CHAPTER 118: ALLIANCE TENSIONS

Aiden POV

His fist hit the stone table so hard that it broke in half across the middle.

He screamed, "You stupid dogs!" His eyes were red as fire. "Your brother has doomed us all!"

My wolf growled inside me as I jumped to my feet. "Watch your mouth when you talk about my family!"

Every magical leader was yelling at the same time around the emergency meeting cave. The dragon woman breathed in smoke. In the old elf’s hands, green magic was shining. Three alpha werewolves from packs nearby were growling as threats. We were the ones who made everyone angry, scared, and angry at us.

"Enough!" I roared, using my Alpha voice. The cave went quiet, but I could feel the anger still boiling under the surface. "Fighting each other won’t solve anything."

"Won’t solve anything?" The vampire lord laughed bitterly. "Your pack harbors a girl who’s becoming a Between Walker, and now she’s disappeared along with one of your brothers! The Void King probably has them both!"

My heart clenched thinking about Caleb trapped somewhere dangerous, but I couldn’t show weakness. Not now. "We don’t know that for sure."

"Don’t we?" The dragon woman stepped forward, her golden eyes angry. "First the corruption spreads through your area. Then your prince friend nearly tears reality apart trying to save his mate. Now a Between Walker arrives in your pack, and suddenly two of your people disappear? This is not coincidence."

Elder Marcus, our pack’s boss, looked older than I’d ever seen him. "The alliance was made to protect all our kinds from the Void King. We must work together."

"Work together?" A werewolf alpha from the Mountain Pack growled. "Your pack is a danger to everyone! That girl should have been killed the moment she started changing!"

Red rage filled my view. "Lily is not scary! She’s trying to save my brother!"

"By using powers that don’t belong in our world," the elf elder said sadly. "Young Alpha, I understand your loyalty. But Between Walkers are neither alive nor dead. They live in the space between realities. If she uses those powers too much, she’ll fade away totally. And worse, she might tear holes between worlds that the Void King can use."

I felt sick. Lily was risking everything to save Caleb, and these people wanted to treat her like a monster. "She’s still one of us. She’s still fighting on our side."

"Is she?" The vampire lord’s voice was cold. "Tell me, can you still feel her through your pack bond?"

I tried to reach out with my wolf senses, looking for Lily’s familiar presence. Nothing. It was like she’d never existed. The same nothingness I felt when I tried to find Caleb.

My silence was answer enough.

"I thought so," the vampire said. "She’s slipping away from this world. Soon she won’t be able to help anyone, and the power she’s using might make doorways for our enemies."

"Then we help her!" I said desperately. "We find a way to anchor her back to our world!"

"There is no way," one of the Between Walkers from earlier spoke up. They’d been standing quietly in the corner, their forms flickering like lights in wind. "Once the change goes too far, the choice becomes permanent. Stay between worlds and fade away, or give up everything magical to become fully human."

My blood turned to ice. "She’d lose her wolf? Her link to the pack?"

"Everything," the Between Walker stated. "Her mate bond with your brother. Her power to sense supernatural threats. She’d become completely regular."

The cave exploded in arguments again. Half the leaders thought Lily should be forced to become human to remove the risk. The other half thought she should be eliminated before she could choose. Nobody seemed to care about saving her.

"She’s not just some threat to be dealt with!" I shouted over the noise. "She’s family! She’s pack!"

"She’s a liability," the Mountain Pack alpha growled. "And so is your brother for getting caught. Maybe the Silver Peak Pack isn’t strong enough to lead this union."

My wolf roared inside me. "Are you challenging my pack’s leadership?"

"Maybe I am," he said, stepping closer. "Your father’s getting old. Your brother’s lost. And you’re protecting a Between Walker who might destroy us all. Doesn’t sound like strong leadership to me."

Before I could reply, a new voice cut through the tension.

"Fighting amongst ourselves is exactly what the Void King wants."

Everyone turned to see Prince Ash entering the cave, but he looked terrible. His normally perfect appearance was disheveled, and there were dark circles under his eyes. Emma slept in a carrier on his chest, the only peaceful thing in the hectic scene.

"Your Highness," Elder Marcus bowed his head. "We thought you were resting after the failed soul transfer."

"I was," Ash said sadly. "Until I felt the Void King’s magic spike. Something big is coming. He’s moving faster than we expected."

The vampire lord hissed. "What do you mean?"

Ash’s face was grim. "The rot isn’t just spreading randomly anymore. It’s being handled. Controlled. The Void King is using it to map our world, learning about our barriers and our people."

"How do you know this?" the dragon woman asked.

"Because I can still feel the connection from when he corrupted my spell," Ash admitted. "It’s faint, but it’s there. And right now, he’s very interested in something happening in the forest north of here."

My heart stopped. "That’s where Lily went to save Caleb."

"Then she’s walking into a trap," the elf elder said quietly.

The Between Walker who’d been describing Lily’s condition suddenly straightened, their flickering form becoming more solid. "Wait. I can feel her. She’s using her between-world powers right now, and she’s... she’s in terrible danger."

"From what?" I asked.

"Not what. Who." The Between Walker’s face went pale. "She’s found your brother, but he’s not alone. There are Void Lieutenants with him. And something else. Something that feels like..."

They trailed off, looking frightened.

"Like what?" Ash pressed.

"Like the Void King himself has sent a piece of his soul into our world. If Lily tries to save your brother now, she’ll be facing a fragment of our biggest enemy. In her unstable condition, that kind of power could destroy her totally."

The cave fell dead silent except for Emma’s soft breaths.

"How long does she have?" I asked, though I was afraid of the answer.

The Between Walker closed their eyes, focusing. "Minutes. Maybe less. She’s about to make her choice - save your brother and risk everything, or flee and leave him to die."

I was already moving toward the cave opening before anyone could stop me. "Then I’m going after her."

"Aiden, no!" Elder Marcus called. "You can’t face Void power alone!"

"I won’t let them die," I said, changing into wolf form. "Either of them."

But as I reached the cave mouth, the Between Walker’s frightened voice stopped me cold.

"It’s too late. She’s made her choice. I can feel her using the between-world skills at full strength. Whatever happens next will determine not just her fate, but the fate of everyone she’s trying to save."

The last thing I heard before racing into the forest was Emma beginning to cry, as if she could sense that everything was about to change forever.