*****
The hall erupted.
Wolves surged to their feet, shouting, panicking. Warriors reached for weapons that weren't there. Servants screamed and pushed toward the exits.
But Kael's voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"SILENCE."
His Alpha command crashed over the crowd like a physical force. Every wolf froze mid-motion, their voices dying in their throats.
Kael's eyes blazed as he turned to the bloodied warrior.
"Report. Now. How many? What pack?"
The warrior struggled to catch his breath. "We count at least three hundred wolves, my king. Maybe more. They're organized military formation. Led by" He swallowed hard. "Led by Alpha Cain Blackwater."
Murmurs rippled through the frozen crowd despite the command to stay silent.
Cain Blackwater. One of the three rival Alpha Kings.
Seraphine felt Kael's hand tighten around hers, his grip nearly crushing.
"What does Blackwater want?" Kael's voice was ice.
The warrior's gaze flicked to Seraphine, then back to Kael.
"He's demanding the pack surrender the Hidden Omega. Says if we hand her over peacefully, he'll withdraw. If not..." The warrior's face paled. "He'll take her by force. And burn Moonwalk territory to the ground in the process."
The hall exploded again—this time with rage, with fear, with accusations flying in every direction.
"This is her fault!"
"She brought war to our doorstep!"
"Give her to them!"
Marcellus's voice rose above the chaos. "You see, my king? This is exactly what we feared! She's a threat she's brought enemies directly to us!"
Vivienne stepped forward, her face twisted with hatred. "Surrender the omega and end this before our pack suffers!"
Other voices joined in, a growing chorus demanding Seraphine's head.
Kael's aura exploded outward.
The pressure was so intense that wolves throughout the hall dropped to their knees, gasping. Even the Council members staggered.
"Let me make something perfectly clear," Kael said, his voice deadly quiet but carrying to every corner of the hall. "No one touches her."
He pulled Seraphine closer, his arm wrapping around her waist possessively.
"Blackwater wants her? He can come and try to take her. Through me. Through my warriors. Through every wolf in this territory."
His eyes swept across the crowd, glowing bright silver.
"And he'll fail. Because she. Is. Mine."
Marcellus stepped forward despite the crushing aura. "My king, please see reason"
"The only thing I see," Kael interrupted coldly, "is that my Council wasted my time with this pathetic Inquiry while actual enemies gathered at my borders."
His gaze pinned Marcellus like an insect.
"If even one of my wolves dies tonight because you were too busy interrogating an innocent girl instead of monitoring our defenses, I will hold you personally responsible."
Marcellus went pale.
Kael turned to Darius. "Mobilize all warriors. Full defensive positions. I want every able-bodied fighter on the eastern border within ten minutes."
"Yes, my king." Darius was already moving, shouting orders.
Warriors throughout the hall scrambled into action.
Kael looked down at Seraphine, his expression fierce but his touch gentle as he cupped her face.
"You stay in my wing. Garrett will guard you with his life."
"No." The word escaped before she could stop it.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"They're here because of me." Her voice shook but held steady. "I won't hide while wolves die protecting me."
"You don't have a choice"
"Yes, I do."
Something flashed in her eyes that same spark of power from the training grounds.
"You taught me not to cower. You taught me to stand." She lifted her chin. "So I'm standing."
For a moment, Kael looked like he might throw her over his shoulder and lock her in his chambers himself.
Then his expression shifted into something fierce and almost proud.
"You stay behind me," he commanded. "You don't engage. You don't take risks. Understood?"
She nodded.
"Say it."
"I understand."
"Good."
He kissed her forehead quickly, then turned to the hall.
"Everyone else non-combatants to the safe shelters. Warriors, with me. Move!"
The hall emptied in controlled chaos as wolves scattered to their positions.
Thorne appeared at Kael's side. "My king, is this wise? Bringing her to the battlefield"
"She'll be safer where I can see her than anywhere else," Kael said flatly. "Blackwater wants her. If I leave her in the mansion, he'll send assassins while we're distracted at the border."
He was right. Seraphine realized it with cold clarity.
If Blackwater knew where she was, nowhere was safe except right beside the strongest wolf alive.
"Then I'll fight beside you," Thorne said, surprising them both.
Kael studied the elder wolf for a moment, then nodded. "Don't make me regret trusting you."
"You won't."
They ran through the forest, Kael's massive wolf form leading the charge.
Seraphine rode on Garrett's back the guard had shifted and insisted on carrying her since she couldn't keep pace with warrior wolves.
The sounds of battle reached them before they saw it.
Snarls. Howls. The terrible sound of flesh tearing.
They burst through the tree line into chaos.
The eastern border was a war zone.
Moonwalk warriors fought desperately against a sea of enemy wolves massive, organized, ruthless. The attackers wore red cloths tied around their forelegs. Blackwater's mark.
In the center of the enemy formation stood a wolf that dwarfed the others. Black as midnight with silver streaks along its spine, eyes burning gold.
Alpha Cain Blackwater.
Even in wolf form, his power was palpable.
Kael shifted mid-run, landing on two feet with his aura blazing.
"BLACKWATER!"
The roar carried across the battlefield.
Everything stopped.
Both armies froze as the two Alpha Kings faced each other across the blood-soaked ground.
The massive black wolf shifted, bones cracking and reforming.
Cain Blackwater stood tall and powerfully built, with sharp features and cold gold eyes. A cruel smile curved his lips.
"Kael Dreadmore," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "The legendary Ruthless King. I was beginning to think you'd cowered in your mansion."
"State your business," Kael commanded. "Before I rip your throat out."
Cain laughed a cold, hollow sound.
"My business is simple." His gaze shifted past Kael, landing directly on Seraphine.
She felt the weight of that stare like ice down her spine.
"The Hidden Omega," Cain said. "Hand her over, and my pack withdraws. No more bloodshed. No war."
"No."
Cain's smile widened. "I wasn't asking."
He gestured, and his wolves tensed, ready to attack.
"You see, Dreadmore, I know what she is. I know the prophecy. And I know that whoever controls her controls the future of every pack in existence."
His eyes glowed brighter.
"She's too valuable to leave in the hands of a king too blinded by obsession to see what she truly is."
"And what is she?" Kael's voice was deadly quiet.
"The key to everything." Cain took a step forward. "With her power, I can bend every Alpha King to my will. Create an empire. End centuries of territorial squabbling."
He extended his hand toward Seraphine.
"Come, omega. Willingly, and I'll spare your precious king's life."
Seraphine's hands clenched into fists. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
Cain's expression darkened. "That wasn't a request."
His aura slammed outward not at Kael, but directly at Seraphine.
The pressure was immense, suffocating, designed to bring her to her knees and force her body to obey against her will.
Seraphine gasped as the weight crashed over her.
Her knees shook.
Her vision blurred.
But she'd spent the entire night training for exactly this.
She planted her feet.
Locked her jaw.
And stood.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Cain's eyes widened in shock. "Impossible"
"She's stronger than you think," Kael said, his voice filled with dark satisfaction.
He stepped in front of Seraphine, blocking Cain's view.
"And she's mine. If you want her, you go through me."
Cain's face twisted with rage. "So be it."
He shifted back into his massive wolf form in an explosion of power.
Kael shifted instantly, his own black wolf slightly larger, eyes blazing silver.
The two Alpha Kings circled each other.
The battlefield held its breath.
Then they collided.
The Battle of Kings
The fight was brutal.
Kael and Cain crashed together like natural disasters teeth snapping, claws tearing, auras clashing with such force that wolves on both sides staggered backward.
Around them, the battle resumed in full.
Moonwalk warriors fought viciously, but they were outnumbered nearly two to one.
Darius coordinated the defense with ruthless efficiency, his orders sharp and clear even in the chaos.
Thorne fought beside younger warriors, using experience to compensate for age.
Garrett stayed planted in front of Seraphine, his massive wolf form a living shield.
But Blackwater's wolves kept pushing, kept pressing, trying to break through the line.
Trying to reach her.
Seraphine watched in horror as Moonwalk wolves fell, bleeding, some not getting back up.
They were dying.
Because of her.
"No," she whispered.
A Blackwater wolf broke through the line, charging directly at her.
Garrett intercepted, slamming into the attacker with bone-crushing force.
They rolled, snarling and snapping.
Another wolf followed. Then another.
Garrett couldn't hold them all.
One got past him.
Lunged directly at Seraphine with jaws open wide.
Time slowed.
She saw the attack coming.
Saw death in those yellow eyes.
And something inside her snapped.
"NO!"
Power exploded from her core.
The attacking wolf froze mid-leap, suspended in the air as if held by invisible hands.
Then it was thrown backward, crashing into three others with such force that bones audibly cracked.
Silence rippled outward from where Seraphine stood.
Everyone Moonwalk and Blackwater alike—turned to stare.
Her eyes were glowing.
Not the yellow-gold of normal wolves.
Pure silver-white. Like moonlight given form.
Power radiated from her in visible waves, making the air shimmer exactly like it had during training.
"What" Seraphine gasped, staring at her own hands. "What did I"
A howl cut through the battlefield.