### Chapter Thirty-One – A Brother’s Shadow ###(Bruno POV)The moon hung low, fogs that painted the forest silver. Bruno stood on the ridge, cloak drawn around his shoulders, eyes scanning the distant horizon where the city lights flickered faintly like dying stars.His chest rose and fell with slow, deliberate breaths. He could hear the forest around him—the rabbits in haste through underbrush, the rustle of branches, the heartbeat of a fox far below. All of it should have calmed him. But it didn’t.Not tonight.Because tonight, his thoughts were with someone else.Bryan.The name burned in his chest like a brand.For years, he had believed his twin gone—burned away in fire, swallowed by the chaos that destroyed their family. Lord Pheles had told him otherwise, yes, but even then… even knowing his uncle’s words rarely bent toward falsehood, Bruno hadn’t dared hope. Hope was dangerous. It left wounds deeper than claws.And yet—He had seen him. Not long ago, in the chaos of battle, t

### Chapter Thirty-Three – Shadows of a Brother ###Bruno rarely let his emotions surface. In this world, emotions were weaknesses—daggers pressed against one’s own throat, waiting for an enemy to twist them deeper. That was something he had learned the hard way, abandoned in the cracks of survival, forgotten by the very bloodline that should have protected him.And yet…Standing in the woods that night, seeing Bryan alive, standing before him with the same reckless grin that had carried them through childhood, Bruno’s carefully built walls had trembled.He hadn’t shown it, of course. He never would. His pride wouldn’t allow it. But inside, the sight of Bryan had struck him like a lightning bolt.How?How had he survived?Bruno’s memories came like broken pieces of glass. Their mother’s last days. The chaos that Amark’s rage had unleashed. The nights when Bruno believed his entire family had been erased from the earth. He had mourned them, carried that weight in silence, hardened hims

### Chapter Thirty-Five – The Betrayer’s Burden ###(Phele's POV)Lord Pheles stood on the ridge overlooking the city. The skyline of Chicago flashed a light faintly against the bruised sky, but the beauty of it was wasted on him. His heart drummed in his chest, a rhythm that even centuries of discipline couldn’t steady.He felt it—like thunder crawling beneath the earth.Amark was stirring.The chains Owen had locked him with long ago no longer bound him.The Alpha was coming.Pheles’s golden eyes narrowed against the biting wind. He had known this day would arrive, but not so soon. Not with the boys—his nephews—still unprepared, still stumbling through the dark truths of their blood.He pulled his cloak tighter and vanished into the shadows. His destination was clear.---The hunter compound reeked of silver, smoke, and tension. Guards patrolled the walls, rifles strapped to their backs, their eyes sharp with paranoia. Pheles slipped through their defenses like mist. No silver bulle

### Chapter Thirty-Seven – The Burden of Command ###(Owen POV)Owen stood in the shadow of the hunter compound’s war hall, staring at the screens where chaos unfolded across the city. The streets burned. Wolves walked on rooftops in a predatory manner, leaping from flame to flame, while humans ran like frightened cattle. Every second, another scream cut the night.He gripped his rifle, loading a fresh cartridge into the chamber with a metallic click. The weapon gleamed faintly under the harsh light—custom built, designed not just to wound but to cripple wolves with chemical suppressants. He had carried it through a hundred hunts, but tonight, it felt heavier than ever.Behind him, Bryan and Bruno prepared in their own ways. Bryan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his trademark smug grin tugging at his lips despite the chaos. Bruno sat sharpening his blade, his movements calm and precise, but Owen saw the tightness in his jaw, the way his eyes lingered too long on the battlefield

### Chapter Thirty-Nine – The Streets of Fire ###The world burned.Skyscrapers cracked under the tremors from the titans dueling in the distance. Every time Amark and Pheles collided, shockwaves rattled the city, toppling cars and splitting pavement. Sirens wailed uselessly in the chaos.But here, on the streets of Chicago, the true nightmare was in motion.Wolves poured in from every direction—omegas, feral and bloodthirsty, tearing into hunters and civilians alike. Their glowing eyes darted through smoke and fire, their snarls ripping through the night. The hunters fought back, guns roaring, silver blades flashing, but the flood seemed endless.Bryan stood in the middle of it all, chest heaving, fists bruised and bloodied, his clothes torn from earlier wounds. Beside him, Mayer barked orders, her voice sharp and commanding over the chaos. Bruno stood at her other side, calm but cold, his every movement precise, like he’d been waiting years for this.For the first time, the three of