Kyran Pov
The spiritual realm smelled like death and old magic.
I sat cross-legged in the center of my room with candles burning in a circle around me. The smoke from the sage made my one good eye water, but I didn't move. I needed to stay focused.
Rex was getting worse. Last night, when he showed up at my door begging for help, I could see something dark moving behind his eyes. Something that wasn't him.
I'd told him I believed it was just stress. Just his mind playing tricks because of pack pressure, but I lied.
I knew what spiritual possession looked like, and Rex had all the signs.
Now I needed to find out who was doing this to him and why.
I closed my eyes and let my consciousness slip away from my body. It was a strange feeling every time, like falling backwards into cold water. My wolf spirit separated from my physical form, and I entered the realm between worlds.
Everything looked grey here. The walls of my room faded into mist, and I could see shapes moving in the distance, other spirits and wolves who'd passed on.
"Show me," I whispered into the void. "Show me what's haunting my Beta."
The mist swirled and shifted. Then I saw her.
A female wolf spirit is standing in the shadows, watching me. Her eyes glowed with rage, and her form flickered like a dying candle. She was old, and she was furious.
"Who are you?" I called out to her.
She didn't answer, but I felt her presence push against mine. It was hostile and aggressive.
I moved closer, and the temperature dropped. My breath came out in white puffs even though none of this was real, not technically.
"I know you're the one inside Rex," I said firmly. "I know you're controlling him."
The spirit laughed. It was a harsh, bitter sound that made my teeth ache.
"Controlling?" Her voice echoed around me. "No Delta. I'm setting him free."
"Free from what?"
"From blind loyalty to a bloodline that deserves nothing but destruction."
I stopped moving. "What bloodline?"
"The Alpha bloodline." She stepped forward, and I could see her face more clearly now. She'd been beautiful once. "They took everything from me. Now I'll take everything from them."
"Who are you?"
"Don't you know?" She tilted her head. "Haven't you heard the stories? The rogue who was accused, the omega who was innocent. The wolf who died because justice failed."
My blood ran cold. "Yolande."
Her smile was terrible. "Finally. Someone remembers my name."
I'd heard the stories growing up. Every wolf in the pack knew about Yolande, even if they didn't talk about it much. She was a cautionary tale. A warning about what happened when the pack turned on its own.
But I always thought she was just a story. A myth to scare young wolves into following the rules.
"You're real," I breathed out.
"Very real." She circled around me like a predator. "And very patient. I've waited a hundred years for this moment, Delta. A hundred years to make them pay."
"Rex has nothing to do with what happened to you."
"No, but the Alpha does. His bloodline sentenced me to death, and his ancestors watched while I was torn apart by rogues. They smiled while I begged for mercy."
"That wasn't Urdon. He wasn't even alive then."
"His blood carries their sin." Her eyes blazed brighter. "And I will have my revenge through it."
I needed to stay calm, to gather information. "Why Rex? Why possess him?"
"Because he's close to the Alpha. Because he trusts him, when I kill Urdon using Rex's hands, it will hurt so much more." She leaned closer. "The Beta who defended me will be the Beta who avenges me. Poetic, don't you think?"
"The Beta from your time is dead, Yolande. Rex isn't him."
"Souls are reborn, Delta. You should know that better than anyone." She gestured around the grey mist. "Rex carries the Beta's soul, and now I carry Rex."
This was worse than I thought. Way worse.
"What do you want?" I asked carefully.
"Justice."
"Killing Urdon isn't justice."
"Isn't it?" She stopped circling and stared at me hard. "They killed me for something I didn't do. They destroyed my life, my future. Everything I could have been, and no one paid for it."
"So you want revenge."
"I want balance." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I want them to feel what I felt, I want the Alpha to lose everything the way I lost everything."
"And the Luna? What about Freda? She's innocent in all this."
Yolande's expression darkened. "The Luna is part of the curse. She's bound to him. When he falls, she falls too."
"What curse?"
"The generational curse that ties the Alpha bloodline together. It's been passed down since my death. Waiting, growing, and feeding on their guilt." She smiled coldly.
"The curse only activates when the Alpha loves his Luna more than she loves him. And right now? Urdon loves Freda desperately while she doubts him."
My mind raced. "You created the curse."
"I created the consequence. They created the curse when they chose cruelty over justice."
I needed to get out of here. Needed to warn someone. But who? If I told Urdon, he'd never believe me. If I told Freda she'd panic, and if I told Rex, it might make Yolande tighten her grip on him.
"You can't tell them," Yolande said, reading my thoughts. "If you do, I'll kill Rex right now. I'll make him slit his own throat before anyone can stop me."
"You're bluffing."
"Try me." Her eyes flashed. "I've waited a hundred years, Delta. I can wait a few more days, but if you interfere, I'll destroy everything immediately."
I clenched my fists. "So what am I supposed to do? Just watch?"
"You're supposed to choose." She moved closer until we were almost touching. "Choose whose side you're on. The Alpha who inherited guilt? Or the rogue who was wronged?"
"I'm on the pack's side."
"The pack?" She laughed bitterly. "The pack watched me die. The pack did nothing while I screamed for help. Why would you protect them?"
"Because they're my family."
"Family." She spat the word out like poison. "Family abandons you when you need them most. Family turns on you. Family destroys you."
"Not my family."
"Yet." Her smile returned. "Give it time, Delta. Soon you'll see what I see, you'll understand that the Alpha's line is rotten to the core."
The mist started closing in around us. I could feel my connection to the spiritual realm weakening. My time here was running out.
"I won't help you," I said firmly.
"I'm not asking you to help me." Yolande's form began fading back into shadow. "I'm asking you to stay out of my way. And if you can't do that, then I'll make sure you regret it."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a promise."
Then she was gone, and I was being pulled back into my body. The grey mist disappeared, and I gasped as my consciousness slammed back into my physical form.
I opened my eyes and found myself still sitting in my room. The candles had burned down to nothing. Hours must have passed.
My hands were shaking.
I knew the truth now. I knew who was after Urdon. I knew why Rex was changing. I knew everything.
But Yolande was right about one thing. If I revealed this information, people would die, Rex might die. The whole pack might fall apart.
I stood up slowly and walked to my window. The moon was full tonight. Bright and cold and watching.
Somewhere out there, Rex was fighting a battle inside his own mind. Somewhere out there, Urdon was sleeping next to Freda with no idea his life was in danger. Somewhere out there, the pack was going about their business, completely unaware that a vengeful spirit wanted them all destroyed.
And I was the only one who knew the truth.
I pressed my forehead against the cool glass and closed my eyes.
"If I reveal this," I thought to myself, "the Alpha falls and so does the pack."