<h4>Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Secrets in the Shadows</h4>


    Selene’s scream tore through the air as she ran toward Ivy. Blue light wrapped around her sister’s small body, lifting her off the ground. Ivy’s eyes had turned totally ck, her skin taking on an eerie glow. "Stop!" Selene cried, mes bursting from her hands. ra whirled around, her face twisting with cruel pleasure. "Toote, fire-walker!" She thrust her hand forward, sending a wave of dark energy that knocked Selene backward. Dante jumped over fallen temple stones in his massive wolf form, fangs bared as he charged toward ra. Rowan nked him, violet eyes glowing as he screamed words in an ancientnguage. The ground beneath them rumbled. The archway cracked further, darkness seeping through like thick smoke with ghostly faces forming and disappearing. "Selene!" Dante had shifted back to human form, his voice desperate as he fought through ra’s following. "The vial!" Selene fumbled for the blue drink Grandmother Willow had given her. If she could just reach Ivy... A blinding sh of light burst from the archway, throwing everyone backward. When Selene’s vision cleared, the temple grounds were silent. The followersy asleep.


    ra was gone.


    And so was Ivy. "No!" Selene stumbled to her feet, rushing to the doorway. Nothing remained but cold stone and fading blue sparks. Dante reached her side, pulling her back as the archway began to fall. "It’s not safe!" "I don’t care!" Selene fought against his grip. "Ivy’s gone! She’s—" "Not gone," Rowan interrupted, studying strange markings on the ground. "Transported. The doorway isn’t fully open yet." He pointed to the archway’s keystone, which still held firm despite the damage. "ra couldn’tplete the ritual without both of you." "Then where is Ivy?" Selene demanded. "Somewhere between worlds," Rowan said grimly. "We have until midnight to find her before she’s lost forever." Dante studied the temple ruins, his face grim. "How do we find someone trapped between worlds?" Rowan’s eyes lit up with instant inspiration. "The Hidden Library." "What library?" Selene asked. "Beneath the pack house," Rowan exined quickly. "Your ancestors built it centuries ago to store ancient knowledge about the gateways and the curse." "What curse?" Dante growled. "The one that’s followed the ckthorn line for generations." Rowan turned to Selene. "The one that made you a fire-walker." Jace approached, supporting an injured pack fighter. "Alpha, we need to regroup. More of ra’s friends could return." Dante nodded. "Take everyone back to the pack house. Set up guards." His eyes met Selene’s. "We’re going to find this library." The pack house felt eerily quiet as they slipped through its halls. Most wolves were out patrolling or caring to the wounded.


    Rowan led them to the oldest wing, where dust gathered in corners and pictures of stern-faced ancestors watched from the walls. "Here," Rowan stopped before a huge bookshelf. "Behind this." "How do you know about a secret room in our pack house?" Dante asked warily. "Ka showed me," Rowan answered softly. "Before..." His words hung in the air. Dante’s jaw tensed, but he nodded. Rowan pressed three specific books in order. The bookshelf groaned, then swung inward, exposing a narrow stone staircase descending into darkness. Selene created a small me in her hand, illuminating their way down the winding steps. The air grew cold and stale. "This was built before the pack houses," Rowan exined. "Your ancestors knew the importance of preserving knowledge." The staircase opened into a vast circr room lined with old bookshelves. At its middle stood a stone table carved with the same symbols that had decorated the temple archway. "I never knew this existed," Dante whispered, running his fingers along spines of books so old they crumbled at his touch. "Few do," Rowan said. "Knowledge is power. Some wanted it forgotten." Selene approached the stone table. "How does this help us find Ivy?" Rowan pulled several scrolls from a secretpartment in the table. "These contain information about the gateways and how to track those caught between worlds." As he unrolled the scrolls, dust swirled into strange designs before settling. The parchment glowed faintly, old words shifting from one tongue to another. "I can’t read this," Selene said in frustration. "I can," Dante stepped forward, startling them both. At their puzzled looks, he shrugged. "Alpha training includes oldnguages. My father insisted." His fingers traced the words carefully. "It speaks of two sisters, bound by blood but divided by elements." His brow wrinkled. "One of fire, one of water. When separated, the gateway stays sealed.


    Together, they can open or close the way between worlds." "That’s what ra wants," Selene realized. "She needs both of us to fully open the gateway." "There’s more," Dante kept reading. "The ckthorn curse began when your rtive fell in love with a being from the other side. They had children together, passing otherworldly power through generations." "So I’m part monster?" Selene’s voice shook. "Part powerful," Rowan corrected. "Neither good nor bad. It’s how you use your gift that counts." Dante’s face darkened as he read further. "The curse cannot be broken by force or magic." His eyes met Selene’s. "Only by true love freely given and epted can the fire-walker be freed from the burden of her gift." Selene’s heart beat. "True love?" A leather-bound book on a nearby shelf suddenly fell to the floor, pages flipping on their own until they stopped at an illustration of two wolves—one ck, one silver—standing before an archway surrounded by mes and water. "The Alpha and his Luna," Rowan whispered. "Destined mates." Dante picked up the book, his fingers tracing the picture. Something vulnerable shed across his features before his walls mmed back into ce. "There’s a ritual here," he said quickly. "To locate someone caught between worlds." "What does it require?" Selene asked. "Blood of the searcher, mixed with..." Dante paused. "What?" Selene pressed. "Tears of true love," he finished, not meeting her eyes. Silence fell over the library. "We need something else," Dante said strongly, turning away. "There isn’t anything else," Rowan countered. "The ritual is specific." "Then I’ll do it alone," Selene decided, taking the book from Dante. "My blood, my tears. Ivy is my sister." "It won’t work," Rowan said gently. "The tears muste from romantic love, not familial." Selene’s anger boiled over, mes dancing along her fingertips. "Then what? We just let Ivy stay trapped?" "No," Dante’s voice was quiet but strong. He turned back to face her, his golden eyes intense. "We do the ritual. Together." Selene stared at him. "But you don’t—"


    "Don’t tell me what I feel," he interrupted, moving closer. "You’ve been impossible from the time you returned. Stubborn. Defiant." His voice rxed. "Brave beyond reason." Selene’s breath caught as he brushed a piece of hair from her face. "I lost Ka because I was afraid of her power," Dante continued. "I tried to control rather than help. I won’t make that mistake with you." "Is that love or guilt?" Selene whispered. "Let’s find out." Dante drew a small knife, slicing his hand before offering the de to Selene. She paused only briefly before cutting her own palm. Their blood mingled on the stone table, seeping into old grooves. "Now the tears," Rowan prodded. Dante cupped Selene’s face, his usual mask of indifference totally gone. "When I thought I’d lost you today..." His voice broke. A single tear slid down his face, falling to join their blood. Selene’s heart raced as feelings she’d kept buried surfaced. She thought of Ivy, of Dante, of everything they stood to lose. Her own tears fell freely now. The blend on the table began to glow—first red, then blue, then blinding white. The entire library shook, books falling from shelves. A spectral map appeared above the table—forests, mountains, and rivers of light. A blue dot pulsed near what looked to be an underground chamber. "There," Rowan pointed. "The old silver mine. ra’s hiding ce." The map flickered, then twisted into a new image: Ivy, her form changing between child and something otherworldly, while ra drew symbols around her in glowing blood. "She’s trying a different ritual," Rowan said quickly. "Using Ivy as both key and door." "What happens if she seeds?" Selene asked. "Ivy will be consumed totally. And the doorway will open just enough for the most dangerous beings to slip through." The picture faded as the mixture on the table burned away. Selene turned to Dante, new determination in her eyes. "How fast can we reach the silver mine?" "An hour, maybe less," he answered. "I’ll gather the pack." "No," Rowan interrupted. "A big group will alert ra. We three have the best chance if we move quietly." Before they could reply, the library door mmed shut. Books flew from shelves, whirling around them in a vicious tornado. "She knows," Rowan yelled over the chaos. "She’s watching!" Through the whirlwind of pages, a face formed—not ra’s, but Ivy’s, her childish features twisted with malice. "Sister," Ivy’s voice echoed strangely. "Coming to save me again? Like you did ten years ago?" "Ivy, fight her control!" Selene cried. "I’ming for you!" Ivy’s face twisted into a smile that wasn’t her own. "Toote. I’m bing something new. Something powerful." "That’s ra talking, not you!" Selene tried to reach through the spinning pages. Ivy’sughter chilled the room. "Maybe. Maybe not. But if you want to find out..." Her picture began to fade. "Better hurry. Tick tock." The books crashed to the floor as Ivy’s presence disappeared. Dante pulled Selene to her feet. "We leave now." As they raced from the library, Selene couldn’t shake the picture of Ivy’s distorted face or the feeling that they were already toote. Her sister was changing, bing something else. And deep in her heart, Selene feared that no amount of love—true or otherwise—would be enough to bring her back.