Hunted Shadows (Book 1) In Heavy Editing

Part 16

~~~Derek's POV~~~

Clouds covered the dawn sky, the kind that were black and dangerous. The clouds that promised a storm. I couldn't think of how these clouds came in so fast, how they seemed to just materialize. I felt the coldness of a wind that shouldn't have existed. I saw the lightening flash across the sky, saw the battle stop as everyone was now wary of the storm's appearance.

And then all at once we saw why it was there. Standing in front of the Alpha Marcella stood strong, but something wasn't normal. Her hair seemed to move without a wind, her height had increased, and there was something straining to be let free of her shirt. I heard them exchanging insults, and saw the moment when this change took hold of Marcella. The seconds dragged on as her shirt ripped and powerful looking wings burst free. Everyone took a step back, scared of what Marcella had turned into.

In contrast to her calm the Alpha was red with anger. She had defied his order to submit, she was showing she was above him in rank. His muscles bunched with the obvious effort not to submit to her, as power rolled off Marcella in waves. It didn't seem to affect anyone other than the Alpha and all that were fighting for him. It seemed directed in a sense. The Alpha finally was forced to his knee with a whispered command from Marcella. He was growling as he submitted, still trying to fight it. I saw fear in all the ones who were forced to their knees with bowed heads. They were scared for their lives, they were scared what she would do.

Seemingly satisfied that he wouldn't get up she turned to the rest of us. Her eyes were a glowing white with a black ring around the iris. Her facial features were sharper, more defined. Her wings folded against her back, no longer spread to their full width. Her eyes softened as she took in the fear of the wolves around her. Her eyes connected with mine and I bowed my head, knowing it was the right move not to challenge her.

"Wolves of the Shinning River pack and the Varulv pack rise. You have nothing to fear from me, you have no need to submit to me now."

"You are not Marcella, who are you?" Tom stepped forward, fear still shinning in his eyes.

"Alpha Tom, you are right I am not Marcella. My name is Iris, I am a spirit that controls the power of life and death. My mother and uncle gave me Marcella, gave Marcella me. We are one and the same, I am not inside of her but rather I am her, it's all very complicated."

"So you have control of her?"

"As much as she does me. It's like you and your wolf, you share power, strength and control. I am an extension of her shadow form."

"Can we have her back?"

"Not quite, I'm not done yet." Her wings snapped out as her anger flared. She took a deep breath as her wings folded back again. She turned to John and her wings twitched, she seemed unable to control them very well.

"What more do you want from me?" John growled out.

"John Varulv I hereby release you of the title of Alpha. You have shown that you cannot run a pack as the Originals intended for a pack to be run. The title shall go to the next of kin Macy Varulv if she so wishes it to. If she declines then it shall go to a wolf of the Goddess' choice." Macy was teleported back by a shadow when Iris started stripping John of his title.

"I do not wish to run a pack, I wish to raise my girl and watch this pack grow as well."

"I will inform Her Wisdom of your decision, she will come down and name the new Alpha bloodline. She also has given you a gift for protecting Marcella. I am not allowed to tell you what it is, but I believe you will love it." Macy looked surprised that the Moon Goddess had taken notice of her. "Shinning River Pack, you may return home and receive your own gift for helping us on this day." Tom looked shocked, bowed his head, and turned to go home. He ordered a few of us to stay and help clean up.

I turned to see her staring at me again. She seemed confused about something, but said nothing. She just motioned me to come to her. "Take care of her while I'm gone," and then Marcella's eyes were back for a second before rolling to the back of her head. She started to collapse as I caught her, Macy came running over to her.

"Follow me, she needs rest." I nodded and followed her to her house. Maxwell was flying above us, eyes alert for any threat. He shifted as we walked into the house, his armor shrinking to fit his human body. He followed us to her room, watched as I lowered her onto her bed.

"We need to talk, her mate needs to be here for this as well. Do you know where they took him?"

"No, but I'll have one of the shadows to bring him here. In the meantime does anyone want anything, food, coffee?" Maxwell agreed to coffee. Macy went outside to ask for Trent to be brought to us.

"So how do you know Marcella?" Maxwell turned to me, seeking answers from me.

"One of her families visited the royals and I was tasked with watching over the Princess at the time. Her and the Princess were fast friends and I saw what she would become, but I didn't see this. Iris' spirit must have been connected to Marcella recently."

"I was her trainer when she was still human. At the time shadows were looking for her, rogue shadows. She told me she knew about us and my wolf only saw her as a threat. We didn't listen to reason and before we could hurt her shadows stopped me. I hated her for a while, until tonight."

"Understandable, I mean you wolves do not always see reason when you think your families are in danger. You often get rash, but it seems she trusts you still. But this is only the beginning of something big, I think she will need a friend." I nodded, knowing that's what she needed when she came to me for help the first time.

"You're right, but right now Trent is here and we all need answers."