MasukElena realized her father had outmaneuvered them at every turn when she learned Dmitri had been operating from Blackwood Estate while they were at the assembly.Because an airborne hybrid serum could be released into major cities, President Hayes ordered Elena, Dante, and a combined force of werewolves and federal agents to the estate immediately rather than trusting detained werewolves.Elena spent the forty-minute flight connected to baby Katerina, who was somehow visualizing Dmitri's location despite her age and limited training.Dr. Chen said baby Katerina was stable but burning through energy reserves too quickly, so they had two hours before her system gave out and the visual connection was lost.How is she doing this?" Over secure channels, Dr. Chen asked. "Six-month-olds lack cognitive development for sustained psychic projection.""She's not six months developmentally," Elena said, realizing her daughter's rapid growth.The comas and power transfers made her mind mature fast
Sarah Chen's betrayal made Elena realize that Dmitri's plan from the start had included the mysterious benefactor feeding them intelligence, and Marcus's sister had never been working undercover but had been the perfect bait to get werewolf leadership where he wanted them.Sarah led five stable hybrids who were stronger and faster than werewolves and immune to Patterson's silver ammunition in the assembly location attack, which seemed to take months to plan.Twelve soldiers were killed and twenty injured in the first three minutes of the assault, and Patterson was screaming into his radio for permission to launch air strikes on the convention center because his ground forces couldn't contain the hybrid threat.President Hayes watched the same situation room footage as her cabinet demanded she kill all werewolves at the location."This is exactly what Dmitri engineered," Elena said from her hospital bed while holding newborn Catherine and trying not to panic about their government kil
Dr. Chen worked on baby Katerina for seven minutes that felt like seven hours while Elena watched from her medical bed, unable to move because her body had shut down from operating in three cities.The monitors stayed flat for what seemed like forever before the doctor restarted the child's heart with medical intervention and direct energy transfer from Katerina, who tried despite the risk.Baby Katerina's heart started beating again, but oxygen deprivation during her clinical death caused brain damage. "She's alive, but I don't know what condition she'll be in when she wakes up," Dr. Chen said, exhausted from performing a miracle and not knowing if it was enough."The longer she was oxygen-deprived, the more likely permanent neurological damage."President Hayes had seen Elena's power show and baby Katerina's death and resurrection, and her expression suggested she was rethinking everything she'd assumed."You were willing to kill your daughter to stop those attacks," the president w
Sarah Chen's revelation that she'd been alive and working undercover in Dmitri's organization for six months changed everything, but Marcus's controlled fury suggested he'd be talking to Elena about keeping secrets after the crisis.While surrounded by military forces who still considered all werewolves threats, they lacked the resources to extract Sarah from Dmitri's compound.Patterson agreed to a temporary ceasefire after Walsh praised Sarah's intelligence, but he made it clear the military wouldn't stop the siege until his superiors decided what to do with 200 werewolves in one place.Elena spent three hours in the field hospital recovering from the power drain while Dr. Chen tried to wake baby Katerina."Her consciousness retreated again after you drew on her power," Dr. Chen said while monitoring. "This is her second coma from channeling abilities she can't control. A third time could cause permanent damage."Elena felt guilty about possibly permanently damaging her daughter wh
Army Rangers set up a perimeter around the continental assembly site before Elena's delegation arrived, looking more like a rehearsal for an attack.Elena and Walsh saw at least 200 soldiers, armored vehicles, and mobile command centers from the road, and drone units were authorized to engage werewolves if they showed hostility.Soldiers blocked all exits, and snipers on rooftops trapped the fifty alphas in the convention center.Elena saw the shine of silver-tipped ammunition in magazines soldiers were loading as her convoy approached, indicating that the military expected violence and would respond with overwhelming lethal force.Walsh came to the checkpoint with security badges and a look that suggested the situation had deteriorated beyond her control. "My superiors overruled my authority two hours ago," Walsh whispered as they passed through enhanced physiology scanners.The commanding officer must demand surrender in one hour or kill everyone inside if werewolves resist or act
Elena was hit hard when she realized that Dmitri was still alive and had been using a body double, meaning that everything they'd done in Montana was theater to make them think they'd won while he kept operating from his hiding place.Marcus reviewed facility security footage and found that Elena's killer was wearing a sophisticated prosthetic mask and bodysuit that fooled everyone during the assault."He's been planning the assault for months," William said, researching when Dmitri started using doubles. "Probably before the warehouse meeting where you confronted him.Every Dmitri appearance could have been a decoy while the real man hid and ran operations remotely."Elena watched politicians and commentators debate werewolves' existence and what to do about them as the Denver footage spread across social media and news networks despite Walsh's efforts to stop it. Some called for calm and investigation, while others demanded immediate military action against an existential threat to







