MasukJai finds the third location in thirty six hours.“Northern Scotland, the coastal property. In te private island, accessible only by boat or helicopter.” He pulls up satellite imagery. “Magical signatures match. She’s been there for weeks.”“She?” Jamie looks up.“Maren.” Jai zooms in. “The island’s registered to a human trust that traces back four hundred years. She owns it outright. Has for centuries.”“She feels safe there,” Kade says.“Good.” Jamie studies the image. Rocky coastline. Single structure. No neighbors for miles. “Safe people get comfortable. Comfortable people get slow.”She sends the challenge that night.Three simultaneous messages through supernatural channels. Old language. Old law. Witnessed by Raina, the vampire lord, and the fae representative via secure call.Then they wait.The first response comes from Konstantin. Still in alliance custody but apparently word reached him anyway.He laughs when the guard tells him.“Triple challenge,” he says. “She’s either t
Briton finds out at two in the morning. Jamie’s still at the window when his call comes through. She lets it ring twice before answering. “Kade told me,” he says. “I know.” “Triple challenge under old dragon law.” His voice is controlled. The way it gets when he’s holding something back with both hands. “Against three immortals simultaneously.” “Yes.” “Jamie.” “Briton.” “That’s not a plan. That’s a death wish dressed up as strategy.” He exhales hard. “You want them focused on you instead of Hemston. I understand that. But there are other ways…” “Name one.” She waits. “Name one way to force all three of them into a single location on a timeline we control without giving them sixty days to execute the Cleansing while we scramble across six continents.” “I can’t,” he says finally. “I know.” She hears him move. The sound of a chair. Him sitting down somewhere in whatever building he’s working from tonight. “When,” he says. “Two weeks. Enough time to get protection protocols
The alliance call connects at eleven PM. Seventeen faces on screen. Alphas, coven leaders, vampire lords, fae representatives. All of them were looking at Jamie like she’s about to deliver a death sentence.“Sixty days,” Jamie says. “Maybe less. The Shadow Council is planning simultaneous elimination of every dragon bloodline on the planet. Three thousand four hundred families. Active and dormant. They’re calling it the Cleansing.”Nobody speaks for a moment. Then everyone speaks at once.Jamie lets it go for ten seconds. Then: “Quiet.” And they all went quiet.“Panicking wastes time we don’t have.” She pulls up the map Cael provided. Share it on the call. “These are every known bloodline location. Sixty percent we already had. Forty percent is new. All of them are targets.”“How did you get this?” Raina asks.“Fourth Shadow Council member defected. Brought nine centuries of records with him.”“A defector.” Tavish’s voice is flat. “And you trust him.”“I trust the data. Jai has been
“I know what I am,” Cael says. “What I’ve been part of. I’m not here to minimize that.”Jamie keeps her hand near the blade. “Then what are you here for?”“To give you something.” He moves toward the desk. Slow. Deliberate. Making sure she can see every movement. He picks up a drive and holds it out. “Everything. Nine centuries of Shadow Council records. Internal communications. Facility locations. Operative identities. Financial networks the Cayman accounts didn’t touch.”Jamie doesn’t take it yet. “Why.”“Because three members remain. All older than Konstantin. All more dangerous.” Cael sets the drive on the desk between them. “And because they’re planning something that makes every previous attack look minor.”“What kind of something?”“They’re calling it the Cleansing.” His voice doesn’t change but his eyes do. Something old and tired moving behind them. “Every dragon bloodline worldwide. Active and dormant. Simultaneous elimination. Not raids. Not targeted strikes.” He pauses. “T
The grain silo sits alone on flat land. Twelve miles north of the safe house. No cover for three hundred meters in any direction. Whoever chose this location knew what they were doing.“He picked it deliberately,” Kade says, studying the satellite image on Jai’s feed. “Clear sightlines everywhere. Anyone who approaches, he see them coming.”“Anyone normal approaches,” Jamie says. “Pull up the interior layout.”“Converted about forty years ago. Original grain storage on ground level. Three floors added inside. Steel reinforced.” Jai highlights the structure. “One main entrance. Emergency exit on the north side. Both will be watched.”“What about underground?”“Old grain drainage system. Runs beneath the foundation. The access point is about eighty meters east.” Jai zooms in. “Tight. Very tight. But it connects to the silo basement.”“How tight?” Kade asks.“One person. Small one.” Everyone looks at Jamie.“Don’t say it,” Kade says.“Someone has to go in from below while the rest create
The Canada safe house looks exactly as Jamie left it. Quiet. Remote. Three hundred miles from the nearest supernatural settlement.Hemston is waiting on the porch when their vehicle pulls up. Just sitting there in the cold. Watching the tree line. Jamie’s out of the car before it fully stops.“Hey.” She crouches in front of him. “How long have you been sitting out here?”“Since this morning.” He doesn’t look at her. Still watching the trees. “They came back last night.”“In your dream?”“It wasn’t a dream.” His voice is flat in a way that doesn’t belong to a six year old. “I was awake. I heard them outside. Two of them. They walked the perimeter twice then left.”Jamie looks at Kade over Hemston’s head. Kade’s already signaling two wolves to check the tree line.“Why didn’t you tell Meredith?” Jamie asks.“I did.” Hemston finally looks at her. His eyes are steady. Too steady. “She said I was imagining it.”“I didn’t want to worry you,” Meredith says from the doorway. Her expression te
The alliance meeting is tense. Twenty representatives sit around a table, none of them agreeing."We can't attack headquarters yet. We're not ready," Tavish argues."We'll never be ready if we keep waiting," Raina counters. "The Council's rebuilding their forces daily.""And we're losing support da
While their mother builds an army, Herston and Hemston train with Meredith daily. Their powers grow exponentially."Show me your shield," Meredith instructs Herston.The four-year-old concentrates. Silver light forms around her, then expands outward. It covers the entire training room."Good. Now h
Vaughn Pritchard sits in protective custody, providing intelligence daily. He's lost everything. His empire. His reputation. His freedom."The Council has three main facilities," he tells Jai. "Headquarters downtown. The research facility in the mountains. And a black site no one's supposed to know
Kade returns to his compound to find half his pack gathered in the main hall. Saskia stands at the center, arms crossed."What's this?" he asks."A reckoning." Saskia doesn't back down. "You've been gone for weeks. Chasing after a woman who doesn't want you. Risking Iron Wolves for refugees who are







