"If I die… tell her I tried."
Those were the last words of the scout from South Hollow, choked out through bloodied lips as Kael held him, helpless, in the dirt.
The body was still warm when Darius arrived, eyes dark, jaw tight.
"What did this?" he asked.
Kael didn't look away from the wound—curved, precise, ritualistic.
"It wasn't Ayara," he said. "At least not alone."
Darius swore under his breath. "Then they're moving. The Old Bloodline. We need to warn the others—"
Kael stood slowly. "No. We prepare them."
---
Back at the den…
The council chamber was louder than it had been in months. The empty seats were gone, filled now with new alphas, young betas, even an omega who had earned his place by saving three pups during the last fire burst. What bound them wasn't title. It was survival.
Sienna stood beside Kael, her expression calm but unreadable. Liora sat quietly near the flames, her eyes watching every word, every motion.
