<h4>Chapter 171: Chapter 171: When Shadows Come Alive</h4>


    The biggest portal yet ripped open right above their heads.


    This one was different. Instead of purple or red light, it waspletely ck. And the darkness wasn’t empty—it was moving. Writhing like it was alive.


    "Run!" Lyra screamed, but there was nowhere to go.


    Creatures poured out of the shadow portal like water from a broken dam. But these weren’t like the other monsters. These looked exactly like people they knew, except their eyes were hollow ck holes and they moved wrong—too fast, too smooth, like they were floating instead of walking.


    Emma gasped as she saw herself step out of the portal. Shadow Emma had the same silver hair, the same small hands, but when she smiled, her teeth were sharp as knives.


    "Hello, little light," Shadow Emma said in a voice that sounded like Emma’s but backwards. "I’ve been waiting so long to meet you."


    "What are these things?" Jake shouted, backing away as a shadow version of himself emerged. Shadow Jake’s eyes werepletely white instead of brown, and when he spoke to the animals, they started attacking each other.


    "They’re our opposite selves," the tree-creature exined quickly. "Every person has a shadow version living in the dark realm. But they should never be able to cross over!"


    More shadow family members stepped through. Shadow Kael had glowing red eyes and ws instead of hands. Shadow ra’s hair moved like snakes. Shadow Lily looked sweet and innocent, but dark smoke poured from her mouth when she breathed.


    The worst was Shadow Darian. He looked exactly like the real Darian, except he was smiling. And somehow that smile was more terrifying than all the other monstersbined.


    "Brother," Shadow Darian said to the real Darian. "Thanks for making the deal. You made it so easy for us to find this world."


    "I didn’t know," Darian whispered, clutching baby Marcus tighter. "The Devourer never said anything about shadow people."


    "The Devourer is our pet," Shadow Emmaughed. "We sent it to soften up your world for us. And you helped us every step of the way."


    Emma felt sick to her stomach. "So this is all Darian’s fault?"


    "No," said a new voice. Everyone turned to see Shadow Tobias walking toward them. Unlike the others, he looked almost normal. "This is my fault."


    The real Tobias went white. "That’s impossible. You’re not real."


    "Oh, I’m very real," Shadow Tobias said calmly. "More real than you, actually. Because you see, I’m not the shadow version. I’m the original."


    Everyone stared at him in shock.


    "You’ve been following a shadow person this whole time," Shadow Tobias continued. "The real me has been trapped in the shadow realm for twenty years. This fool has been pretending to be me, gathering information about your family."


    The Tobias they’d trusted suddenly startedughing. His appearance began to change. His skin turned gray, his eyes became ck holes, and his voice got deeper.


    "Surprise," fake Tobias said. "Did you really think a rogue wolf would help you out of kindness? I’ve been leading you exactly where the shadow realm wanted you to go."


    ra felt like the ground was falling away beneath her feet. "The burial grounds. You’re taking us into a trap."


    "The burial grounds are real," fake Tobias admitted. "And the pack bond is real too. But what I didn’t tell you is that using it will open a permanent doorway between our worlds. Your children’s power will feed the shadow realm forever."


    Emma’s silver light started flickering with anger. "You lied to us!"


    "Everyone lies, little light. Even your precious family."


    Shadow Emma pped her hands together. "Speaking of lies, should we tell them the truth about baby Marcus?"


    All eyes turned to the possessed baby in Darian’s arms. Marcus was still giggling, but now his eyes were glowing with that ancient evil light.


    "The Devourer isn’t possessing your brother," Shadow Darian said with glee. "Your brother IS the Devourer. He was born that way."


    "That’s not true," Lily said, tears streaming down her face.


    "Oh, but it is," Shadow Tobias said. "The Devourer needed a way to hide in your world until it was strong enough. So it made sure it would be born as your baby brother. Every giggle, every smile, every moment you thought he was innocent—it was all an act."


    Baby Marcus stopped giggling and looked directly at his family. When he spoke, it was in his real voice for the first time in months.


    "I’m sorry," he said in his tiny two-year-old voice. "I tried to fight it, but it’s too strong. I’m not me anymore."


    Emma started crying. "Marcus? Are you still in there?"


    "A little bit," the baby said sadly. "But not for long. It’s eating me from the inside. Soon there won’t be anything left of the real me."


    "We can save you," ra said desperately, reaching for her youngest child.


    "No," Marcus said, and now the ancient evil voice was back. "You cannot save what was never really yours. I have been nning this for a thousand years. Your family was chosen because your bloodline produces the most powerful children. I needed you to breed me the perfect host."


    "All of this... everything that happened to us... it was nned?" Kael’s voice was barely a whisper.


    "Every single moment," the thing wearing Marcus’s face said happily. "Your meeting ra. The triplet bond. Even Emma’s visions. I made sure it all happened exactly as I needed."


    The shadow creatures started moving closer. They weren’t attacking yet, but they were surrounding the family in a tight circle.


    "Here’s what’s going to happen," Shadow Emma said sweetly. "You’re going toe with us to the burial grounds. You’re going to perform the pack bond ritual. And when you do, we’re going to take over every person in your world, one by one."


    "And if we refuse?" Ronan growled.


    Shadow Darian pointed at baby Marcus. "Then we’ll make your little brother eat himself alive while you watch."


    Emma’s power red again, but this time it felt different. Instead of silver fire, darkness started pouring from her hands.


    "Emma, stop!" ra screamed. "That’s not your power!"


    But Emma couldn’t stop. The darkness kept flowing, and everywhere it touched, the ground turned to ash.


    "That’s it," Shadow Emma said excitedly. "Let the shadow power fill you. You’re bing one of us."


    "I’m not like you!" Emma cried, but even as she said it, she could feel something cold and hungry growing inside her chest.


    Jake suddenly grabbed his sister’s hand. "Emma, remember who you are. Remember Mom reading us stories. Remember Dad teaching us to ride bikes. Remember Lily helping you when you had nightmares."


    For a moment, Emma’s power turned silver again. But then Shadow Jake spoke.


    "Those memories aren’t real either," he said with a cruel smile. "We nted them in your heads to make you easier to control."


    Emma looked at her family with horror. "Is that true? Are any of my memories real?"


    Before anyone could answer, the real Tobias stepped through the shadow portal. He looked exactly like the fake one, except his eyes held twenty years of pain and anger.


    "Some of your memories are real," he said grimly. "But you’ll never know which ones unless you trust me now."


    "Why should we trust anyone?" Emma sobbed. "Everyone keeps lying to us!"


    "Because," the real Tobias said as he pulled out a glowing silver knife, "I’m the only one here who can kill a shadow creature permanently. But I can only kill one before they overwhelm me."


    He looked at the family with sad, desperate eyes.


    "You have to choose. Which shadow should I kill? Because after that, we’re all going to die."


    The shadow creatures startedughing as Emma realized the horrible truth—whatever choice they made, someone she loved was going to be lost forever.


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