Chapter 4 The Ghost in the Shadows

The explosion of the iron shutters threw Silas Moretti back against the wall. Glass rained down like diamonds, but none of it touched Leo or me. It was as if a bubble of invisible energy were protecting us.

Leo stood in the center of the room, his small chest heaving. His eyes were no longer golden; they were glowing with a terrifying, pure white light. The air around him hummed with power, a power that felt much older and stronger than any Alpha I had ever met.

"Leo?" I whispered, my heart in my throat. I reached out to touch his shoulder, but a spark of static electricity jumped between us.

"The Ancient Blood," Silas rasped, coughing as he struggled to stand. His eyes were wide with fear, not love. "It’s impossible. That power died out a thousand years ago."

Xavier was still on the floor, his skin turning a sickly gray from the silver poison. He looked up at our son, his mouth hanging open in shock. Even as he was dying, he looked proud.

"Elara... get him... out," Xavier choked out. He gripped the carpet, his muscles bulging as he fought the poison. "Silas... will never... let him... lead."

Xavier was right. Silas wasn't looking at a grandson. He was looking at a threat to his control.

"Guards!" Silas roared into his radio. "Code Red! Terminate the anomalies!"

"No!" I screamed. I grabbed Leo and pulled him into my arms. The white light in his eyes faded instantly, and his small body went limp. He had used up all his energy in that one burst. He was just a tired five-year-old again.

I looked at the doorway. I could hear the heavy boots of a dozen guards sprinting down the hallway. We were trapped in a room with a dying Alpha, a mad grandfather, and a jealous fiancée.

Then, a panel in the wall behind Xavier’s desk clicked open.

A woman stepped out. She was dressed in all black, her face covered by a dark hood. She didn't look like a shifter. She moved with a silent, ghostly grace.

"This way if you want to live," she said. Her voice was cool and calm, like a breeze in a graveyard.

"Who are you?" I demanded, clutching Leo tighter.

"A friend of the forgotten," she replied. She looked at Xavier on the floor. "And someone who knows that Silas Moretti is a liar."

She reached into a pouch at her belt and threw a small glass vial at Xavier. It shattered against his chest, releasing a cloud of blue vapor. Xavier gasped, his body jerking as the gray color began to fade from his skin.

"That will neutralize the silver for an hour," the woman said. "But he won't be able to shift. Now, move!"

I didn't trust her, but I hated Silas more. I scrambled toward the secret passage. I looked back at Xavier. He was breathing again, his eyes finding mine.

"Go," he mouthed.

I ducked into the dark tunnel just as the guards burst into the office. The hooded woman slammed the panel shut, and we were plunged into total darkness.

We ran through the narrow stone passage for what felt like miles. My lungs burned, and my arms ached from carrying Leo, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.

Finally, we emerged into a cold, damp basement in a building far away from the Moretti estate. The hooded woman pushed back her mask. She was older, with sharp eyes and a long scar running down her neck.

"My name is Elena," she said. "I was Xavier’s mother’s personal maid. Before Silas had her killed."

I gasped, leaning against a brick wall to catch my breath. "Silas killed his own wife?"

"He killed her because she found out about the Blood Oath," Elena said, her eyes flashing with anger. "The same oath he used to force Xavier to reject you. Silas didn't want a human mate in the family because he knew a human mother might trigger the Ancient Blood in the heir. He wanted a puppet, not a god."

I looked down at Leo, who was snoring softly in my arms. My sweet boy was a "god" to these people. A weapon.

"Why help us now?" I asked.

"Because the pack is rotting from the inside," Elena said. "Sophia and her father are planning to kill Silas and Xavier tonight. They want total power. If you want to save Xavier and claim your place as Luna, you need an army."

"I’m human," I said bitterly. "I don't have an army."

"You have the Omegas," Elena whispered. "The low-ranks. The ones Silas treats like trash. They have been waiting for a leader who knows what it's like to be invisible."

She handed me a small, rusted key. "This leads to the old tunnels under the city where the outcasts hide. Go to them. Show them the boy’s mark. They will fight for you."

I took the key. My fear was gone, replaced by a cold, hard desire for justice. Silas had stolen my life. Sophia had tried to kill my son. Xavier had let it happen.

I wasn't the scared assistant anymore. I was a mother with a crown of fire.

"I’ll go," I said. "But I’m not just saving Xavier. I’m taking down the entire Moretti Empire."

I turned to leave, but the basement door was suddenly kicked off its hinges.

Three wolves in police uniforms stood there, their eyes glowing red. They weren't Moretti guards. They were mercenaries.

"Found you," the lead wolf sneered, his claws extending.

I looked at the rusted key in my hand, then at the heavy iron pipe on the floor. I didn't wait for them to move. I grabbed the pipe and swung it with everything I had.

"Mommy?" Leo whispered, waking up.

"Close your eyes, Leo," I said, stepping in front of him. "Mommy has to do some cleaning."

The lead wolf lunged, his jaws snapping inches from my face. I dodged and brought the pipe down on his skull with a sickening crack.

But as the other two wolves circled me, a shadow moved in the corner of the room. A tall, dark figure stepped out of the mist, his eyes glowing a familiar, molten gold.

"Touch her," Xavier’s voice growled from the darkness, "and I’ll make sure you never see the moon again."

He was standing, but his shirt was soaked in fresh blood. He looked like a dead man walking.

"Xavier?" I breathed.

He didn't look at me. He looked at the mercenaries. "The coup has started, Elara. My father is dead. Sophia has the pack."

My heart dropped. The revenge I wanted was happening, but not the way I planned.

"If she has the pack," I whispered, "then who is coming for us?"

Xavier looked toward the stairs. The sound of a hundred howling wolves filled the night air.

"Everyone," he said.