AIDEN POV
I caught Marcus - or what had been Marcus - as his soul-form lunged at me.
But instead of fighting back, I did something that went against every urge I had as an Alpha. I hugged him.
"I'm sorry," I whimpered to the void-consumed spirit of my old friend. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you."
The soul-creature stopped fighting in my arms. For just a moment, I saw recognition flicker in its empty eyes - a spark of the wolf I'd grown up with, hunted alongside, laughed with around countless campfires.
Then the spark died, and Marcus dissolved into dark, but he didn't attack anyone else. He just... passed away peacefully.
"Aiden!" Brock shouted. "What did you do?"
"I think I freed him," I said, looking at my empty hands in shock.
Around the clearing, more soul-creatures were striking our pack. But I was starting to see something the others hadn't noticed yet. These weren't mindless monsters - they were slaves, forced to fight against their will.
