LOGINCHAPTER 96 The Day Stonehall NeltLyko filled the corridor.Not metaphorically. Physically.Massive shoulders scraping stone. Claws gouging the floor. Breath steaming in the cold air of the detention wing. The kind of presence that made the mountain itself feel too small.Varyn’s fear was no longer quiet.It was sharp. Visible. Raw.He pressed himself against the back wall of the cell, eyes wide, throat bobbing as Lyko’s shadow swallowed the bars.The lights flickered again.Lyko’s growl rolled through the corridor—low, thunderous, vibrating the steel supports. The sound wasn’t meant to intimidate.It was meant to warn.You touched my queen.Varyn’s voice cracked. “Aiden—”Lyko slammed a claw against the bars, metal screaming under the force.Not Aiden.Not anymore.Aiden’s consciousness sat behind Lyko’s eyes, steady, cold, focused—but Lyko was the one breathing, the one moving, the one deciding.Varyn trembled. “Listen to me—please—she carries Silver Moon essence. She—she’s one of o
Chapter 95---The Spy in Stonehall The lockdown alarms had stopped echoing through the mansion, but the silence they left behind was worse.Stonehall wasn’t calm. It was holding its breath.My wolf paced under my skin, claws scraping, waiting for the truth I already knew was coming. Hadren entered the command room again—no scouts this time, no perimeter leads. Only him.Only internal security.His posture was wrong. Too stiff. Too controlled. Too careful.“Report,” I said.He didn’t speak immediately. He set a tablet on the table between us, but he didn’t look at it. He looked at me.“Aiden… the breach wasn’t external.”My wolf surged—hot, lethal.“Who accessed the departure notice?” I asked.Hadren swallowed. “Someone with council‑level clearance. Someone who’s had access for years. Someone who’s been close to you since you took the throne.”My jaw tightened.“Name.”He tapped the screen.One name appeared: Councilor Varyn.My wolf snapped, rising fully behind my eyes.Varyn. Twenty
Chapter 94---Eve of the HuntThe pack house felt different the moment the council chamber door shut behind us.Not quieter. Not calmer. Just… braced.Jason walked at my right, Chase at my left, both wolves alert beneath their skin. The halls were still lit for the festival, but the atmosphere had changed—lanterns flickering against stone walls, guards moving with sharper purpose, every wolf sensing the shift even if they didn’t know why.Bloodfang stirred under my ribs.Slow. Heavy. Awake. Waiting.And waiting was always the hardest part.We will protect them. Our sister, our pup, our pack daughter.We reached the main stairwell when Chase’s phone vibrated—one pulse, Lycan channel. He froze mid‑step, eyes narrowing as he read the message.Greyfang surged behind his eyes.Jason stopped. “What is it?”Chase looked up at me.“Stonehall’s mission was compromised.”Bloodfang pushed hard against my skin, a low rumble vibrating through my bones.“Explain,” I said.“Someone intercepted their
Chapter 93--- CompromisedKing County International’s tarmac glowed under the floodlights, the private jet humming as cargo handlers loaded the last of Stonehall’s gear. I stood at the base of the ramp, coat whipping in the cold Seattle wind, watching Aleric oversee the hunters as they secured their weapons cases.Everything was on schedule.Everything was clean.Everything was controlled.Until my phone vibrated.One pulse.Lycan channel.Aiden.I opened the message.COMMUNICATIONS BREACH. MISSION COMPROMISED. LOCKDOWN INITIATED. UNKNOWN PARTY INTERCEPTED DEPARTURE NOTICE. YOU ARE BEING TRACKED.My breath stopped.Then—“Damn it.”Alyse looked over sharply. “What happened?”“Someone intercepted our departure message,” I said. “They know we’re not flying out for the festival. They know we’re coming to hunt.”Aleric froze mid‑step, his wolf rising behind his eyes. “Who?”“Unknown,” I said. “Aiden locked down Stonehall. He wants us off this tarmac now.”Alyse’s expression tightened. “We
Chapter 92. Eyes on the Hunters Aiden's POVThe moment the convoy pulled out of Stonehall’s gates, the pack felt smaller.Not quieter.Not weaker.Just… missing its center of gravity.Eleanor’s presence always anchored the territory. Alyse’s steadiness balanced it. Aleric’s Lycan aura fortified it. And twelve hunter‑warriors added the weight of Stonehall’s authority.Now all of them were headed east—straight toward Crescent Moon, straight toward the rot, straight toward blood kin.I stood on the overlook above the training grounds, watching the last vehicle disappear down the mountain road. The wind carried the scent of steel, pine, and the faint echo of Eleanor’s aura fading into distance.Grey wolves below paused, looking up at me.Waiting.Expecting.I forced my shoulders to settle.“I remain,” I murmured to myself. “Stonehall still needs a king.”And it did.With Chase gone.With Aleric gone.With Eleanor gone.The pack needed someone who could hold the territory steady while hal
Chapter.91 ---The Warning in the DarkMerrick's POVThe moment the text came through, I knew the night had shifted.My phone vibrated once in my pocket—short, coded, the way my Stonehall contact always sent warnings. I stepped deeper into the trees outside Crescent Moon territory, far enough that their boundary wouldn’t taste me, close enough that I could still feel the pulse of their wolves moving inside. The air carried that faint metallic tang I’d seeded days ago, threading through the territory like a whisper only I understood.I opened the message.Stonehall on the move. Beware. Arrives tomorrow… noon. Dowager Luna and former Alpha. 12 hunters. Grand Elder leading.My jaw tightened.Eleanor. Aleric. Alyse. Twelve hunters.They weren’t in Maine yet—still hours away, still traveling—but they were coming. And when Stonehall moved, they moved with purpose. They moved to purge. They moved to kill.I stared at the message longer than I should have, letting the implications settle. Cres







