An Alpha's Duty

Chapter 62

The haunting laugh froze their hearts before sending them into a frantic sprint. Sweat beaded on Ryan's forehead as his wolf went silent. Something was wrong. Not once since shifting had he felt his wolf go so still.

Spinning, they turned to find the source of the laughter but Morgan and Ryan couldn't see anything. The shadows that lurked between the trees was impregnable even for eyesight as good as Ryan's and yet Lenah remained looking at one section of trees. Her eyes trained on one place as terror washed over her face.

Ryan's eyes zeroed in on that one spot, Morgan copying his action as they looked at what had terrified Lenah but the shadows were still too thick. Seconds ticked by as they watched the shadows grow from the treeline, stretching towards them inch by inch until a body emerged.

Ryan's blood froze as he stared at the women in front of him. She was paler than when he'd first seen her in Poppy's memories. Her hair had become an inky darkness and her eyes lifeless as they bored into his. Shadows clung to her body shrouding her and blurring her features but it was easy to see the resemblance between her and Lenah.

Her eyes studied them, a cruel smile unfolding across her face.

"Not what you were expecting?" She cackled as they all flinched at her gentle voice.

"How-how is this even possible? You should be dead." The question slipped from Ryan's lips without him thinking.

The shadow walker glared at him, pure hatred in her eyes before she smirked at him, showing off white even teeth.

"Magic is such an interesting thing. An outcome I didn't foresee but have always been grateful for." She laughed to herself as a large chocolate coloured wolf formed at her side.

Just like her, it appeared to be made out of shadow and it's shape wavered between distinct to indistinct. Its eyes were dead as it stared unseeingly at them and yet it bared its fangs in warning.

"What have you done?" Lenah's words were said in horror as she looked between the shadow walker and the giant wolf but the woman just continued to laugh.

"You understand what real power is now, don't you Lenah?" Kalilah stroked her hands down the side of the wolf, running her fingers through its fur almost lovingly. "Oh don't worry, my little pets won't hurt you... unless I tell them to of course." Ryan grabbed Lenah's arm as all three of them stepped back as more wolves appeared from the shadows. Each of them with dead eyes and menacing growls.

"What is she?" Ryan's head whipped around the clearing trying to keep as many of them in his line of sight at all time but it was proving impossible. They seemed to dissolve and reappear somewhere else every few minutes. It was hard to even know how many surrounded them as they blended into the shadows between the trees.

Lenah's eyes stared in panic as she watched a few stalk towards them.

"They're souls." Lenah's words were whispered and broken, as though even uttering them was too much for her.

Morgan's head swivelled to look at her.

"How's she doing this?" Morgan asked her.

Lenah looked at the shadow walker not wanting to believe what she was seeing.

"We were right. She bound her soul to the spell. She's the reason the curse is still alive and working but she's not meant to be here. Everything she was, has been stripped away, until all that's left is her most basic emotion. Revenge. She's no more alive than a memory but memories can be powerful things." The shadow walker's eyes zeroed in on Lenah the smile slipping from her face.

"And those wolves, what are they?" Ryan wanted, no needed, to know they had a weakness. Anything that could give them the advantage they needed.

Lenah looked at him in sorrow.