LOGINInside the blinding silver fire, a sudden, heavy silence fell over the altar room. The chaotic roaring of the magical energy died down, leaving behind a sound like a rushing, powerful wind. From the center of Duncan’s fading chest, a massive silhouette began to rise.It was the great silver beast, the ancient, royal wolf spirit that had defined the Alonso bloodline for generations.The spirit wolf hovered in the air above the stone altar, its massive form translucent and glowing with a brilliant, metallic silver light. It did not look at Malphas or the cowering shamans. It turned its huge, glowing head downward, its silver eyes fixing onto Duncan’s pale, shrinking human face one last time.The silver beast raised its head toward the shattered ceiling of the obsidian tower. It let out a final, mournful howl that vibrated through the very stones of the castle, a sound of absolute goodbye, of a king laying down his crown.Then, with a sudden, graceful dive, the great silver wolf plunged
Duncan led the strike team through the narrow stone pipe of the drainage, his hand gripping his iron blade so tightly his knuckles turned white. Up ahead, the faint sound of rhythmic, deep chanting began to echo through the iron grates."We are directly beneath the altar room," Oscar whispered, his blue eyes scanning the shadows above. He wiped a streak of dark grease from his cheek. "The air is thick with shadow magic. My skin is crawling.""Zach, Heidi, stay behind Remus," Duncan ordered softly. He looked up at the rusted iron grate built into the ceiling. "This is it."With a sudden burst of desperation, Remus and Oscar slammed their shoulders into the heavy iron grate. The rusted bolts snapped with a sharp crack, and the metal panel slammed onto the obsidian floor above. One by one, the suicide squad hauled themselves up into the dark heart of the castle.The main altar room was terrifyingly massive. The walls were made of smooth, polished volcanic glass that reflected the toxic
Katherine the Wraith stood twenty feet away, her tattered white dress swaying in a wind that no one else could feel. Her ink-black eyes stared directly at Zach and Heidi, her smoky talons twitching with an unnatural hunger.Duncan did not move. He kept his iron hunting knife raised, his human muscles tight, standing as a physical wall between the demon and his children. His chest throbbed with a dull, agonizing ache, a constant reminder that his royal wolf core was completely shattered.Before Katherine could lunge, a sudden rustle of dead leaves broke the freezing silence from the eastern edge of the clearing.A figure stumbled out from behind a massive, twisted black tree.He looked like a ghost. He wore torn, filthy leather armor that hung loosely off his gaunt frame. His hair was long, matted with dirt and dried mud, and a thick, unkempt beard covered his hollow cheeks. His left leg dragged slightly as he walked, leaning heavily on a notched wooden spear. He smelled of cheap moon
Duncan Alonso sat in a heavy wooden chair, his face hollow and deathly pale. His royal black coat was torn, and his hands were wrapped in clean white bandages. The internal trauma from the broken ritual had left his physical wolf core feeling like a frozen wasteland. Every breath felt like inhaling shattered glass, but his silver-grey eyes burned with a cold, terrifying desperation."You shouldn't be standing, Alpha," Remus said softly, stepping into the room. The Beta’s chest was heavily wrapped under his shirt where Malphas’s shadow whip had struck him. "Your core hasn't stabilized. If you encounter a high-ranking enemy and try to force a shift, your internal lines will collapse permanently.""If I stay in this room while Malphas drains her, I am already dead," Duncan said, his voice a low, gravelly rasp that lacked its usual royal vibration. He stood up slowly, his knees trembling slightly before his iron willpower forced his posture straight. "Who do we have left?"Oscar Wayne s
Amora woke up with her cheek pressed against a floor of solid, polished black volcanic glass. The room was massive, shaped like the inside of a hollow tower. High above, there were no windows, only jagged tears in the stone roof that revealed a sky of permanent, twisting gray clouds. This was the dark heart of the northern peaks, the absolute center of the Dark Moon territory.Amora tried to push herself up, but a sharp, burning pain flared across her wrists and ankles.She looked down and choked back a sob. She was chained to a massive black stone altar. The cuffs around her limbs were made of forged ironwood, wrapped in thick, glowing purple vines of shadow magic. Every time she tried to pull against them, the vines dug deeper into her skin, eating away at the tiny spark of spiritual energy she had left."Do not waste your breath, little Luna," a deep, rumbling voice echoed off the black glass walls.Alpha Malphas stepped out from the shadows near the base of the altar. In his own
The lightning from the unnatural storm flashed outside the long windows, casting jagged white lines across Katherine’s translucent, gray skin. Her entirely black eyes, hollow pools of swirling ink, fixed onto Duncan, who was still gasping for air on the polished hardwood floor."Katherine..." Duncan choked out, his voice cracking. He tried to push himself up, but his half-shifted arm trembled violently under his weight. His royal core was still short-circuiting from the snapped ritual.Katherine didn't answer with words. She let out a multi-toned, scraping laugh that didn't sound human. The black tendrils drifting from her fingertips lengthened, snaking across the floor like hungry vines."She isn't here for you yet, Duncan," a weak, trembling voice called out from the back of the room.From behind a row of overturned velvet chairs, two older figures emerged. Henry Alonso, the former Supreme Alpha, was pale, his hands gripping a broken table leg to steady his shaking knees. Beside him
The winter snow had finally melted into the muddy, gray slushes of early spring, but the freezing atmosphere inside the Alonso mansion remained completely unchanged.A formal luncheon had been called in the grand dining hall. The long table was laden with silver platters of roasted meats, fresh bre
The grand cathedral of the Upper Diamond District was a sea of glittering lights, white velvet, and heavy silken banners. Millions of dollars had been spent to turn the ancient stone structure into a paradise of high-society luxury. Every single pew was packed with the most powerful Alphas, elders,
“It’s twins!”Susan moved with quick, practiced efficiency. She wiped the newborn baby girl with a warm, damp cloth, wrapping her tenderly in a soft pink fleece blanket. With a gentle smile breaking through her immense exhaustion, Susan walked back to the edge of the bed and carefully laid both infa
Two weeks had passed since the night the Silver Crescent Medical Center burned, but inside the master study of the Alonso mansion, the fire had never truly gone out. The heavy room smelled of stale air, cold ash, and the bitter scent of a rotting pack bond.Duncan Alonso sat behind his massive desk







