-hand man. His protector.
And right now, his Alpha needs to be protected from himself.
When Kael finally emerged from the treeline, Darius halted, crouching behind a large boulder. His sharp eyes scanned the area—and then, he saw her.
A beautiful mermaid.
Just as he had expected, it was Lyra.
Darius sucked in a breath. His hands clenched into fists. His Alpha was still meeting with the mermaid? Of all the reckless, dangerous things Kael could have done—this was beyond insane.
His wolf bristled in warning, but Darius forced himself to stay still and watch.
Kael approached the water's edge while Lyra rose from the waves, her dark hair glowing under the moonlight.
How Kael's gaze was fixed on her made Darius' stomach churn.
Kael was deeply in love with her.
Darius clenched his jaw. This is more than a distraction. It is dangerous.
"You shouldn't be here," Lyra whispered caressing Kael's hand. "Not tonight."
Kael exhaled sharply, threading their fingers together. "I couldn't stay away."
"You need to," Lyra insisted, glancing around anxiously. "The shadows are moving, Kael. I can feel it. Something is wrong."
Darius narrowed his eyes. Kael shook his head. "Let them come. My pack can handle it."
"No," Lyra gripped his hand tighter. "This isn't just about your pack. The darkness is bigger than that. It's spreading. Even the ocean isn't safe."
Kael hesitated. "Then what do we do?"
Lyra's gaze softened. "We need to be careful. We—"
A sharp snap echoed through the night.
Darius barely had time to react before Lyra spun sharply, her gaze locking onto where he was hiding.
Kael followed her line of sight, his expression darkening. "Who is there?"
Darius cursed under his breath but knew there was no point hiding anymore. He stepped forward.
Kael's body went rigid. "Darius."
The Beta met his Alpha's eyes with an unreadable expression before shifting his gaze to Lyra.
"So, it's true," he said coldly. "You've been sneaking off to meet her."
Kael straightened, stepping protectively in front of Lyra. "This isn't what it looks like."
Darius scoffed. "Really? Because it looks like our Alpha has been abandoning his pack—risking his pack's wellbeing for a mermaid." His voice was sharp with anger, but beneath it, there was hurt.
"You don't understand," Kael said, his tone pleading.
"Then make me understand!" Darius snapped. "We're on the brink of war, Kael. Our enemies are closing in, and you're out here chasing after a dream! A forbidden fantasy that you can never have in the long run."
Kael growled lowly, but Lyra placed her hand around his arm, silencing him.
"I care about your Alpha," Lyra said softly. "I don't want to see him or his people hurt."
Darius narrowed his eyes at her. "Then why don't you just stay in your world and leave ours alone?"
"Darius." Kael's voice held a warning.
"No, Kael," Darius shook his head. "You think this is just about you and her? It's bigger than that. The wraith wolves. The shadow wolves. They know. And if they know—"
A loud, piercing howl erupted from the forest, cutting him off.
The sound of death.
Kael's head snapped toward the trees. His heart pounded.
Darius took a sharp breath. "It's them."
Lyra's eyes widened in fear. "Kael."
There was a sudden strange silence.
Then—
A monstrous figure stepped out from the darkness.
A shadow wolf. Its glowing red eyes locked onto them, its massive form blending unnaturally with the night. More figures moved between the trees— about three of them.
Kael shifted into his wolf form immediately. Darius also followed suit instantly with a swift transformation.
Lyra backed toward the water. "Kael, come with me! They can't reach you in the sea!"
But Kael didn't move. He cannot. His pack and his people are in danger and he must fight.
The first shadow wolf lunged at him.
But he met it head-on, his claws raking across its throat. Black smoke oozed from the wound instead of blood.
Darius snarled, leaping onto another beast and tearing into its flesh. But the shadow wolves didn't die like normal creatures. Their bodies twisted, reforming, their wounds closing too fast.
"We need to run!" Darius barked, knocking back an attacking beast.
Kael panted, blood dripping from his maw. "No! We have to fight—"
"No, Kael!" Lyra screamed suddenly with so much panic.
She wasn't looking at the wolves. She was looking at something behind them.
Kael turned—and his stomach dropped.
A tall figure stood at the edge of the forest. A woman cloaked in shadows and dark magic.
Morgath.
Her voice echoed through the night, wrapping around them like a curse.
"Ah," she mused, eyes glinting with bitterness. "There you are, my lost little Alpha. You've been such a troublesome one, haven't you?"
The shadows around her moved unnaturally as if they were alive.
Darius stepped forward ignoring Morgath. "Kael, we have to go. Now."
Morgath grinned—and the ground beneath them began to crack.
"Not so fast kids," she whispered.
And then—
A thick darkness erupted, swallowing them whole.
The moment the darkness swallowed them, it was as if the world ceased to exist. Lyra, Kael, and Darius were suspended in a weightless yet suffocating void under the crushing presence of something ancient with a very evil influence. The silence was deafening, broken only by the distant echoes of whispers—dark, alluring voices slithering into their minds like tendrils of shadow.
Lyra clutched Kael's arm, her breath unstable. "Kael? Darius?"
"I'm here," Kael's voice came from somewhere beside her, firm but laced with tension.
"So am I," Darius growled. "What in the name of the Moon is this damned place?"
A sinister laugh rippled through the darkness which sent a strong wave of cold through their bones. The voice was unmistakably Morgath's.
"Welcome to my abyss," she said with a glint of pleasure in her eyes. "I was expecting only you, Alpha, and your pretty lover but what a delicious surprise to have all three of you here."
The shadows began to move. Shapes, twisted and writhing, emerged like figures that were trapped in a nightmare. Their eyes glowed with an ominous red light, hollow and endless. Lyra's breath hitched as skeletal hands with clawed fingers grazed her skin with an unnatural chill.
Kael snarled, stepping in front of her protectively. "Enough of your games, Morgath! Show yourself!"
A chilling wind swept through the abyss, and suddenly, the darkness condensed into a towering figure before them. Morgath stood cloaked in black mist grinning widely. "Oh, Alpha, but this is my domain, remember? And here, I am the true definition of darkness."
Darius unsheathed his claws. "You should have stayed hidden, wretched witch."
Morgath merely chuckled. "Bravery from a Beta who's nothing more than a shadow of his Alpha? How adorable." She flicked her wrist, and tendrils of dark magic shot toward Darius, wrapping around his limbs. He snarled, struggling against them, but the more he fought, the tighter they constricted.
Kael lunged forward, but the ground beneath him dissolved, swallowing him into a pit of endless black.
"Kael!" Lyra screamed, diving after him—only for Morgath's magic to pull her back. She was thrown against an invisible wall, gasping as the air left her lungs.
Morgath approached, tilting her head as she studied Lyra. "Ah, little mermaid… so fragile, yet so stubborn. Do you know what you truly are?"
Lyra gritted her teeth. "I know enough to recognize a monster when I see one."
Morgath smirked, reaching out to grasp Lyra's chin. "Oh, you wound me. But you will learn, dear. Seems you've forgotten so soon that this Abyss feeds on fear and despair."
She raised her hand, and suddenly, the darkness came alive.
Kael's howl of agony echoed through the void as ghostly wolves—twisted, skeletal versions of his pack with hollow and soul-less eyes descended upon him. They snarled, snapping at him, forcing him into a desperate battle against his nightmares.
Darius, still bound, was confronted by shadowy reflections of himself—versions that sneered at him with their taunting voices. "You'll never be strong enough. You're just the Beta. Always in Kael's shadow."
And Lyra…
A cruel, twisted image of Kael emerged from the darkness with eyes void of warmth. "You don't belong in my world, Lyra," he whispered. "You were never meant to."
Her heart clenched. "No… that's not true."
The shadow Kael smirked. "Then why does your kind fear you?"
Lyra shook her head violently, refusing to let the nightmare consume her. "You're not him. My kind do not fear me."
She closed her eyes, focusing on the bond—their bond. Kael's heartbeat. His warmth. His love.
And then, like a spark in the endless dark, she felt him.
Kael's real voice broke through the whispers. "Lyra! I'm here!"
The illusion wavered. The darkness recoiled.
Morgath's expression twisted in frustration. "Clever girl," she hissed.
Kael forced his way out of the nightmare wolves, bloodied but alive. His gaze met Lyra's, and in that instant, something shifted in the abyss.
A glow erupted from Lyra's skin—shining like the light of the ocean's depths. It spread outward, pushing against the suffocating darkness.
Morgath snarled, shielding herself as the abyss trembled. "No… NO!"
Kael reached for Lyra, and the moment their hands met, a blinding burst of light exploded from them, shattering the void.
The abyss cracked open.
And they fell—
Back into the real world.
Kael, Lyra, and Darius collapsed onto the forest floor, gasping for breath as the night sky stretched above them. The abyss was gone. The nightmare had ended.
Or so they thought.
Because in the distance, beyond the trees… red eyes watched them from the shadows.
Morgath was not finished with them yet. This is just the beginning.