LOGINSabine's POV
I woke up screaming Lilian's name.
The healing room spun around me. Sweat soaked through my sheets. My heart hammered so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.
"Sabine." Mira appeared beside my bed instantly. "You are safe. You are in the healing wing."
"Lilian." I gripped her arm. "She is dying. I saw it. The pass. Corrupted everywhere. She is dying."
"T
Sabine's POVI woke up screaming Lilian's name.The healing room spun around me. Sweat soaked through my sheets. My heart hammered so hard I thought it might break through my ribs."Sabine." Mira appeared beside my bed instantly. "You are safe. You are in the healing wing.""Lilian." I gripped her arm. "She is dying. I saw it. The pass. Corrupted everywhere. She is dying.""That is just a nightmare." Mira tried to ease me back down. "You have been unconscious for days. Your mind is playing tricks.""No." I threw off the blankets. Stood on shaking legs. "It is not a nightmare. It is happening right now."The bond with my mates pulsed weakly. I felt their exhaustion. Their fear. They were in danger and I had been lying here uselessly while they fought."You cannot leave." Mira blocked my path. "Your body i
Lilian's POVI always thought death would be terrifying.But standing at the choke point with corrupted wolves closing in from all sides, I felt something unexpected.Peace.My whole life had been spent chasing respect through the wrong means. Manipulation. Betrayal. Aligning with wolves who promised power but delivered only destruction.I spent years resenting Sabine. Hating her for being everything I was not. Pure. Powerful. Worthy of loyalty I could never earn.But maybe this one selfless act would finally matter. Maybe dying to save others would count for something.The first corrupted reached me. I moved on instinct. Blade finding throat. Spinning away from claws that would have gutted me.More came. A wave of twisted flesh and corrupted fury.I fough
Lilian's POVI watched Kade nearly die from the shadows.Watched the guardian pin him. Watched corrupted claws press against his throat. Watched the moment he accepted death.And I realized I could not let it happen. Not like this. Not when I could stop it.So I moved. Fast. Silent. The way Viktor taught me before everything went wrong.My blade found the guardian's heart. Pierced corrupted flesh and ended a life that should have ended years ago.Riven beat me to the kill by seconds. But I had been there. Ready. Willing to save the wolf I once tried to destroy.The irony was not lost on me.Now I stood at the cave entrance watching the team prepare for retreat. Watching them load freed captives and organize defenses.They had no idea I was here. No idea I
Kade's POVThe guardian stepped through falling rubble like it weighed nothing.Stone that would have crushed normal wolves bounced off its massive frame. Each movement was liquid grace wrapped in nightmare flesh.But something about the way it moved triggered recognition in my mind. The stance. The weight distribution. The predatory circling.I knew this wolf."Fall back to the entrance." I kept my eyes on the guardian. "Get the survivors out.""We are not leaving you." Kael stood beside me. Blade drawn."You will if you want those captives to live." I gestured toward the cages where wolves still screamed. "That is your mission now. I will handle this."Marcus grabbed Kael's arm. "He is right. We complete the objective."Kael looked torn. But he nodded. S
Kael's POVI never imagined I would lead Council wolves into battle.Yet here I stood at the entrance to the corrupted nest with fifty warriors behind me. Half wore Phoenix Pack colors. The other half bore Council insignia.Enemies united by necessity. The irony was not lost on anyone."Remember the plan." I kept my voice low. "We go in quiet. Map the interior. Find the captives. Then signal for the main force."Kade nodded from my left. His specialists were scattered through the group. Silent killers trained for exactly this kind of mission.To my right stood Marcus, a Council commander who had probably dreamed of killing me a month ago. Now he checked his weapons with professional efficiency."How deep does this go?" Marcus studied the cave entrance. Dark stone swallowed all light beyond the first few feet."Scouts estimate three levels." I pulled out the map Evander had provided. "Captives are likely on the lowest level. That is where they would keep the transformation chambers.""
Evander's POV I hated neutral ground meetings.The clearing sat exactly halfway between Council territory and Phoenix Pack lands. Trees surrounded us on all sides. No cover. No advantage for either party.Just open space and the pretense of civility between enemies.Elder Marius arrived with four guards. I brought the same. We faced each other across ten feet of grass that might as well have been a battlefield.He looked worse than I remembered. Gray hair thinner. Face more lined. The battle with corrupted forces had clearly taken its toll on Council wolves too.Good. Let him suffer as we had suffered."Alpha Evander." Marius inclined his head slightly. Not quite a bow. Just acknowledgment. "Thank you for meeting me.""I have not agreed to anything yet." I kept my voice neutral. "Your messenger delivered a proposal. I came to hear your reasoning.""Direct as always." Something that might have been respect flickered in his eyes. "I appreciate that quality.""Save the flattery." I cros







