The sharp tip of the knife pressed into my neck, just enough to break the skin. Warm blood trickled down my collarbone, but I did not flinch."One more step and I slit her throat," Victor said. His voice was tight, high-pitched with panic.Across the dimly lit warehouse, Julian stopped. His dark eyes locked onto mine first, checking the red line on my skin, before sliding over to Victor. The air in the room grew heavy. Julian did not look angry. He looked cold, like a man who had already decided how Victor was going to die."You are making a mistake, Victor," Julian said softly. He took off his black leather gloves, slowly pulling them from his fingers one by one. "You think holding Nora gives you leverage. It only guarantees you will not leave this room alive.""Shut up

The wall behind us gave way in a wall of fire, throwing us through the door of the loading dock. We hit the wet pavement of the narrow alley together, tumbling through broken glass and loose gravel.Above us, the roof of the warehouse caved in with a roar. Thick gray smoke filled the alley, blinding me and making my chest burn with every breath.I rolled onto my back, clutching Councilman Vance's ledger against my ribs like it was made of pure gold. My body ached, my left knee was throbbing, and blood mixed with soot ran down my forehead. But I was holding the evidence. Five years of waiting, surviving on scraps in the lower ring of the city, and playing dead, it was all in this stained notebook.In this city, power was divided by concrete walls and money. The lower ring was where street gangs and broken families st

The cold metal of the dagger pressed against my throat, and I didn't even blink.If there was one thing I learned after the System tore the old world apart, it was this: fear gets you killed faster than a monster's teeth. In the new world of Zindaba, power was the only currency that mattered. If you didn't have it, you were just food for the high-tier beasts or a stepping stone for the nobles."Give me the key, Amarachi," Tobenna said. His voice was steady, but I could hear the tiny tremor in his breath. He was nervous. Good. A nervous man makes mistakes."You really think you can take it from me?" I asked, looking him straight in the eyes. I didn't reach for my own blade. I didn't panic. I just let him see the complete lack of fear in my expression."I don't want to hur

The cut on my left hand was still bleeding, fresh red drops spilling over the fresh contract, but I couldn't care less about the pain.My father’s trade storehouses were currently burning to the ground. Every grain sack, every box of medical herbs, and every iron bar I needed to fulfill that blood contract was turning into ash right now at the Southern river gate."Who is leading them?" Alpha Ugochukwu demanded, his hand dropping straight to the heavy iron hilt of his broadsword. The calm composure he held seconds ago was gone, replaced by a cold, predatory focus.The young guard wiped sweat from his eyes, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. "It's... it's Lord Tobenna! He brought over fifty armored rogue warriors across the river border. They smashed through the wooden gate towers before our sentries could even sound the horn!"My head snapped up. Tobenna.In our world, the land was split between pack territories and rogue wasteland. The packs lived behind thick stone walls and str

The skull on the wooden staff seemed to stare directly into my face, but I did not lower Alpha Ugochukwu’s sword.In the werewolf territories, a challenge for pack leadership was sacred law. Once a member drew blood and called out the Alpha, no outsider had the right to step into the circle. But the man sitting on the shadow-beast did not care about pack laws. He was the Rogue King, the legendary warlord who ruled the lawless lands beyond the Southern river."I asked you to drop the sword," the Rogue King said. His voice was deep and steady, carrying through the quiet clearing like thunder. "Or do I have to cut off your arm first?"I adjusted my grip on the bloody leather hilt. My left palm was still bleeding from the blood contract I signed earlier, but I ignored the stinging pain. I had survived five years o