Triple Moon Rising: An Omega's Destiny
Chapter 88: The Expert’s Knowledge

Chapter 88: The Expert’s Knowledge

Elder Iris POV

When the old book closed on its own, I jumped back from my reading table. The pages in my book seemed to be trying to get out as my tea cup shook against its saucer. In the seventy years I’ve studied old magic, this had never happened.

"No, no, no," I whispered as I shook my hands and reached for the book. "Not now. "Not after all these years of peace."

When I touched the leather cover, it was as cold as the winter air outside. It was the same awful cold I’d felt when my grandmother told me stories about being a young wolf. I hoped the stories were just lies.

The words in the book were hard to read, so I had to force it open again. The text was written in the old wolf language, words that most of our pack had forgotten. But I remembered. I had to remember.

"Void Walkers," I read aloud, my voice cracking. "Creatures that live between worlds, feeding on the bonds that connect all living things."

My heart started beating faster. This couldn’t be happening. The Void Walkers were meant to be gone forever, banished to the empty spaces between realities by the First Wolves thousands of years ago.

A howl echoed through the night - not a regular wolf howl, but something hollow and wrong. It sounded like it came from the bottom of a deep well. I shuffled to my window and peered through the curtains.

Nothing looked different outside. The pack grounds were quiet, with warm lights glowing in house windows. But something felt terribly wrong. The air itself seemed thinner, like it was being stretched.

I grabbed my walking stick and hurried to the door. My old bones ached with each step, but I had to check on the pack. If the Void Walkers were really back, everyone was in danger.

The first thing I noticed was the silence. No night birds singing, no small animals moving through the grass. Even the wind had stopped blowing. It was like the whole world was holding its breath.

I saw Sarah, one of our younger dogs, standing perfectly still near the training area. She was looking away from me, not moving at all.

"Sarah?" I called out, walking closer. "Dear, are you alright?"

She turned around slowly, and I nearly dropped my walking stick. Her eyes were totally black - not just the pupils, but everything. Like someone had poured darkness into empty holes.

"Hello, Elder Iris," Sarah said, but it wasn’t her voice. It was darker, colder, like an echo from somewhere far away.

I backed away, my mind racing. This was exactly what the old books described. The Void Walkers could take over bodies, wearing them like clothes while they fed on the links between pack members.

"You’re not Sarah," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"No," the thing wearing Sarah’s face agreed. "But she’s still in here, screaming. Would you like to hear her?"

For just a moment, Sarah’s real eyes flashed back, filled with terror. "Elder Iris, help me!" she cried in her own voice. "I can’t control my body! There’s something dark inside me!"

Then the black nothingness returned, and the fake Sarah smiled coldly.

I turned and ran as fast as my old legs could carry me. Behind me, I heard more of those hollow howls coming from different places. The Void Walkers weren’t just taking one dog - they were taking the whole pack.

I burst through the door of the Alpha house, gasping for breath. "Alpha Marcus! Emergency!"

But the house was empty. Too empty. I could hear my own heartbeat echoing in the quiet.

I climbed the stairs to my secret room - a place I’d never shown anyone, not even Lily. Behind a hidden panel, I kept the most dangerous books, the ones that talked about risks too terrible for most wolves to know about.

My hands shook as I pulled out the oldest book of all - the Chronicle of the First War. The book was bound in silver and covered with protective markings. I’d hoped never to open it again.

The pages crackled as I turned them, looking for the information that might save my pack. Finally, I found it: "The Void Walkers return when the walls between worlds grow weak. They cannot be fought with teeth and claws, for they are not truly alive. They feed on the bonds of love, friendship, and loyalty that link all living creatures. When they have fed enough, they will tear holes in reality itself, allowing their endless hunger to swallow entire worlds."

I read further, my heart sinking with each word. The Void Walkers had been stopped before, but at a terrible cost. The First Wolves had to sacrifice their own pack bonds to build a prison strong enough to hold them.

But there was something else - a small note made in the margin by my grandmother’s grandmother: "The Triple Moon Bearer may be the key. One who can strengthen ties instead of breaking them. But the cost... the cost may be everything."

I thought about Lily, about her special mark and her power to bring the pack together. Could she really be the answer? Or would trying to stop the Void Walkers destroy everything we’d built?

A sound made me freeze - footsteps on the stairs. Slow, measured footsteps that didn’t sound quite right.

"Elder Iris," came a familiar voice. "We’ve been looking for you."

I recognized the voice. It was Alpha Marcus, but something was wrong with the way he spoke. Too flat, too dead.

"I know you’re up there," the voice continued. "Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Join us willingly, and we’ll make your change quick."

I pressed my back against the wall, holding the ancient book. There was nowhere to run. The Void Walkers had found me.

The footsteps reached the top of the stairs. Through the crack under my door, I could see shadow feet that didn’t look quite solid.

"Lily," I whispered desperately. "Where are you when we need you most?"

The door handle started to turn, and I realized with fear that I might be the last free wolf in all of Silver Peak.