Dawn broke over Beacon Hills with a pressure that seeped into the bones of every supernatural creature. Scott McCall woke abruptly, chest tight. Lydia Martin froze mid-step, a tension blooming behind her eyes. Deaton paused at the entrance of the clinic as every animal inside stirred anxiously.
None of them knew why.
But fifty Alphas standing in one place was enough to distort the air itself.
Deep in the preserve, a massive clearing thrummed with dominance.
Alphas formed a wide circle. Seconds and personal druids stood behind them. No one relaxed. No one breathed wrong. Power gathered like a storm behind the clouds.
Ronan entered with Colton and Hailey behind him.
His presence shifted the atmosphere immediately.
Alphas turned.
Eyes narrowed.
Whispers rippled outward.
"That's Texas."
"The ritual survivor."
"Crowe's going after him."
"He doesn't look tense."
Ronan ignored them and stepped into place. His human eyes—cold blue-green, sharp like Klaus Mikaelson's—swept the clearing, but he gave no readable expression.
Moments later, the Council Chairs arrived:
Dorian Hale of Virginia,
Marisol Vega of Florida,
Eleanor Rourke of Illinois,
Kazuo Mori of Hawaii,
Gunther Blackwell of Montana.
Powerful Alphas.
Supernatural and therefore unable to interact with mountain ash.
Behind them, the Council Druid approached with a bone-white staff etched in ancient runes.
He lifted it.
The forest fell silent.
"We begin with roll call."
He struck the staff once.
"Alabama."
"Present."
"Alaska."
"Present."
"Arizona."
"Present."
"Arkansas."
"Present."
"California."
"Present."
The Druid continued quietly through the other states, each Alpha answering in turn. Forty… forty-five… forty-eight…
"Texas."
Ronan answered calmly, "Present."
"New Mexico."
Crowe's voice cut through the air. "Present."
The Druid struck the ground.
"All fifty Alphas stand. The Circle is complete."
Miles away, Scott pressed a hand to his chest. Lydia inhaled sharply. Stiles nearly tripped as dread climbed his spine.
They felt the pressure—
they just didn't know its source.
Marisol Vega stepped forward. "Before matters of law or territory, grievances must be spoken."
Eleanor Rourke added, "Those with grievance may step forward now."
Kazuo Mori finished, "Grievance must be answered."
The Druid tapped his staff. "Speak."
Silence.
Then a footstep.
Elias Crowe stepped forward, red eyes burning.
"Alpha Vael."
Ronan's cold blue-green human eyes met his. "Speak."
Crowe pointed. "You crossed my border. You humiliated me. You weakened my pack. Therefore, I issue grievance and formal challenge—for the state of Texas."
Gasps echoed.
"He's insane."
"He'll die."
"He wants Texas?"
The Druid restored silence.
"Alpha Vael. Do you accept?"
"I accept."
Crowe smiled viciously.
Druids stepped forward with bowls of mountain ash. Ronan and Crowe moved into the center of the clearing. Only once both were inside did the druids begin pouring the ash, creating a thick, perfect circle.
When the circle closed, the barrier activated.
A surge of pressure rippled outward.
Colton stopped short. "It's sealed."
Hailey nodded. "Real mountain ash. Only a human druid could break it—and no one is stupid enough to."
Inside the sealed ring, Ronan and Crowe faced each other.
Ronan's human eyes—blue-green, piercing—locked onto Crowe's red.
The Druid raised his staff.
"By ancient law—until submission or death."
He struck the ground.
"Begin."
Crowe lunged instantly.
His claws tore open Ronan's ribs. Ronan moved to block but his body lagged—poison dragging through his system.
Crowe grinned. "Slow today, Vael?"
He struck again—an elbow to the jaw, a claw across the shoulder, a kick to the side. Ronan blocked some blows, but always a fraction too slow.
Crowe laughed. "All that legend. All that power. This is what Texas really is?"
Ronan's breath thickened. His vision dimmed at the edges. His muscles felt heavy. The poison dug deeper.
Crowe slammed him to the ground.
Hailey moved instinctively before Colton grabbed her arm. "You cross that line, he loses."
Crowe raised his claws high. "Goodbye, Tex—"
He struck down—
Ronan caught his wrist.
A thunder-crack impact shook the clearing.
Crowe froze.
Ronan rose slowly, his human blue-green eyes bleeding into Alpha Red—sharp, predatory, luminous.
Then something deeper awakened.
Red burned to white.
Ronan's Reaver Form surged forth—white eyes glowing like blinding fire, muscles tightening, claws lengthening into obsidian-black razors.
Crowe stumbled back in terror. "No—NO—this isn't possible—you were dying!"
Ronan stepped forward with cold precision.
Crowe swung wildly. Ronan blocked it with one hand and twisted. Crowe's wrist snapped loudly.
He screamed.
Ronan grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into a tree hard enough to crack it.
Crowe coughed blood, panicked. "I—I poisoned you! Before sunrise! You were supposed to be weak!"
Gasps tore through the clearing. Even the Chairs reacted.
Crowe flailed desperately. "Wait—just—just list—"
He never finished.
Ronan didn't allow him the chance to submit. He drove his claws into Crowe's chest in one swift, fatal motion. Crowe convulsed once, then collapsed as Ronan pulled his hand free.
He died without speaking another word.
The barrier broke as the Druid approached.
"Elias Crowe is dead."
He raised his staff again.
"By rite of challenge… Texas claims New Mexico."
Shock rippled through the Alphas.
"He killed him cleanly—"
"He survived poison—"
"Texas rules two states—"
"The first in a century—"
Ronan stepped out of the circle. The white drained from his eyes, returning them to the steady, sharp Alpha Red.
Colton whispered, "Alpha…"
Hailey breathed, "Everything changes."
Ronan didn't speak.
He didn't have to.
The entire supernatural hierarchy had shifted.
And every Alpha knew it.