Torn Shadows, Ancient Techniques Expanded, and Sis Returns
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The private chambers were silent except for the soft rustle of papers and the occasional flicker of candlelight reflecting off the dark walls. Marco sat at his desk, staring at the messages from Starfire, the careful updates from Elbon, and Amber's quiet notes about the pack's wellbeing. Each word tugged at him in ways he hadn't expected. Silver Moon's activity was now know, all was fully out in the open, and the knowledge that Amber was carrying twins weighed heavier than any battle plan.
It all made his head swim. Two babies, Amber not threatened by Silver Moon but rather elated that Marco – he, himself – had actually survived and the pack thrived. Doubt flared within him, and mixed with the love, for a strong Alpha, that he had once respected, that had bloomed within him long ago. Suddenly he didn't know what was right, and what was best.
He clenched his fists, feeling the tension coil inside him. Moas stirred within, whispering, pushing, demanding focus, but he recoiled against it, struggling to reconcile the chaos. He had planned for this—every move measured, every revenge step calculated—but now, the careful lattice of his strategy seemed to fray in his hands.
For a long moment, he didn't move, didn't think, only felt. And then her face appeared. Amber. Her gentle eyes, the quiet determination she had shown even in the face of danger, the soft curve of her mouth as she smiled at him in some imagined moment—he realized just how much he truly loved her. The thought struck him like a blade twisting inside his chest.
The admittance brought guilt in its sharpest form. He remembered his dead mate, Alisa, the one whose memory he had carried and whose loss had fueled his plans for revenge. The one who had admonished him in the sacred walls caves, for wanting to exact revenge in her name.
He had decided to allow all of his ancestors to hate him to have this revenge and now he thoroughly saw what they had seen from the beginning, fate is cruel and twisted, but it is as it should be, and we decided whether to swim within it or allow it to drown us.
He now knew that he was not betraying Alisa by allowing his heart to sway toward Amber. He felt a pang that was equal parts grief, longing, and shame. But even as that weight threatened to overwhelm him, he knew one thing: he could not—would not—lose control. Not now. Not ever, if he wanted to protect Amber, the unborn children, and everything he had built.
Moas growled softly in his mind, a reminder that instinct and calculation could coexist, that his wolf what he, himself, struggled to accept. Marco leaned back in his chair, the shadows of the room seeming to press in around him, whispering doubts, revealing fractures he had ignored for far too long.
"Am I strong enough?" he muttered to himself, almost aloud. "Can I hold all of this… without falling apart?"
Even as the question formed, he felt the stirrings of resolve. His dead mate's face, fleeting yet vivid, flitted across his mind. The memory was not just of loss—it was a compass. It reminded him that love was not weakness. That even amidst grief and anger, he could choose strength. He could choose Amber. He could choose his children. And he could still act on revenge, but carefully, deliberately.
He rose, muscles taut, the tension coiling like a spring ready to release. Tiffany had been patient, guiding, ensuring that even now, the delicate balance of his mind would not shatter completely. Her presence, though unseen at this moment, lingered in his thoughts, a stabilizing force. He acknowledged her silently, a quiet thank you for holding the edges together when he nearly unraveled.
Marco allowed himself a single, slow breath. The chaos within him did not vanish, but it settled into a dangerous, controlled tension. He would move forward. He would travel to Star Fire or Luna Azul, inspect the troops, assess the vampire threat, and begin the delicate work of preparation and strategy. He could feel the pull of vengeance, yes, but it was now tempered with love and a careful protection of those he held dear.
The chamber seemed to close around him, the shadows lengthening as night crept over the land. Marco stood alone, heart twisted with guilt and longing, eyes narrowing as determination settled into his bones. He would act. He would endure. And above all, he would protect what mattered most—Amber, the unborn children, and the fragile balance that held them all together.
In the quiet, a single thought whispered through his mind, half human, half wolf, half the echo of Moas: This is only the beginning. Control it, or it will control you.
And Marco, trembling but resolute, knew he would not fail.
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Marco and Tiffany walked side by side into the technique portion of the Sacred Wall caves. The caves seemed to hiss, then quickly quiet as they registered Tiffany, her place in the Silver Moon Pack, and her strength and achievements. Tiffany felt the sentience move over her, examine her, and then deem her worthy.
There was a hum of excitement and Marco let go of the breath that he didn't know he was holding.
Tiffany moved to the main platform and it rose high into the recesses of the ceiling, beyond Marco's sight. She took a deep breath and began.
She first gave the room a variation of the mental healing technique that it already had. She visualized the simplest brain she knew, that of the werewolf, then she went over ever pathway at speeds that defied all rational, she could fix an area without true knowledge of it, just seeing neighboring pathways gave her the direction and information needed. It was elegant and precise and the cave seemed to marvel.
The next she gave would be new to the cave, it was one rooted in espionage and it was the reason why Amber and Adonis could not recognize Marco when he presented himself as Stefan. She laid created with this technique. She placed pathways onto, into, and adjoining others. Brand new pathways that operated for as long as she wished. This gave the person abilities, all though limited, similar to her own innate abilities and they would manifest within the person at Tiffany's level at the time the process was completed.
Marco was creating and maintaining his own elaborate and untraceable illusion without Tiffany's active help.
When the demonstrations were over Tiffany made promises to return with more and the platform lowered and Marco knew he had been given a reprieve.
As Marco and Tiffany returned to the main part of the keep they both sensed them in their own ways. Marco smelled them and Tiffany felt them mentally, so neither was surprised when Tar and Jess appeared beside both Caleb and Dale.
It seemed Marco would need to discuss things with his Beta and Omicron.
The room was quiet as Marco finished unveiling his plans. All of his main members were there, with the exception of Elbon, but he had already proved just how loyal he was. Jess was the first to speak, and what she said made the entire room stop breathing.
"You mean to tell me that you wish to use my niece or nephew against his or her own mother, and watch the wolf you are bound to suffer all because Alisa and out parents are dead?
"You and I couldn't possibly share the same father."
As everyone held their breaths, wondering if they could safely get up and leave the siblings to their discussion, two things happened, Jess continued on as if she were speaking to a young ward, and Marco began to change and growl.
Marco's face had gone full wolf before Jess stopped and looked to him, his nails dug deeply into the table before him, as if he were trying to stop himself from lunging at his sister.
She looked him square in the eye and spoke honestly.
"What you plan is horrific. You are my brother and my Alpha, you destroy yourself and Silver Moon Pack with this. I will have no part in it."
She paused and sighed. "I will have no part in it and I will not speak a word to your mate. That is all I can give you brother."
She rose, turned her back to him, and walked from the room.
No one moved for long moments. Marco spoke, his face still in werewolf form, it came out like a snarling growl.
"You all… may… leave."
"Yes Alpha." They all stood and spoke as one.
Marco set back, his form slowly moving back to his human state, his heart raced as anger continued to run through him like a rushing, dangerous, river.
But his sister had only reiterated that not everyone would be completely loyal.
He knew he could work around this.