The Great Hall of the Bloodwood Pack was a cavern of whispering shadows and tense, suffocating air. The morning sun bled through the high stained-glass windows, casting fractured red and gold light across the stone floor.

Hundreds of pack members crowded the edges o

The silence in the Great Hall was absolute, heavy with the scent of ozone and the lingering shockwave of raw magic. Valeriana Cross did not look back at the man groveling on the floor. She did not spare a single glance for Lyla Fawn, who was still whimpering in the

"Move, Silas! Now!" Kaelen’s voice was no longer a command; it was the frantic roar of a dying animal.

He didn't wait for the Beta to step aside. Channeling every ounce of his Alpha strength, Kaelen lunged forward, throwing his entire weight against the iron door.