Chapter 363: _A SilverBorn First
Caroline’s POV
*****
"I’m no expert but I’m certain those are bad news..." She whispered, taking a few steps back as they watched the cocoons crack open.
The first cocoon to break erupted with more black mist until two clawed hands burst out, a ghastly screech echoing out of it.
"Failed experiments," Regina muttered, standing still despite the impending doom literally above their heads. "Those... Those are all artificial hybrids. But they’ve been—"
"Twisted into fucking monsters." Caroline completed her sentence as the first one finally broke the cocoon completely, falling to the ground.
The pair took more steps toward the cave’s entrance, staring back at the figure.
Tall, humanoid with claws longer than nails on each finger. He was naked, covered in black goo like a creature crawling out of the pits of hell.
But when his eyes opened wide, glinting with a cold red light, Caroline instantly knew they were staring at someone who had willingly let themselves turn into... Whatever the fuck this is.
"Caroline and Regina..." The monstrous hybrid grinned from ear to ear, his fangs oddly white. "The Lord warned us about his traitorous left hand. Nice to see you in the flesh."
As he spoke, more ghastly screams echoed off the cave walls in a distorted and repeated cacophony that only gave more unease to the only ghost present.
Caroline glanced at Regina who seemed unshaken.
"The Lord? Who’s that? Vishnu? Jesus?"
Laughter bled through the man’s lips like a curse. He slowly raised his right hand, the motion causing Caroline to tense up, her fists clenching as she tried thinking of a way out of this mess.
She was a ghost, and so far, the only abilities she seemed to have in this form were being able to phase through stuff and some limited form of teleportation.
All passive abilities that won’t be much use against an abomination defying the natural laws of magic.
"So this is the power you rejected?" The monstrous hybrid chuckled dryly, clenching and unclenching his fists slowly. "I can feel the magic coursing through my veins. When the Lord conquered our packs and offered power, I’ll admit I—"
Before he could finish his villain monologue, Regina made a swift movement, drawing out a dagger from her side pocket. She flung it at the man, but before it could hit his forehead, it stopped mid-air.
Telekinesis.
The man tilted his head slowly, scrutinising the silver blade of the dagger.
"All I and my brethren have to do to sustain this power..." he continued like nothing happened, twirling the fingers of his right hand like he was pulling at invisible strings.
"... Is take the life force of those beneath us. Those unworthy of the new order our Lord has planned out for this planet."
As he said those words, more cocoons began splitting open, leaking out black mist that lingered through the ceiling.
The screeches and roars heightened as more hybrids fell to the ground. One by one, their red eyes locked on Regina and Caroline through the dark, flickering with one desire:
Kill.
"We... We have to get out of here." Caroline grabbed Regina’s shoulder, trying to pull her toward the entrance with her.
She had considered staying back until the army showed up, but that was merely a pipe dream right now.
Right?
"We still need to wait for the others, remember?" Regina barely glanced over her shoulder, staying put.
Caroline’s eyes twitched. "You can’t use your magic without drawing the direct attention of you know who, remember?" She nearly snapped, staring anxiously at the increasing number of red eyes on the ground.
But to her surprise, Regina simply stretched out her hands, her claws unsheathing like swords.
"I was a wolf first before an artificial hybrid..." She blurted with a slight smirk curling up her lips, slowly turning to face Caroline.
Her dark eyes softened. "And you were a Silverborn before you became a ghost, Caroline. Who knows? That might be the explanation for why you can make yourself tangible."
Caroline’s brows furrowed, her mind sparking like she got an epiphany.
She was a Silver born first...
Before she could process those words and let them sink in, Regina snarled, her jaw shifting.
Fur grew out of her skin, dark purple and elongating alongside her limbs.
All it took was a few seconds for her to shift into a huge wolf with dark purple fur and pitch black eyes swirling like storm clouds. She didn’t look back, leaping at the monstrous hybrids.
The hybrids snarled as well, a few swinging their arms forward, sending fire spells at her.
Regina dodged most seamlessly, moving like she’d been shifting all her life even though this was the first time Caroline saw her wolf form.
After Marcellus, she almost thought shifting was forbidden for artificial hybrids or something.
Or maybe there was some kind of limitation?
Caroline didn’t have time to contemplate.
Before she could blink, multiple fireballs from the hybrids, which Regina dodged, ended up heading toward her.
Crap.
She placed her arms in front of her face, crouching to the ground and looking away.
All she could feel at that moment was a crippling sense of helplessness.
Here she was, talking about staying back on earth and now being nothing more than a background character.
’Goddess, please...’ she thought to herself, already expecting the flames to either phase past her or hit her.
But that didn’t happen...
BOOM!
A powerful explosion followed a gust of wind that hit her face and ruffled her hair, forcing her to open her eyes.
"What the..." One of the hybrids cursed out loud at the sight before them.
They all stopped fighting Regina who so far had successfully knocked down a few and was about to claw at one.
And Caroline?
Her ghostly body glowed with silver light, a rectangular force shield of the same colour standing like a sentinel in front of her.
The flames died down around the shield, letting her see the stunned expressions on the faces of the monstrous hybrids.
No... Freaking... Way...
Caroline raised her hands, staring at her glowing body and how it flickered between tangibility and intangibility.
Regina’s joyful howl snapped her back to reality before she could get carried away.
"Silver born!" The first hybrid to emerge hissed, pointing a finger at her. "Even in death? Even as a ghost? How is this—"
"Possible?" Caroline smirked, going with the flow of the moon energy flowing through her being. "I mean, if an ugly troll like yourself can exist... Doesn’t that make anything possible at this point?"
Truth is, she had no clue why this was happening.
Never in the history of Werewolves has a Silverborn died and come back as a ghost only to experience all these changes. Not that she was aware of anyway.
But it doesn’t matter.
All this meant she was finally capable of helping out here.
"It’s hundreds of us against the two of you anyway." The first hybrid spread out his arms as more howls and screeches tore through the cave like lightning. "We’ll still rip you to shreds, ghost or silver born. So instead of staying on the losing side... Why don’t you—"
"Fuck off." Caroline swiped her right hand forward, managing to get a hold of the moon energy well enough to send a powerful bolt of silver energy at the bastard.
The monstrous hybrid managed to create a force bubble of red energy around himself, shielding him from the brunt of the blast.
But Caroline was getting the hang of this newly found ability. Because it wasn’t ’newly found ’. Her Silverborn abilities worked in this ghost form the same way they did when she was alive.
And when she was alive, she was far from a pushover.
Caroline made a couple of hand gestures before raising her hands toward the ceiling.
That caused a powerful wall of silver energy, blazing like flames, to erupt from the ground, hitting the ceiling. The force was so great that the entire cave trembled, dust and stones falling like rain.
Things didn’t end there as the energy wall pushed forward like a tidal wave, sweeping what remained of the cocoons into ash while giving the hybrids on the ground a difficult time.
Many evaporated into ash as well, their pained screams rolling through the cave.
Regina sprinted back to Caroline’s side, still in her wolf form. She turned her eyes to her, giving a subtle nod.
They didn’t have to say anything.
Both knew this might very well be their final stand.
As the energy wall ravaged what was left of the unopened cocoons, Caroline prepared for the worst, her body glowing and her fingers sparkling.
Just when she braced for the next wave, the mountain itself seemed to roar.
A deep tremor reverberated beneath their feet, shaking the walls until the runes along the cave began flickering wildly. The hybrids froze, their snarls swallowed by the thunderous echo that followed.
Then came the sound — a thousand howls, unified and primal, rising from beyond the tunnel behind them.
Regina’s ears perked up, her wolf form turning toward the entrance just as the black door shattered inward.
Light — pure and blinding — flooded through like smoke.
Wolves surged in like a storm tide, claws tearing into the darkness, while witches chanted behind them, their spells weaving with colourful lights through the air.
At their head, Alpha King Kaelos himself charged forward, his aura blazing with silver fury.
Beside him, Luna Queen Janelle’s silver energy rippled like wildfire, Althea’s staff pulsing with blue light, and Thorian brought up the rear with his army, eyes locked on the chaos ahead.
Caroline’s lips parted, disbelief breaking into relief.
"They came," she whispered.
For the first time since they entered the mountain, the air didn’t feel suffocating — it hummed with hope.
And somewhere deep within the lair, Ryker surely felt it too.