MasukHALFWAY POINT: NEGOTIATION PREP~MATHIAS POV~The neutral place looked old and forgotten, like a time capsule from the early 2000s. It was a boring conference center with dull walls, buzzing lights, and dirty carpet. It was just bland enough that no one would want to start fighting there, which was exactly the idea.I was standing in the middle of this empty room with Edward, Marcus, and Silas. We looked like we were about to have an important meeting or deal with something supernatural....maybe both.Edward was walking around, looking serious. He said, "Here are the rules we need to follow. No weapons except for the guards. No using magic to scare anyone. Everything we agree on will be written down and witnessed."He said it like he was reading sacred scripture instead of guidelines for people who could tear each other's throats out.Marcus leaned against a pillar with that effortless hybrid energy of charm and danger. He didn't just examine the room.....he judged it. As if the walls
THE BROTHERS OF MIDNIGHT~THIRD POV~The night after the council vote felt weird......victory laced with the metallic kick of fear. The Packhouse buzzed with rumors, theories, and conspiracies whispered through corridors like rambling ghosts with too much tea to spill.Tate didn't join any of it.Not because she didn't care. But because she couldn't breathe.Too many leaders had shaken her hand. Too many warriors had clapped her back. Too many eyes had followed her like she was a miracle or a mistake waiting to happen.When she quietly left through the side door and entered the courtyard, the moon was low in the sky, looking big and full. The cool air touched her cheeks, making her feel more real than the stuffy council room ever did.She sat by the fountain, letting the water spray her boots and waiting for her heartbeat to slow down. She heard soft footsteps behind her.Mathias.Of course it was Mathias.His presence always landed soft, like he was afraid of taking up more space than
THE COUNTER-MANIFESTO~THIRD POV~The council chamber had always been a bit intimidating, but tonight it felt almost alive, like the walls themselves were holding their breath, waiting to see if Tate Osborne would make it through her audacity.Runes blinked faintly across the curved stone walls, humming with old magic. The ceiling arched high overhead, like a cathedral, making the room seem even smaller compared to history. And yet, Tate stayed at the center of it all alone, trying to keep her nerves steady.A bunch of people were watching her, their eyes sharp as knives. Leaders, elders, warriors, scholars.....all of them waiting. Not for her to say anything, but just waiting for her to slip up.She didn't give them the satisfaction."Heriberto knows his stuff when it comes to history," Tate said, sounding calm even though her hands were shaking a bit. "People have been held back by the world of the supernatural. Managed. Quieted down. Getting in trouble for asking questions."A ripp
HERIBERTO'S MANIFESTO~MARCUS BLACKTHORN~Marcus hated being awake at three in the morning. It wasn't the hour that irritated him...immortality made time feel like a loop of uninteresting PowerPoint slides....it was the fact that emergencies always happened at this exact cursed interval. Three A.M. had become the universe's chosen meeting slot for stupidity.The abandoned subway tunnel beneath Old River Station buzzed with the kind of stuffy air that stuck to your lungs like regret. Fluorescent lights flashed overhead, buzzing like a dying conscience. Perfect place for a secret meeting with someone he barely trusted.Marcus moved through the dark like he owned the shadows. His coat swayed behind him, boots tapping steadily on cracked concrete. He carried himself with the entitled elegance of someone who'd lived long enough to be allergic to nonsense.His informant stood a few meters ahead, twitchy as dial-up internet."You're late," Marcus said, voice smooth, bored, and sharply amus
RECONCILIATION ATTEMPT ~TATE'S POV~The Packhouse felt like it was holding its breath.Not the deadly kind of silence....just the tense, waiting sort, like the whole building was bracing for someone to crack first. The walls buzzed with restless energy, the bond blinked like a glitch in the system, and every wolf I passed seemed to be watching me with questions they were too afraid to voice.After the conversation with Daxon in the training yard, my brain had gone into full crisis-loop. Mathias and Daxon were tearing themselves apart. The Pack was splitting down invisible seams. And me? I was standing in the middle with a flickering mate bond and magic ghosting me like an ex who forgot how to leave politely.I couldn't let it keep spiraling.So I called an assembly.It wasn't dramatic. No emergency alarms. No horns. Just a quiet but firm announcement through the Pack communication link....the kind that told everyone this wasn't optional.The great hall filled fast. Wolves filed in w
OUTCASTS AT THE GATE—PART II~TATE'S POV~The barrier buzzed behind me, still vibrating with leftover magic. My throat felt like someone had tried to claw their way through it. Swallowing burned. Breathing wasn't much better. Warriors moved in a confused existence around me, calling for healers, dragging the injured into rough triage lines. Three down had turned into seven. No bodies....thank the Goddess....but several warriors were bleeding badly enough that the dirt clung wet to their wounds.Mathias and Daxon reached me at the same time, both half-shifted, both heaving for breath. Blood slicked their chests and arms, drying in dark streaks. I didn't bother asking whose it was. The smell told me most of it wasn't theirs.Mathias grabbed my face first, his hands trembling even if his voice wasn't. "Where does it hurt?"Daxon wasn't calmer. His eyes were sharp and lost at the same time.....a dangerous combination. "She had you," he rasped, and the words shook. "She had her hand aroun







