-Jaden-

We stepped straight into madness when we left the Forest of the Dead. My heart froze in fear when I saw just how big our enemy was. The sky was infested with shadows, blocking the sun almost completely. It was dark, even though it was supposed to be a clear day by now.

But I could still see the corporal enemy on the hill that was looming up ahead, and the sheer size of it was what scared me the most. I could see dozens upon dozens of werewolves fighting against my pack and our allies. Thorns had their own allies, and it was clear that they were winning. The shadows were possessing everyone they could, ten of them against one of ours.

There was a group of men at the top of the hill, and I already knew who they were – the Shadow Walkers. I couldn't tell if there were ten or twenty of them, but the five Spirit Walkers we had were not enough. Not by far. How did the enemy get into the heart of our lands so fast was beyond me. They would soon be able to get into the catacombs if this continued.

I spotted my father's Betas trying to keep the enemy Betas at bay, but only a few seconds later, Ryder got possessed, then Ezra. I could feel Tilly close by, but she was in great pain already. And my parents... They were on that hill, swarmed by the enemy...

Our defeat was happening so easily it scared me to death. There was absolutely nothing we could do against them. Like a gang of grownups stealing candy from a single sleeping infant. All our efforts, all the allies we had made and all the preparations... futile. Completely futile.

Now I understood why even my own father was afraid of the Shadow Walkers.

I let out the loudest howl. I poured my heart and soul into it, trying to be as loud as possible to reach as far as I could. I wanted to be able to stop the battle. I could feel death all around me. I could feel my family and friends in great distress. But nothing changed. I couldn't stop it. No one paid any attention to me.

All I could do was hope that Selene was right... I was clinging onto her words because that was all the hope I had left.

"We need to stop this," Oliver said when my voice faded away under the loud growls, screams and yells.

I walked beside Oliver, making sure nothing would dare to even look at him as we walked up the pathway. So far, no one had noticed us yet, but soon, Oliver stopped. Our path was blocked.

By Arch.

"He's possessed," Oliver spoke quietly.

'I'll deal with that,' Cedric replied, and a second later, Arch fell by the impact. I saw a big, black cloud getting tossed out of his body, and it joined its kind in the sky. I could feel Arch's pain and I didn't need to smell the blood to know he was badly injured. Why was he even here? He had been poisoned and lost an arm!

"Rayleigh...!"

I looked up at the hill again and saw my father lying on the ground, and my mother trying to crawl her way to him, but she was stopped by Alpha Thorn himself.

'NO!' I let out another howl when Thorn bit his teeth into her neck. I was about to run straight into the battle to try to stop Thorn, but Oliver stopped me.

"ANTHONY!" he yelled.

Thorn let go of my mom and turned to look at us, and so did some of Shadow Walkers. Oliver started walking closer to them, so I followed him, trying my hardest to keep myself under control, no matter the pain in my heart and rage in my soul. At that moment, I wanted to kill.

As we got closer to the bottom of the hill, we were getting surrounded by the enemy. Not a single standing ally at sight. They were all possessed or too badly injured...

"And who are you?" a short, balding man asked, looking down at us with disgust. The thing that was truly disgusting was the fact that he looked a lot like Oliver, but I couldn't see a hint of his kindness in him.

"I am Oliver Attwood," he spoke. "Son of the man you murdered. Your own brother," Oliver spoke with hate in his voice.

"A mere bastard," Anthony scoffed. "A useless orphan who can't control his own powers. What do you want?"

We were now surrounded by all sides. Even the shadows were gathering around above us. The only sounds I could hear were the silent whimpers of those who were injured, and desperate growls of those who were still trying to fight back against the shadows who were possessing them.

"I want you gone," Oliver said shortly.

Anthony started laughing, but it was just as dry as he looked. "Oh really? And how are you going to do that?"

"With ease," Oliver replied darkly.

"All by yourself?" Anthony chuckled. "Gregor – come here!"

My heart sank even lower if it was possible when a big, white wolf appeared next to him.

"Tilly..." Oliver breathed out when she let out an angry growl, setting her eyes at us.

"Werewolves aren't easy to possess, but it is doable with strong shadows," Anthony said, patting Tilly's head, making me want to vomit. "Gregor here is almost as old as Henry, and nearly as vicious as well. I have hundreds of them on my side – my last visit here taught me a lot of good lessons, and this time I came prepared."

I could feel Tilly's helpless cries in my soul... My entire body was shaking in anger while I tried to stay put and not do anything stupid.

"And you're still not good enough," Oliver said so confidently it scared me.

"How so?" his uncle asked, taking a few steps closer to us.

"Because I came prepared as well," Oliver said, putting his hand in his pocket.

"I'm getting bored. Henry? Please deal with that rat."

'Gladly,' a shadow that appeared right next to him replied, but before anyone could move a muscle, Oliver pulled out the portal that we stole from the catacombs before coming here.

"Is this what you're looking for?" he asked, lifting the portal up for everyone to see.

The entire hill fell silent, but then, Anthony started laughing. "Yes, it is indeed," he said, looking at Oliver in amusement. "I'd love to know why you thought it was a good idea to bring that to me, but I guess you're just as stupid as your father."

"Yeah, I guess I'm not smart at all," Oliver smirked. "Or maybe I have a plan? Who knows?"

"And what kind of plan do you have?" Anthony asked, sounding a bit suspicious.

"Well, right now it's a good way of keeping you all preoccupied for a moment," Oliver said, looking at the portal like he had no worries in the world. "It is pretty."

"I don't have time for playing around with a child!" Anthony suddenly yelled, losing his cool – I guess the fact that Oliver wasn't showing any fear was getting on his nerves. "If I had known you'd be stupid enough to bring that portal to me, I wouldn't have wasted my time killing your father's best friend, the rotten Alpha of this pathetic little pack!"

The last part was clearly meant to throw us out of balance.

Oliver gave him an apologetic grin. "Yeah... About that..."

"What?" Anthony scoffed, but I guess it was then that he finally heard the clinking sounds of metal chains, and sprung around to see what was going on.

Only to meet the eyes of my very, very, very angry mother. She was sitting next to my father in her human form, getting rid of the chains that were binding him to the ground. Her lips were pursed shut so tight they were completely white. She was practically breathing fire and staring daggers at Anthony and Thorn. She was ready to kill them for what they did to her mate.

"Did you know that the first werewolf Alpha had the ability to heal his allies only by the sound of his howl?" Oliver asked with an innocent voice. The entire dumbfounded enemy turned to look at him in shock. "I mean, I had no idea," Oliver continued, "Not until my mate was gifted with that power."

"No..." Thorn breathed out when I started howling again. He turned to look back just in time to see my mom taking the last chain off my father's neck.

I swear the ground shook under his weight when my father got up on his feet, shaking his body to get rid of the snow. Then, he turned his eyes at Thorn, letting out a deep, furious growl while my mother joined his side in her wolf form.

"Yeah – I can see how this might ruin their day for good," Oliver said, watching our already defeated pack getting slowly back up on their feet.

"It doesn't matter!" Anthony yelled in fury, spitting the words out. "We have most of them possessed by now! I'll just possess the rest of them!"

"You could try," Oliver snorted, throwing the portal up in the air and then catching it.

"Henry! Get that portal, now!" Anthony screeched, and the shadow launched at Oliver, who didn't move a muscle.

"Oliver! No!" I could hear Mrs. Bundt somewhere close by, and I saw a glimpse of her trying to get to us, but Henry was much faster than her.

Cedric tried to stop it, but Henry managed to dodge him, and he flew straight into Oliver, but as soon as it touched him, I could hear his painful scream. It was cut short like something had swallowed it, and I could see a cloud of dark dust coming out of Oliver only half a second later, vanishing in the wind. Oliver didn't even blink as he kept smiling at his uncle.

"He... He... killed it...?" one of the Shadow Walkers spoke with wide eyes.

I looked up at Oliver, seeing how his left eye turned white, and the right one black.

"He has the Echo of Hades!!"

Oliver started laughing when the panic took over the people on the hill.

"Kill him! Kill him now!" Anthony yelled over the chaos when the battle continued with full force.

I got ready to defend Oliver when the enemy launched their attack at us, knowing I couldn't hold them off for long, but it turned out I wasn't alone. Arch stepped next to me, his wolf much bigger than before. And he had all his four legs now. Annabelle and another guardian came to help Cedric to keep the shadows at bay, but there were too many for even the three of them to handle.

"Get the portal before he can use it!" I heard Anthony yelling again, but when I turned to look at him, he was gone.

"This?" Oliver yelled at his uncle, who appeared out of the shadows right in front of us with a couple of his friends. I was surprised that he was engaging in the battle – I thought he was too much of a coward to fight, but I guess getting the portal was important enough for him.

"Give me that!" Anthony spoke behind gritted teeth, taking a step closer.

"Okay," Olive smiled and to my horror, handed the portal towards him. But just when Anthony's fingers touched it, the portal exploded, covering us all in fine dust.

"Whoops," Oliver chuckled.

Anthony stared at him for a brief second. "Do you think I care?! All I have to do is kill you and the Echo is mine!"

Arch and I stepped forward, forcing them all to back off, but we were now completely surrounded with almost no room to move. Our possessed people stood beside the enemy, looking for an opening to attack, and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before they found the courage to challenge us.

"Kill me?" Oliver asked, his both eyes now black and there was something in his voice that didn't belong to him. "A god?"

Anthony's eyes shot wide open when Oliver balled his hands into fists and stomped the ground, sending an invisible shockwave through the air. The shadows that got caught in it exploded, leaving my allies freed from their grasps. Anthony took a few steps back while they regained consciousness.

"How do you know how to use that power?" Anthony breathed out.

"I'm not alone," Oliver laughed, and this time it definitely wasn't his voice. It was dark and sinister, and for a moment, I couldn't recognize him as my mate. "He is whispering in my ear."

"Who is...?" Anthony mumbled.

"The King," Oliver said, reaching out with his hand like he was trying to take a hold of his uncle, but he was obviously too far away. But he grabbed something. Something I couldn't see. "You should see what I can see," Oliver continued. "The world is a net... Everything is connected to everything, even the realms have ties with each other, and I can see all of them."

"No..." Anthony muttered in horror. "I can't...."

"I can't use my powers!" one of his friends shrieked.

"We're pinned on this realm!"

"See these?" Oliver asked, looking at his fist. "Oh, right, you can't... These are your pathetic ties with the shadow realm. So fragile..."

I was so caught up with staring at him that I hardly saw what was going on around us. It wasn't until the world around us turned much darker that I finally looked up, and saw hundreds of shadows spiraling around us like a lazy tornado.

They were getting ready to attack Oliver all at once!

"I see them," Oliver told me calmly.

"You are not a god! You're still a mortal!" Anthony screeched. "KILL HIM!!"

Oliver shook his head in amusement and let go of whatever he had been holding onto. As the enemy werewolves and the shadows on the sky launched their attack, Oliver's eyes turned completely white.

"Fool..." he muttered and I was forced to look away when his entire body was surrounded by bright light. When I could finally look at him again, he was the bright light. He had turned into a spirit!

The look on Anthony's face was priceless when he finally started to understand that the balance in this war had tipped massively in our favor.

"I'm done with you," Oliver spoke, turning his back on all of us. I could only watch in awe when he spread his hands, looking up at the sky. The air far above us rippled for a brief moment, then exploded in white light, leaving a big hole behind. A hole into the Spirit Realm.

"Your turn, Selene," Oliver spoke quietly, and the tear between realms was suddenly lit up in golden light when hundreds of spirits invaded our realm. I saw our Goddess walking to the edge, peering into our world, giving us an approving smile. Hundreds and hundreds of spirits flew past her, coming down as a massive wave, hitting the shadows that were now retreating.

Oliver turned to look at his uncle again. "You shouldn't have returned," he spoke quietly.

"The Echo belongs to me!" Anthony yelled in his madness, trying to grab Oliver. I watched him falling right through Oliver without being able to even touch him. That was the moment his Shadow Walker friends decided to take a hike, and they were quickly followed by their werewolf allies, leaving poor Anthony all alone at our mercy.

"You know..." Oliver spoke, peering down at his uncle. "Now I'm mad at my father for getting killed by you. You're so pathetic."

Oliver landed right next to Anthony, turning back to human. He had such a cold expression on his face that it scared me. I couldn't stop thinking about what Gaea had said about the Echo.

It is a gift, and it's a curse, and the curse part seemed to be kicking in. I could feel his anger and hate, and it was only growing worse.

I turned back into my human form and grabbed Oliver's hand before he could do anything stupid. He looked like he was about to murder the last member of his family, and no matter how much I hated his uncle, I didn't want Oliver to lose his innocence. Murder would definitely leave marks.

"Let's not waste more time on him – we need to go help the others. The Spirit Walkers can deal with him," I told him, but Oliver didn't seem to be listening. "Ollie?"

"You killed my father," Oliver spoke to Anthony with a hateful voice.

Anthony tried to get up, but Arch let out a massive growl, flashing his teeth at the man.

"He deserved it," Anthony spat at Oliver. "That coward wasn't good enough to be Attwood!"

"He didn't want to be Attwood!" Oliver yelled, finally losing his calm. "And once you're gone, there are no more Attwoods left!"

"Oliver, stop!" I said, trying to pull him away, but he suddenly turned into a shadow, making me lose my grip. "Don't do it!"

Anthony laughed. "There will be one left after me."

"Who?!"

"You," Anthony chuckled. "Did you know that only those who have darkness in their heart can control the Echo of Hades? You truly are Attwood."

I stepped in front of Oliver, trying to gain his attention. "You need to stop this. There's nothing he can do. His allies are gone or getting their assess kicked. Let the other Spirit Walkers deal with him."

Without listening to me, Oliver raised his hand, grabbed something I couldn't see, and yanked it hard. Anthony screamed in agony, curling up to an ugly, sobbing ball at our feet. Oliver then turned back to human and glared at his uncle.

"Now there's nothing he can do," he said, turning his back on all of us and started marching away.

I turned to look after him. Cedric came to my side, looking just as worried as I felt.

'He can barely control the Echo,' he said.

"I can't wait to get that thing out of him," I muttered back, watching how Oliver incinerated a bunch of shadows who still tried to attack him.

'Same,' Cedric sighed. 'I don't like it at all.'

Anthony started laughing again, and we turned to look at him.

"What are you laughing about?" I hissed at him.

"You idiots let the King out without reading the fine print?" he coughed in amusement.

"What fine print?" I growled.

"Hades was locked up because his spirit was corrupted by evil," Anthony muttered. "He was the first Shadow Walker. He created the shadow realm. And now my nephew has a part of his soul in him."

"So what?" I asked, getting frustrated and scared of his good mood.

"The King is free," he repeated, sitting upwards. "My work here is done."