Rex Pov
"Kill him."
I woke up gasping with those words echoing in my head. My sheets were soaked with sweat, and my heart was pounding so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.
It was the third night in a row I'd had that dream.
The same dream every time. Me standing over Urdon while he slept. A knife in my hand and blood everywhere.
I sat up and pressed my palms against my eyes. This wasn't normal; something was seriously wrong with me.
"You know what you must do."
The voice came from inside my head, but it wasn't my voice. It was a woman's voice; she sounded old, angry, and full of hate.
"Stop," I whispered into the darkness of my room. "Please just stop."
But she didn't stop. She never stopped anymore.
It started small a few weeks ago. Just little whispers I could ignore. Thoughts that didn't feel like mine, but now it was constant. Every waking moment, she was there in my mind, telling me things I didn't want to hear.
Telling me Urdon was my enemy.
Telling me he deserved to die.
I got out of bed and splashed cold water on my face from the basin in my room. When I looked up at the mirror, I barely recognized myself; my eyes had dark circles under them. My face looked thinner and more hollow.
"You're falling apart, Rex," I told my reflection.
"Good," the voice said. "Soon you'll be mine completely."
I stumbled back from the mirror and gripped the edge of my dresser. My hands were shaking.
This wasn't just stress or exhaustion. Something had taken root inside me, and it was growing stronger every day.
I needed help, but who could I tell? Urdon was my best friend, but he was also the Alpha. If I told him I was having thoughts about killing him, he'd have me locked up or worse.
The only other person I could trust was Kyran.
I got dressed quickly and left my room. The pack house was quiet this early in the morning. Most wolves were still asleep. I didn't want anyone to see me like this.
I found Kyran in the kitchen making coffee. He looked up when I walked in, and his one good eye narrowed.
"You look terrible," he said bluntly.
"Thanks," I muttered and sat down at the table.
Kyran poured two cups of coffee and brought them over. He sat across from me and waited. That was one thing I appreciated about Kyran. He never pushed. He just waited until you were ready to talk.
But I didn't know how to start this conversation.
"Bad dreams?" he finally asked.
I nodded and wrapped my hands around the warm cup.
"How bad?"
"Bad enough that I'm scared to sleep."
Kyran leaned back in his chair and studied me. His missing eye socket always made him look more intense than he probably meant to.
"What are the dreams about?"
I opened my mouth, but the voice in my head screamed at me to stay quiet. Sharp pain shot through my skull, and I winced.
"Rex?" Kyran leaned forward. "What's wrong?"
"Don't tell him," the voice hissed. "He'll ruin everything."
"I dream about hurting people," I said quickly before she could stop me. "Hurting Urdon."
Kyran's expression didn't change, but I saw his hand tighten around his coffee cup.
"Why would you dream that?"
"I don't know." I rubbed my temples. "It doesn't feel like my dream. It feels like someone else's thoughts in my head."
"Someone else?"
"A woman. I hear her voice all the time now. She's angry, she wants revenge."
Kyran set his cup down slowly. "Rex, that sounds like spiritual interference."
"I know." My voice cracked. "That's why I'm telling you. You're the only one who can walk between worlds. You're the only one who might understand what's happening to me."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded once.
"I'll help you," he said simply.
Relief flooded through me. "Thank you."
"But you need to tell me everything. Every detail, no matter how small."
So I did. I told him about the whispers, the dreams. The way I'd started seeing Urdon differently lately, not as my friend and Alpha but as something that needed to be destroyed.
I told him about the memories that weren't mine. Memories of being accused, banished, and killed.
"She shows me things," I said quietly. "Things that happened a long time ago. Injustice, betrayal, and a trial that wasn't fair."
Kyran listened without interrupting. When I finished, he sat back and stared at the ceiling.
"This is bigger than I thought," he finally said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, this isn't just your mind playing tricks. Someone's spirit is trying to take you over." He looked at me seriously. "And based on what you're describing, I think I know who."
"Who?"
"I need to do a proper spiritual walk to be sure. But Rex, there are stories. Old stories about a rogue named Yolande who was wronged by this pack generations ago."
The name hit me like a punch. As soon as he said it, the voice in my head laughed. It was a cold, cruel sound that made my skin crawl.
"That's her," I whispered. "That's the name. Yolande."
Kyran cursed under his breath. "Then we have a serious problem."
"Can you help me?"
"I can try." He stood up. "But this kind of possession doesn't happen randomly, Rex. She chose you for a reason."
"What reason?"
"That's what I need to find out."
Over the next few days, I tried to act normal, but it was getting harder. The voice was louder now and more insistent. She'd taken to showing me visions during the day too, not just at night.
I'd be standing in a pack meeting and suddenly I'd see blood on the walls. I'd look at Urdon and see him lying dead on the floor.
It was driving me insane.
And the worst part was I could feel myself changing. My thoughts about Urdon were different now. When he gave orders, I felt resentment instead of loyalty. When he laughed, I wanted to make him stop.
She was poisoning me from the inside out.
I started spending more time with Kyran. Partly because he was helping me, but partly because the voice seemed quieter when I was around him. Like she was focused on something else.
We'd meet in secret spots around the pack territory where no one would overhear us. I told him everything she showed me.
And slowly we started to understand what she wanted.
"She's after the Alpha line," Kyran said one afternoon while we sat by the creek. "She wants to destroy Urdon and everyone connected to him."
"Why?"
"Because an Alpha destroyed her life. She was sentenced by the Alpha, Beta, and Delta of her time. She wants revenge on their descendants."
"That's insane. Urdon didn't do anything to her."
"Logic doesn't matter to spirits, Rex. All that matters is rage."
I picked up a stone and threw it into the water. "So what do we do?"
"I need more information. I need to walk the spiritual realm properly and find out exactly what we're dealing with." He looked at me. "But I need to know something first."
"What?"
"Can I trust you? If this gets worse, if she takes over completely, will you fight her or will you let her win?"
I met his eye. "I'll fight her. I swear it."
He nodded slowly. "Good. Because if you don't, she'll use you to kill everyone you care about."
That night, the dreams got worse. I saw myself attacking Urdon in his sleep. I saw Luna Freda screaming, the whole pack burning.
I woke up with my hands around my own throat like I'd been trying to strangle myself.
"Soon," Yolande whispered. "Soon you'll understand that he deserves this."
"No," I choked out. "He's my friend."
"Friends don't abandon each other. Friends don't let innocent wolves die."
"You're twisting everything."
"I'm showing you the truth."
I stumbled out of bed and made my way to Kyran's room. I pounded on his door until he opened it, looking alarmed.
"Rex, what..."
"Help me," I said, and my voice was shaking. "Please. Something inside me wants the Alpha dead."