Chapter 68: The Great Conclave
The trip back to Shadowfang territory felt like a dream. Six Coalition Alphas rode alongside Liana’s carriage, their looks serious but no longer hostile. Magnus himself led the group, his transformation from enemy to friend still shocking everyone.
"I can’t believe this is happening," Jace whispered to his brothers as they flanked the truck. "A Great Conclave hasn’t been called in three hundred years." "Because three hundred years ago, the last one nearly started a war," Kael answered grimly.
"Alphas gathering in one place... it’s dangerous." Rowan’s gentle voice carried worry. "What if they change their minds? What if this unity doesn’t last?" Through the carriage window, Liana heard their worries. Her own doubts whispered similar fears, but Selene’s words in her mind offered comfort. Change is never easy, little wolf. But it’s always worth fighting for. The Shadowfang estate appeared through the trees, its ancient walls gleaming in afternoon sunshine. Guards rushed to et them, confusion clear on their faces as they recognized both friends and past foes in the approaching group. Alpha Jas t them at the main door, his weathered face showing surprise and cautious hope. "Magnus," he said slowly. "I didn’t expect to see you here. At least, not without a sword in your hand." Magnus dismounted, his face humble. "Tis change, Jas. Sotis we change with them, or we get left behind." "The Great Conclave," Alpha Serena stated as she joined the group. "Every pack leader in North Arica. All eting here in one week." Jas’s eyes widened. "Every pack? That’s over a hundred Alphas." "One hundred and thirty-seven, to be exact," Alpha Caron added. "We’ve already sent ssengers to each territory." "So will refuse to co," Magnus said honestly. "But enough will attend to make history." As the group entered the house, excited voices filled the halls.
Pack mbers gathered to stare at the unlikely partnership. Ogas mumbled among themselves, hardly believing their eyes. But in a shadowy corner of the estate, other ideas were forming. Celeste pressed herself against the cold stone wall of the servant’s hallway, listening to the conversations echoing from the main hall. Her escape from the holding cells had been easier than expected—everyone was too distracted by the returning heroes to notice one prisoner getting away. Her ice-blue eyes burned with anger as she heard them discussing the Great Conclave. "They think they’ve won," she whispered, her fingers tracing the dark magic symbols carved into her palm. "They have no idea what’s coming." She pulled a small communication crystal from her robes, stolen from Elder Mira’s personal rooms. The stone glowed with eerie purple light as she whispered into it. "The eting is confird. One week. Every Alpha will be here." Her smile was cold as winter night.
"Yes, she’ll be there too. Unprotected. Perfect." The crystal went dark, and Celeste lted back into the darkness. anwhile, in another part of the estate, Talia sat bolt upright in her bed, gasping from another vision. Sweat covered her face, and her hands shook like leaves in a storm. Liana ran to her friend’s side. "What did you see?" "Blood," Talia whispered, her hazel eyes wide with fear. "So much blood on the Conclave stones. And a knife—silver with old markings. Soone’s going to try to kill you during the service." "Who?" Liana asked quickly. "Did you see their face?" Talia shook her head furiously. "They wore a hat. But there was sothing else..." She grabbed Liana’s arm. "They weren’t alone. There were others, all wearing the sa dark robes. Like so kind of cult." Kael burst through the door, having heard Talia’s cries from the hallway. "What’s wrong?" "Another vision," Liana explained quickly. "Soone’s planning to attack during the Conclave." Kael’s face went hard as stone.
"Then we cancel it. Send everyone ho. The risk is too great." "No." Liana’s voice held absolute determination. "This is exactly what they want—to keep us separated through fear. We can’t let them win." "You could die," Rowan complained, joining them with Jace close behind. "I could die tomorrow crossing the road," Liana responded. "That doesn’t an I stop walking." Jace ran his hands through his hair in anger. "This isn’t a joke, Liana. If Talia’s dreams are accurate—" "They always are," Talia interrupted softly. "I’ve never been wrong about the important ones." The room fell silent as everyone accepted this truth. "Then we prepare," Liana said finally. "Extra guards. Security steps. But the Conclave happens." Three days into the preparations, disturbing news started arriving from across the territories. Alpha Caron’s servant arrived first, his face pale with shock. "Three wolves found dead in our area. All had unusual bloodlines—traced back to old royal families." The next day brought similar stories from Alpha Serena’s pack. "Two killings. Both victims ca from old Luna bloodlines." By the third day, the pattern was obvious. Elder Mira spread a map across the war room table, marking each attack with red pins. "Seventeen deaths in five regions. All victims share shared ancestry." "What kind of ancestry?" Magnus asked, studying the pattern. Mira’s voice was grave. "The sa royal family as Liana. Soone is systematically hunting down anyone connected to her family." The room erupted in worried voices, but Liana felt ice settle in her veins. "How is that possible?" she asked. "I thought my family was lost. Hidden." "Hidden, yes. Lost, no." Mira pulled out an ancient leather notebook. "Your great-grandmother had six children. Your grandma was the youngest. The others scattered across the continent after the betrayal, taking new nas, hiding their origins." "But soone found them anyway," Jace realized. "Soone with access to old records."
"Or soone who lived through those tis," Rowan added softly. Magnus leaned forward. "You think we’re dealing with an immortal? Soone old enough to rember the original royal family?" Before Mira could answer, a commotion exploded in the hallway outside. Shouting voices, running footsteps, and then— "Celeste is gone!" A guard burst through the door. "She fled during the night. No one saw how." Kael cursed under his breath. "How long has she been free?" "Unknown. Could be hours, could be days. She’s clever enough to stay hidden." Talia suddenly grabbed Liana’s hand, her eyes blurred with vision-sight. "The hooded figure in my dreams... I can see their hands now." "What about them?" Liana asked quickly. "Ice-blue nail polish," Talia whispered. "And a scar on the left wrist shaped like a crescent moon." Everyone in the room turned to look at Elder Mira, who was examining her own left wrist with growing alarm. "Celeste has that exact scar," Mira said slowly. "From a ritual she tried years ago. And she always wears ice-blue polish." "So Celeste is behind the murders?" Alpha Caron asked. "Or working with whoever is," Magnus replied grimly. Liana stood up, pacing to the window that overlooked the estate grounds. Already, the first early-arriving Alphas were setting up camps in the nearby fields. Dozens of pack flags fluttered in the breeze. "There’s sothing else," she said softly. "Sothing we’re missing." "What do you an?" Kael joined her at the window.
"Think about it. If soone wanted to kill , why murder random relatives across different regions first? Why not just co after directly?" Rowan’s eyes widened with understanding. "Unless killing them serves another purpose." "Like what?" Jace demanded. Talia’s voice was barely a whisper. "Like stealing their power. Absorbing their royal blood to fuel so kind of rite." The pieces clicked together in Liana’s mind like puzzle pieces finding their perfect fit. "The Great Conclave," she breathed. "They need living for it. All those Alphas in one place, all that focused power..." She turned to face the others. "What better ti to attempt sothing that requires massive amounts of magical energy?" "The blood ritual Talia saw," Mira realized. "Not just to kill you, but to use your death as a catalyst for sothing bigger." "But what?" Magnus asked. "What could require that much power?" Before anyone could answer, another ssenger burst through the door. This one wore the colors of the Northern Territories, and his face was white with fear. "The Frost Pack," he gasped. "All of them. Every single wolf in the area.
They’re all dead." Silence fell like a physical weight. "How many?" Kael asked hoarsely. "Three hundred and forty-seven souls," the ssenger answered. "n, won, children. Even the baby pups." "That’s not possible," Magnus objected. "An entire pack doesn’t just die." "They weren’t killed by violence," the ssenger added. "No wounds, no signs of fight. They just... drained. Like sothing sucked the life right out of them." Liana’s blood turned to ice water in her veins. "When?" she whispered. "Three days ago. The sa night Celeste vanished." The math was easy and terrifying. Seventeen royal-blooded wolves plus three hundred and forty-seven pack mbers ans enough stolen life force to fuel magic beyond imagination. "We have to cancel the Conclave," Kael said strongly. "Right now. Send everyone ho." But even as he spoke, they could hear more arrivals outside. Dozens of packs, hundreds of wolves, all gathering for the historic eting. "It’s too late," Liana realized with growing fear. "They’re already here. All of them." Talia’s eyes rolled back, and when she spoke, her voice held the weight of prophecy.
"The moon turns red tomorrow night. The Conclave stones will run with royal blood. And sothing old will awaken that should have stayed buried forever." She fell, the vision leaving her as quickly as it ca. Outside, the sun was setting behind the mountains. In twenty-four hours, the Great Conclave would begin. And sowhere in the darkness, sothing that had eaten an entire pack was getting ready to finish what it started.
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