JULY 25, TWENTY-FOUR HOURS TO ALPHA KING AWAKENING AND RELEASE OF THE SECOND FACE.ASHER“What the hell are you saying?!” Kate yelled, storming after me as I brushed past her, my boots echoing hard against the marble floor. “Are you for real right now? Joining them? I mean, are you actually insane?”I didn’t stop walking.“All packs are required to join the assault,” I said coldly. “It’s the only reasonable course of action. I have to participate.”“What?” My mother’s voice chimed in sharply behind me. “Are you serious right now, son?”I halted. My shoulders stiffened, back still turned to them.“Are you really trying to suck up to her? Asher, really? This is about Syra, isn’t it?” Kate accused, her voice dripping with resentment.I turned slowly, meeting their stares with mine. I had heard this same damn argument on repeat for the last week. Over and over again—like a damn broken record.“You think I don’t know what I’m doing?” I asked, jaw clenched. “You think I’m just blindly ru
JULY 26SYRA“Listen… I get you!” I breathed out, my voice trembling as my eyes locked with hers—no, its.The creature standing before me was not fully her anymore. Her eyes glowed a haunting blue, bright as a flame beneath still water, and jagged, obsidian-black teeth peeked through her grin. She was… twisted. Ferocious. But deep inside that monstrous shell, I could feel her. Syra. Scared. Cornered. Drowning under the weight of something dark—something ancient.She took a step forward, and the emergency alarm blared through the building. I had made it just in time.Behind me, through the restaurant glass, I could see people evacuating in a scramble. Nathan had triggered the emergency system—smart, quick. But now I had to keep her here. Alone. If she reached the kitchen, the others wouldn't stand a chance.Nathan had warned me about this face. “The Possession Face,” he’d said. “Unpredictable, ruthless. Even the real host won’t remember a thing. Don’t hesitate, Syra. Stall it. Whatev
THE UNIONALPHA LUMIE“Are you certain?” I ask, my voice low as Phillipa stands poised in front of the glowing board.She nods solemnly. “Yes. That’s exactly what the Memory Crystal revealed. According to his final message, we successfully decoded the ancient map. The seal of the second face is buried deep within Mount Kenya.”A curse slips from my lips as I rub my wrist, the tension crawling under my skin. “Damn it… so those bastards really are after the second face.”Hunter Oscar steps forward, brows furrowed. “This ‘second face’—what even is it? I mean, I get that it’s some kind of beast, but what exactly does it do?”Alpha Steinhart’s expression darkens as he speaks. “The Megetsune holds five faces—each a manifestation of pure destruction. The first is Possession. The second… Devour.” He pauses, jaw tight. “It’s not just a beast. It’s an abomination. Imagine a creature resembling a wolf, but taller than any Alpha, with piercing blue eyes, obsidian stone skin that deflects blad
ADRIAN“You’re serious? After all that—vomiting, groaning, collapsing—you just want red oranges?” I nearly choke on my own chuckle as I watch her lean against the bathroom wall, completely worn out. Her breathing was shallow, her eyes half-lidded with exhaustion—but she was dead serious.“What? You’re the one who woke me up, so yeah. Red oranges,” she mutters, barely lifting her head.“Red oranges… in the middle of the night?” I exhale through my nose, pinching the bridge. Then I grin. “Screw it. Let’s make it romantic.”Ten minutes later, I pulled into Quickmart’s half-lit parking lot, still slightly amused, still half asleep. The idea was simple: grab the damn red oranges, get back, and put her to bed.I head to the fruit aisle, find the juiciest batch of red oranges, and then… I look up.She’s gone.I swear I left her seated by the car. Where the hell did she go?And then, like something out of a comedy sketch, I hear it. Packet crinkling. Loud, unmistakable. Like a raccoon in a
SYRAA scent pulled me from sleep — something sweet, floral, almost mischievous. It curled around my senses like silk, warm and teasing, coaxing me upright before my mind even caught up.I blinked.The room was drenched in soft red light, low and mysterious. Shadows flickered across the walls, cast by the quiet flame of scattered candles. The flowers came next — petals forming a path, as if someone had spilled romance right through the room, one bloom at a time.Then came the music.A single note. Gentle. Lonely. And then another, deeper, richer — a melody blooming in the quiet.I squinted through the glow and stilled. There he was.Adrian.Standing at the edge of his stupid dining table — which now looked like a scene stolen from a dream. A red cloth fell elegantly over the surface, two covered plates waiting, silver glinting softly. He stood tall, playing an actual violin like some phantom lover from a midnight novel. The bow glided across the strings, slow and deliberate.I glanc
WHITE CARNAGEBLUE CARNAGE: GABRIELLE SMITH“So, I’ll be in charge of the operation,” Judith announces as she stands by the tall glass window, her silhouette framed against the glittering city skyline below.“Was baiting them with the Solace Project your idea too?” I ask, settling into the seat across from Kane, who’s already lost in the slow pull of his vape. “I mean, there’s no way you could’ve just known Syra was the Blessed Luna, right?”She lets out a dry chuckle, swirling the wine in her glass before taking a sip. “Where I was raised, there was a legend—one that spoke of the return of the Alpha King and the rise of the Blessed Luna. Let’s just say,” she turns slightly, eyes gleaming under the low lights, “everything pointed to her. So I set the bait. I’ve waited for this moment longer than I can remember.”“And what happens if you finally go viral with your identity?” Zacharia chimes in from the shadows. “Are you prepared for that fallout? It’s been, what, ten years since you l