Rex Pov
Blood covered my hands.
I looked down at them in horror. They were dripping red.
"No, no, no," I whispered.
Then I looked up and saw Urdon lying on the ground in front of me. His throat was slit. His eyes were open but empty and dead.
I'd killed him.
I'd actually killed him.
"Good boy," Yolande's voice purred in my head. "That's exactly what I wanted."
I woke up screaming.
My sheets were tangled around my legs, and my whole body was shaking. Sweat soaked through my shirt. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might explode.
Just a dream. It was just a dream.
But it felt so real. I could still feel the knife in my hand, still smell the copper scent of blood. Could still see Urdon's face going pale.
"Not yet," Yolande whispered. "But soon."
I pressed my hands over my ears like that would block her out. It never worked; she was inside my head. Part of me now.
"Get out," I choked out. "Please just get out of me."
"Never."
I stumbled out of bed and splashed water on my face from the basin. When I looked in the mirror, I barely recognized myself anymore. My eyes had dark shadows under them, and my face was gaunt. I looked sick and dying.
Maybe I was dying. Maybe she was killing me from the inside out.
The dreams were getting worse every night. At first, it was just violent thoughts, then violent images. Now they were full dreams where I acted out killing Urdon in graphic detail.
And the worst part? Waking up felt worse than sleeping.
Because when I was asleep, I could blame the dreams on her. But when I was awake, I had to face the truth that part of me wanted it. Part of me agreed with her.
Urdon had been distant lately and cold. He dismissed my concerns, and he ignored my advice. He treated me like I was nothing more than a tool.
Maybe he did deserve to suffer a little.
No. No, that wasn't me thinking. That was her.
But how could I tell the difference anymore? Where did Rex end and Yolande begin?
I got dressed quickly and left my room. I needed to find Kyran. He was the only one who understood what was happening to me. The only one who could help.
I found him in the training yard watching some of the younger wolves practice their fighting forms. He saw me coming, and his expression tightened.
"Rex," he said quietly. "You look terrible."
"I need to talk to you."
"Not here." He glanced around at the other wolves. "Follow me."
We walked into the forest away from the pack house. When we were far enough that no one could hear us, Kyran stopped and turned to face me.
"Tell me," he said simply.
So I did. I told him about last night's dream, about how real it felt. About how I woke up with my hands reaching for a knife that wasn't there.
"She's getting stronger," I whispered. "I can feel her taking over more each day. Soon there won't be anything left of me."
Kyran rubbed his jaw. "I did the spiritual walk as I promised."
"And?"
"And I found her. Yolande, she's really Rex. She's been planning this for a hundred years."
Something twisted in my gut. "What does she want?"
"Revenge. She wants to kill Urdon and destroy his bloodline. She wants to make the pack suffer the way she suffered." He paused. "And she's using you to do it."
"I know." My voice cracked. "I've been trying to fight her, but I'm losing. Every day, she gets louder. Every day I feel more like her than me."
"There has to be a way to stop her."
"I don't think there is." I sat down on a fallen log and put my head in my hands. "She's too strong. She's had a hundred years to build up her rage. How am I supposed to fight that?"
Kyran was quiet for a long moment. Then he sat down next to me.
"What if you don't fight her?" he said slowly.
I looked up at him. "What?"
"What if instead of fighting her, you accept her? Let her think she's won. Then, when she's not expecting it, you take control back."
"That's insane."
"Maybe." He shrugged. "But fighting her head-on isn't working. She's stronger than you, Rex. You need to be smarter than her."
I thought about it. Could that actually work? Could I pretend to give in and then somehow turn the tables?
"I don't know if I can do that," I admitted. "What if I give in and can't come back?"
"Then I'll bring you back."
"How?"
"I don't know yet." He stood up. "But I'm working on it. I'm researching everything I can about spiritual possession and generational curses. There has to be something in the old texts that can help us."
"What about Urdon? Shouldn't we warn him?"
Kyran's expression darkened. "I've been thinking about that too."
"And?"
"And I'm not sure we should."
I stared at him. "What are you talking about? He's in danger. We have to tell him."
"If we tell him, what do you think will happen?" Kyran asked. "He'll either lock you up or exile you. He won't believe that you're being possessed. He'll just think you're planning to betray him."
"But I'm not."
"I know that, but Urdon doesn't. He's already suspicious of everyone lately. If we go to him with this story, he'll see it as a threat."
I knew he was right, but I hated it. "So what do we do?"
"We handle it ourselves." Kyran met my eyes. "We find a way to break the possession before she can use you to hurt anyone. We keep you away from Urdon as much as possible. And we pray that we can solve this before it's too late."
"What if it's already too late?"
"It's not." His voice was firm. "I won't let it be."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust that there was still a way out of this. But deep down, I knew the truth.
Yolande was winning. She'd been winning from the start.
The next few days blurred together. I avoided Urdon as much as I could. Made excuses not to attend meetings. Stayed away from the pack house.
But the dreams kept coming.
Every night, I killed him in a new way. Stabbed him. Strangled him. Poisoned him. Pushed him off a cliff.
And every morning I woke up feeling less like myself.
Yolande's voice was constant now. She narrated my entire day. Told me what to think. What to say. What to do.
I was becoming a puppet. And she was pulling the strings.
One night, I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep when I heard footsteps outside my door. Then a knock.
"Rex?" It was Kyran's voice. "Let me in."
I got up and opened the door. Kyran looked worried.
"I found something," he said quickly. "In the old texts. There might be a way to break the possession, but it's dangerous."
"How dangerous?"
"It could kill you."
I laughed bitterly. "At this point, that might be better than the alternative."
"Don't say that." He grabbed my shoulders. "We're going to fix this, Rex. I promise."
"You can't promise that."
"I can try."
I looked at him. Really looked at him. Kyran had been my friend for years. He'd stood by me through everything. And now he was risking his own life to save mine.
"Why are you helping me?" I asked quietly.
"Because you're my packmate. My friend." He let go of my shoulders. "And because what's happening to you isn't your fault."
"But what if I can't be saved? What if she's too strong?"
"Then we'll deal with that when we get there." He turned to leave. "But right now I need you to hold on. Can you do that?"
I nodded even though I wasn't sure.
After he left, I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at the wall. Yolande was unusually quiet. Like she was waiting for something.
"What are you planning?" I asked her silently.
"You'll see soon enough."
That's when I realized she wasn't just planning to kill Urdon. She was planning something bigger and worse.
And I was running out of time to stop her.
The next morning, I went looking for Kyran again. I found him in his room surrounded by old books and papers.
"I can't do this anymore," I said from the doorway.
He looked up. "Can't do what?"
"Fight her or pretend." My hands were shaking. "If you don't stop me, I will kill him."