Page 31 of Bully Alpha's Secret Baby

The injured shifter on the ground groans, and his body slowly shifts back to human form. He’s clutching his side where blood drips through his fingers, but he’s alive. Barely. It’s something, at least.

“We stopped it this time,” I say, though the words feel hollow. There’s no satisfaction in this. Not when the threat still lingers in the shadows, waiting for its next chance.

“They’re out there,” Damien declares. “And next time, we won’t just stop the attack. We’ll catch them.”

He says it like a promise, and I hope to hell he’s right. Because something tells me this isn’t the last time we’ll be facing whatever’s out there.

Chapter 11 - Damien

The moment we step onto the scene, the smell of death barrels into me. Blood, iron, and something else—something darker and more sinister—hang in the air.

I force myself to breathe through it, to push past the instinct to wrinkle my nose and gag. This isn’t the first time I’ve walked into something like this, but it never gets easier. Especially not now, with Jade and Gray flanking me, both of them on edge.

Gray takes the lead, naturally. His territory, his pack, his problem. That’s how he sees it, anyway, even though we all know this is a hell of a lot bigger than his little patch of Red Arrow land.

“Over here,” Gray says, his voice low and gravelly. He doesn’t look at either of us as he moves toward the spot where the last body was found. His shoulders are rigid, and I can see the strain in his jaw as he tries to keep his emotions in check. Gray may be a hardass, but even he’s rattled by this. Who wouldn’t be? His pack is under attack, and there’s no clear enemy to fight.

Jade follows, but she’s been silent and withdrawn. She hasn’t said much since the vision hit her back in the woods, but I can feel the weight of her thoughts. The tension inside her is like a live wire, and I can’t blame her. Hell, I’d be overwhelmed, too, if I were in her shoes.

But this is the part where I need to keep my cool. For her. For the pack.

As we approach the murder site, the scene is even worse than I expected. There’s blood on the ground, dark and sticky, staining the earth like a bad memory that won’t fade. But it’smore than that. The whole area feels wrong, like the air is heavier here, charged with something unnatural.

Jade kneels beside the spot, and her eyes scan the ground. “There’s something here,” she mutters, barely loud enough for me to hear. Her fingers brush the dirt, and I can see the way her face tightens as she feels it, whatever it is.

Gray tromps forward to get a better look. “What is it? Magic?” He says it like the word leaves a bad taste in his mouth. Typical. For a guy who’s used to leading a pack of shifters, you’d think he’d have gotten over his hang-ups about witches by now. But nope. Old prejudices die hard, especially with someone like him. Guess I can’t really talk, but at least I’m trying.

Jade scrunches her nose. “I’m not sure. But there’s definitely something dark here. This isn’t just an ordinary attack.”

Gray scoffs. “Of course it’s not ordinary. It’s a murder. But are you telling me there’s magic involved?”

“I’m telling you there’s something here that shouldn’t be,” Jade snaps, getting to her feet. “Something dangerous. If you think this is just a rogue shifter gone bad, you’re wrong.”

I step between them, raising a hand before Gray can fire back. “Enough. We’re not going to solve anything by arguing.”

Gray glares at me, but he backs off, pressing his lips into a thin line. “Fine. But I want answers. And I want them now.”

I glance at Jade, whose face is pale. Her brows are furrowed in concentration as she tries to piece together what she’s feeling. I don’t push her. I know she’ll tell me when she’s ready.

We continue searching the area, and it doesn’t take long before Jade tenses. Her eyes widen as she turns toward me and says, “Damien… over there.”

I follow her gaze to a cluster of trees near the edge of the clearing. There’s something strange about the way the shadows cling to that spot, like they’re thicker and darker than they should be. My gut clenches, and I move toward it with Jade and Gray close behind.

As I get closer, I feel it, too. It’s subtle at first, like a faint vibration under my skin, but it grows stronger the nearer I get. There’s a darkness here, something that doesn’t belong. I’ve felt it before, back when we were dealing with rogue witches years ago. It’s the same but different. More intense.

I stop in front of the trees and stuff my hands into my pockets. “There’s something here,” I grumble as I crouch down.

Jade kneels beside me and runs her fingers over the dirt again. This time, I see it: faint markings, barely visible in the soft earth. Symbols, maybe. Whatever they are, they’re not natural.

“Shit,” I mutter under my breath. “What the hell is this?”

“It’s not good. These symbols… they’re part of a ritual. Dark magic.”

“A ritual?” Gary questions. “Are you saying a witch did this?”

“I’m saying someone is using magic to fuel these attacks. Whether it’s a witch or something else, I don’t know. But this isn’t just random violence.”

Gray’s face twists with anger, and he all but snarls, “So, you’re telling me that all this time, we’ve been hunting a ghost? A magical killer?”

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