MasukThe training grounds smelled like blood, smoke, and rain by the time the healers arrived. Not real rain yet. Just the heavy metallic promise of it gathering above Blackridge like the sky itself had decided this pack had suffered enough and needs it to wash it off.I knelt beside Cameron while healers crowded around us, their hands moving fast over the wounds in his side and shoulder.Too much blood. Still too much blood.“He needs the medical wing now,” one of the healers said sharply.“No kidding,” Mara snapped from somewhere behind me.My hands were still pressed against Cameron’s side. I couldn’t seem to make myself let go. Like the second I did, something terrible would happen.My wolf paced violently beneath my skin. "Mate hurt. Mate bleeding. Fix it. Now."Cameron hissed sharply as the healer pushed silver-threaded bandages against the wound.“That’s unpleasant.”I stared at him. “You were stabbed and shot.”“Yes.” His voice sounded weaker now. “And somehow you’re still scarier.
The first conditioned wolf hit the barricades before the panic even finished spreading. Then everything collapsed at once.Screams ripped across the training grounds as civilians scattered in every direction. Warriors surged forward to intercept the attackers while more conditioned wolves emerged from inside the crowd itself.Blackridge turned on itself in seconds.“Tomas, stop!” his mother screamed.He shoved straight through her without even looking at her. Like she was nothing. Like he couldn’t see her at all.My wolf recoiled in horror.Mercer stood at the center of it calmly watching the chaos unfold like a man admiring his own masterpiece. Psychopath.The first conditioned warrior reached Cameron. Bad choice. Cameron met him head-on with terrifying force, slamming him into the dirt hard enough to crack stone beneath them before pivoting instantly toward the next attacker.More came immediately. Too many actually. Not warriors, just weapons following orders. No fear. No hesitatio
Mercer had just spoken the words when the chamber doors burst open hard enough to slam against the stone walls. One of Cameron’s warriors stumbled inside breathing heavily, blood running from a cut across his forehead.“Alpha -”His gaze landed on Mercer pinned against the steel beam. Then on Elias. Then on Lucien kneeling on the floor. Confusion flashed across his face for half a second before training shoved it aside.“We’re under attack.”Every muscle in Cameron’s body tightened instantly.“Where?”“The training grounds.” The warrior swallowed hard. “Multiple armed wolves. Internal security turned on the western patrol units.” His breathing sharpened. “Council members are outside.”Cold rolled through me. No more hiding. No more hidden threats. They were escalating openly now.Mercer smiled. Satisfied. Cameron noticed this. His grip tightened violently against Mercer’s throat.“You planned this.”Mercer’s expression barely changed despite the pressure crushing his airway. “No,” he
The chamber went completely silent. The kind that comes right before violence.My wolf pressed forward instantly beneath my skin, every instinct locked on Elias. Alive. Thank Goddess. But something was wrong. He stood beside the stranger too still, shoulders were rigid, eyes distant in a way that made cold crawl down my spine.Conditioned. Triggered. Controlled. - Again.The man above us continued descending the metal stairs with calm, measured steps, like he had all the time in the world.He was older than Cameron, but younger than Lucien. Dark hair streaked faintly with silver at the temples. Military posture. Precise movements. Dangerous type. Not because he looked violent. Because he looked intelligent. The worst kind of monster.Lucien made a broken sound from the floor beside me.“Oh no,” he whispered.The stranger’s eyes slid toward him briefly. “Commander Vale.” he said smoothly. “I was wondering how long you’d survive the interrogation.”My stomach twisted instantly. “You exp
The second Lucien smiled, Cameron moved.“Get everyone back!” he barked.The Alpha command cracked across the training grounds hard enough to shake the air itself.Chaos exploded instantly. Warriors surged forward. Civilians stumbled backward in confusion. Guards began pulling wolves away from the platform while panic spread through the crowd like wildfire.But Lucien never looked at any of them. Only Cameron. His expression had gone terrifyingly empty. Like something inside him had switched off.My wolf snarled instantly beneath my skin.Not Lucien anymore. Or maybe worse - still Lucien, trapped somewhere underneath it.“Lucien,” Cameron said sharply.No response.Then Lucien spoke in a flat, mechanical voice that turned my blood cold. “Command conflict detected.”Mara swore violently beside me."Oh, Goddess. He was conditioned too."Not a mastermind. Not the architect. A victim. A willing accomplice maybe - but still conditioned. That changed everything.Lucien’s breathing became une
The operations room stayed silent for exactly three seconds after Lucien Vale’s name appeared on the damaged screen.Then Cameron turned and walked out. Every wolf in the corridor moved out of his way instantly. Even the guards looked uneasy now. Because everyone in Blackridge knew Commander Lucien Vale. Respected him. Trusted him.He had served the pack for over twenty years. Trained half the military division personally. Stood beside Cameron’s father during the border wars. And after his death Lucien had practically helped raise Cameron into the Alpha role.Which meant one thing. This betrayal cut deeper than any of the others.Mara hurried beside me as we followed Cameron through the eastern corridors. “Please tell me we’re not about to witness an Alpha-induced public execution.”“I honestly don’t know.”“That is not comforting.”No. It wasn’t.Cameron stopped only once - outside the central command stairwell. He looked toward one of the guards.“Find Lucien Vale.”The wolf straigh
Next morning I stood in my bedroom, trading silk for steel in my spine.The mansion was awake now. Not loud - Vale never was - but alert in the way predators were alert after blood had been spilled. Doors opened softly. Footsteps passed with purpose. The pack moved like a living organism, pretendin
The stairs creaked under my bare feet as I climbed back up, the sound too loud in the stillness of the mansion. Downstairs, my brothers were already arguing about strategy, retaliation, politics, the usual bloody symphony of Vale crisis management. I needed a moment where none of them could reach m
I turned. He stood at the threshold, dressed in black borrowed clothes that fit him like they’d always been his. Kieran hovered half a step behind him, ready to catch him if he swayed, but Cameron stood tall, shoulders squared, eyes burning with quiet, lethal promise.The bond surged. Not wild. Not
Morning came far too fast.I barely slept. Not because of the blood drying beneath my nails or the fact I’d ripped Mara’s heart straight out of her ribcage like some feral goddess of vengeance - no, apparently my subconscious handled that just fine.What kept me awake was the empty room. The empty







