The night after the council stretched longer than most, silence settling over the valley like an omen. Fires burned low, warriors slumbered uneasily, but Kael did not rest. He stood at the edge of camp with Liora close beside him, watching the horizon where darkness still pulsed faintly beyond the ridges. The void had retreated, but not fallen. He could feel it, patient, waiting. His bond to it made him its unwilling sentinel. Even as Alpha of Alphas, he would never be freeWhen dawn came, the fragile alliance faced its first test. Scouts returned breathless, bearing news of a raiding party that had slipped past the southern watch. The voidspawn had scattered after their master fell, but fragments of them lingered hungry, directionless, yet dangerous. Several packs lost hunting parties in the night, their blood staining the snow where the creatures struck. The wounds of battle had not even healed, and already new threats clawed at their unityKael summoned the Alphas at sunrise, their

The camp bore scars that no dawn could soften. Smoke curled faintly from blackened earth where fires had raged, and the stench of blood clung stubbornly to the air. Wolves moved quietly, their usual camaraderie replaced by wary silence. They worked to clear the battlefield, piling the dead, patching wounds, tending to shattered tents, but their eyes betrayed the deeper wounds that no healer could mend. Trust had bled out into the soilKael stood apart from them, watching the work with arms crossed, his jaw clenched. His body ached from the battle, every muscle heavy, yet his spirit weighed more. He had faced the Western Alpha and ended him, but in that victory, something fragile had been broken. He saw it in the way wolves avoided his gaze, in the whispers that died when he passed, in the shadows of fear that clung to their shoulders. He had silenced rebellion, but he could not silence doubtLiora approached quietly, her face lined with exhaustion. She touched his arm, grounding him.

The night had barely settled after the Rite when the storm broke.The howls of victory had not yet faded from the valley when a scout stumbled into camp, his fur matted with blood, his eyes wide with terror. He collapsed at the edge of the council fire, gasping out broken words. “They… they’re coming… the void beasts… an army larger than any before less than a league away”The celebration turned to silence, then to chaos. Wolves scrambled to their feet, hands reaching for weapons, warriors rushing to assemble. The Alphas, still raw from the bond, felt the panic ripple through their linked souls. For the first time, they shared not just command but fear. And Kael felt it all like fire in his veinsHe stepped forward, his voice slicing through the noise. “To the field. Now!”No one hesitated. The bond held them fast. Orders carried faster than speech each Alpha felt his intent, and their packs moved as one. It was a strange, unnerving thing, but powerful. Where before each pack moved to

The world narrowed to the hill of corpses, where two forces of will clashed with the fury of gods. Every strike between Elara and Darius sent shockwaves through the battlefield, rattling the bones of those who fought below. The earth split beneath their feet, stones cracking, dirt exploding into the air.Elara’s claws tore through the air in blinding arcs, each one trailing ribbons of Void energy that crackled with raw, destructive power. Darius met them with brutal strength, his blackened claws glowing faintly with the runes etched into his armor. He fought like a storm given flesh, his movements precise and devastating, every blow meant to crush her into the dirt.Their clash was not just steel against claw it was dominance against defiance, a battle of souls. Elara could feel the crushing weight of his aura pressing down on her, trying to force her knees to buckle, to make her crawl. But she had crawled enough in her life. Tonight, she stood.He lunged, his claws slashing at her c

The night stretched long after the battle, but the wolves did not rest. Fires were lit across the valley, their glow illuminating the grim work of the survivors. Bodies were laid in rows, both friend and foe, their blood mingling with the soil they had fought upon. The stench of iron clung to the air, heavy and suffocating, but no one complained. Grief was silent, patient, wrapping its claws around the pack as they worked.Elara moved among them, her body weary but her steps unbroken. Her presence was both a comfort and a burden the wolves looked to her not only for orders but for strength. Each gaze felt like another weight pressing on her shoulders, another soul demanding answers she did not have.Kael shadowed her, his golden eyes constantly scanning her face. He had seen the toll, the way her claws still trembled when she thought no one was watching, the faint pulse of black that lingered in her veins before fading back beneath her skin. She was holding it in, holding it back, bu