<h4>Chapter 178: The Pack’s Support</h4>


    <strong>BROCK POV</strong>


    I hit the mind-controlled pack member so hard he flew backward into a tree.


    It should have felt wrong - hitting someone from my own pack. But when I looked into Marcus’s empty eyes and saw nothing but alien control looking back, I knew the real Marcus wasn’t home anymore.


    "Stay down," I growled, even though I knew he couldn’t understand me.


    Around me, the fight for Silver Peak raged on. Lily had disappeared through some kind of portal right when we needed her most, leaving us to face mind-controlled pack members and human soldiers alone.


    Well, notpletely alone.


    "Brock, iing from your left!" Aiden shouted.


    I spun and caught another controlled wolf mid-leap. This one was Sarah, who used to help in the nursery with Lily. Now she snapped at my throat with dead eyes and no recognition.


    "Sorry, Sarah," I mumbled, using a pressure point trick to knock her unconscious instead of really hurting her.


    That was the thing about this fight - we couldn’t use our full strength. These weren’t enemies. They were family who’d been stolen from us.


    "How many more?" I called to Aiden, who was organizing our defense from the Alpha house steps.


    "Too many," he answered grimly. "And the humans are moving closer."


    I could see them through the trees - troops in ck uniforms, carrying weapons I didn’t recognize. Behind them walked more controlled pack members, including some I thought had been safe in their homes.


    "We need to end this fast," I said. "Before they control all of us."


    "Any ideas how?" Luna asked, appearing beside me with tears on her face. "Because I’m out of ns that don’t involve everyone dying."


    I looked at her carefully. Luna had deserted us, but she’d also been forced to. Her parents were still prisoners of the humans. That kind of pressure could break anyone.


    "First things first," I decided. "We get your parents back."


    Luna’s eyes widened. "What?"


    "You heard me. They’re using your family to control you, just like they’re using mind control on our pack. We break their hold, we break their power."


    "But that means charging right into their main force," Aiden argued. "That’s suicide."


    "Maybe," I agreed. "Or maybe it’s exactly the kind of crazy n they won’t expect."


    The truth was, I’d been thinking about this ever since Lily left. She’d been taken away to help other people, other realities, because her skills were needed on a bigger scale. That meant the rest of us had to step up and handle our own issues.


    I’d always been the warrior brother, the one who solved things with power and fighting. But watching Lily grow over the past few months had taught me something important - sometimes the best thing you can do is protect what matters most.


    "I’m going after Luna’s parents," I stated. "Who’s with me?"


    To my surprise, half the pack stepped forward, including several who’d never liked Luna much.


    "She’s family now," said old Henrik, one of our elders. "We don’t leave family behind."


    That’s when I realized something amazing had happened. Lily’s shift hadn’t just changed her - it had changed all of us. The rigid hierarchy that used to split alpha from beta from omega was really gone. We were fighting as equals now.


    "Alright," I said, feeling proud of my pack. "Here’s the n."


    Twenty minutester, I was running through the forest with a team of twelve wolves, headed straight for the humanmand post. It should have been scary, but instead it felt right.


    We weren’t just fighting for our area anymore. We were fighting for the idea that Lily had shown us - that every member of the pack mattered, that real power came from unity, not dominance.


    The human camp was tightly guarded, but they’d made one mistake. They’d positioned themselves between two hills, thinking it gave them good sight lines. What it really gave them was a great spot for an ambush.


    I signaled the others to spread out. Luna crept up beside me, her face determined.


    "They’re in the silver trailer," she whispered, pointing to a car at the center of the camp. "My parents and three other pack elders."


    "Guards?"


    "Six humans, plus that woman who seems to be in charge - Colonel Hayes."


    I nodded. "On my signal, we hit fast and hard. Remember, we’re not trying to win the whole war. We just need to get the prisoners and get out."


    But as we prepared to attack, something went wrong.


    One of the controlled pack members - Daniel - suddenly stopped walking in circles and looked right at our hiding ce.


    "Ambush iing," he said in that t, lifeless voice. "Northwest ridge."


    Instantly, dozens of human troops turned their weapons toward us.


    "How did he know?" Luna gasped.


    That’s when I realized the horrible truth. "The mind control isn’t just making them follow orders. It’s making them share information. Everything any managed wolf sees, they all see."


    Which meant every controlled pack member back at Silver Peak was now watching this through Daniel’s eyes.


    "We’re blown," I said. "Everyone run!"


    But as we tried to flee, Colonel Hayes’ voice echoed through speakers around the camp.


    "I wouldn’t do that, Mr. Silver. Not if you want to see Luna’s parents living."


    The trailer door opened, and two figures stumbled out. Luna’s mother and father, their eyes just as empty and dead as all the other controlled dogs.


    "That’s right," Colonel Hayes continued, stepping into view. "We’ve had them for weeks. Every piece of information Luna gave you, every n your pack made - we knew about it all."


    My heart sank as I understood. Luna hadn’t just been forced to spy on us. Her parents had been used as unwilling spies too.


    "But here’s the interesting part," the Colonel said with a cold smile. "Our mind control technology doesn’t just work on werewolves. We’ve tried it on vampires, witches, even some creatures we don’t have names for yet."


    She gestured, and more forms emerged from the shadows around the camp. Beings I’d never seen before - some with wings, others with scales, one that looked like it was made of living stone.


    "Every supernatural creature we’ve captured over the past five years," Colonel Hayes stated. "All of them now serving humanity’s greater good."


    Luna grabbed my arm. "Brock, if they can control other supernatural beings..."


    I finished her thought with growing fear. "They’re building an army. Not just to capture Lily, but to take over every supernatural group in the world."


    The Colonel nodded approvingly. "Very good. And now that you understand the scope of our operation, you can respect why your little rescue mission was doomed from the start."


    She raised her hand, and all the controlled magical beings moved into attack positions.


    "Surrender now, and we’ll make your change painless. Resist, and we’ll let our new ves practice their hunting skills on your friends back home."


    That’s when the real nightmare began.


    Because as I looked at all those controlled faces - werewolves, vampires, creatures I’d only heard about in stories - I realized something that made my blood freeze.


    If Lily came back from her dimensional mission, she’d be walking into a trap built specifically for someone with her abilities.


    And there was no way to warn her.