The air inside the Alpha's meeting chamber was tense. Heavy drapes muted the morning sun, and the only light came from the flickering lanterns mounted in a circle around the central table. Everyone sat silently, waiting.
Eila stood before them all — her heart pounding like a war drum.
Alpha Magnus Baldwin sat at the head of the table, silver-white hair pulled back in a warrior's knot. His golden eyes were unreadable, but his clenched fists said enough. Beside him, Luna Priscilla, calm and poised as ever, rested one hand over a parchment scroll and the other over the hilt of her crystal dagger. Nina stood behind them, her storm-grey eyes pinned on Eila with sharp, unblinking focus.
To Eila's right stood Leonard, his icy gaze locked on her face, arms folded but tense. Lukas and Zois flanked her left — Lukas's jaw tight with concern, Zois's arms behind his back like a soldier holding his ground. The twins had barely slept since night at the robber's hut. After Eila woke up from the terrifying dream encounter outside the Robbers' Hut. They were on full alert.
"Tell us," Magnus finally said. "Everything."
Eila took a deep breath.
And began.
She described the vision. The unlocking of the box. The feather. The moment she touched it and was swept into Venera's memory — the war, the Summoner Chanera, the sacrifice. She recited Venera's warning nearly word for word, her voice quivering only slightly.
Then came Jeremy.
The dream encounter.
The whisper in the trees.
The threat to her parents.
His Varium minions laughing in the shadows.
Her scream — the surge of light — and how it had forced them back into the Veil.
By the time she finished, the room was silent except for the crackling lanterns.
Nina was the first to speak.
"You saw Venera's final stand," she said softly, awe and dread mingling in her tone. "And if Jeremy felt it, if he responded to the seal's activation… that means he's closer than we thought."
Luna's eyes narrowed. "And more desperate. The Veil isn't just reacting to you — it's moving around you. Shifting."
Alpha Magnus stood and paced behind his chair, his voice a low growl.
"So he knows she's the key."
Eila nodded. "He said my parents had a purpose to serve. That he could kill them anytime."
At that, Leonard's hand slammed against the table. The lanterns flickered violently.
"He's baiting you. Threatening what you love to make you act without thinking."
"We won't let him," Zois said coldly, eyes glowing faintly.
"He wants to break you. Divide you."
Lukas stepped forward. "But he doesn't know you're not alone." He placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "He doesn't understand what a Triad Bond means."
Eila swallowed back the lump in her throat. She looked to Nina. "What do we do now?"
Nina hesitated. "We'll need to activate the second part of the scroll's prophecy. If Jeremy is forcing open a gateway, we'll have to stabilize the Veil from this side. There may be another relic, another memory you must unlock."
Alpha Magnus turned to his Luna. "We'll need access to the ancient seals. The map Venera left behind, the one hidden in the lower chamber."
Luna Priscilla gave a slow nod. "It's time."
Magnus turned to Eila, his expression grim but resolute. "You've just stepped into the heart of the storm, Eila Johnson. From now on, you don't walk alone. You walk as the center of the Triad."
"And with the backing of this entire Pack," Priscilla added.
Leonard moved to her side, his hand grazing hers.
"You've already survived his shadow once," he said softly. "Now we strike back."
Eila felt the tension in her chest begin to lift. For the first time, she wasn't carrying it all alone.
A team — no, a bond — had been forged around her.
Whatever Jeremy planned next… he would not find her unprepared.