Semua Bab Alpha Rex.: Bab 71 - Bab 80

The forest remained tense long after Alpha Thane finished speaking. No one moved. Thirty Blackthorn warriors stood behind Rex, silent and ready. Across the invisible line, Thane’s wolves waited just as still. The air between the two packs felt like stretched wire—tight enough that the wrong word could snap it. Rex did not rush his response. That was one of the reasons Blackthorn followed him without question. Rex never reacted blindly. When others spoke, he listened. When others threatened, he measured. Only then did he decide. His eyes remained locked on Thane. “You came to warn me,” Rex said calmly. Thane shrugged lightly. “Among other things.” Rex’s gaze sharpened. “And you expect me to trust that.” “No,” Thane said easily. “I expect you to consider it.” A faint murmur moved through the Blackthorn warriors behind Rex, but it died quickly. Rex didn’t look away. “You’ve spent years trying to weaken this pack,” he continued. “Now you show up offering help.” Thane smile

The war room filled quickly. Not with noise, but with presence. Rex stood at the head of the long stone table, shoulders squared, expression calm in a way that made everyone else straighten without being told. Kaelen took position to his right, already scanning reports brought in by scouts. Ash leaned against the far edge, arms folded, eyes sharp despite the tiredness beneath them. Isabella stood near Rex. Not behind him. Beside him. The difference didn’t go unnoticed. “Report,” Rex said. A scout stepped forward, mud still clinging to his boots. “Energy surge along the northern ridge confirmed. Not a rift like before… something more concentrated.” Kaelen frowned. “Define concentrated.” The scout hesitated. “It didn’t spread. It anchored.” That word landed wrong. Isabella felt it immediately. Anchored. Like the Warden had. Like she had. Rex’s gaze shifted slightly toward her. “You feel that?” She nodded slowly. “Yes.” Ash straightened. “Don’t tell me there’s another

Blackthorn didn’t return to normal. It sharpened. By the time they rode back through the gates, the pack had already felt it. The shift in the air, the tension riding on the wind. Word spread fast without needing voices. Something had changed. And this time, it wasn’t subtle. The war room filled again. Faster than before. Rex stood at the head of the table, one hand braced against the stone surface as Kaelen spread out updated maps. Ash paced this time, restless energy replacing his usual sarcasm. Isabella stood near the window. She couldn’t sit. The Axis inside her hadn’t settled since the encounter. It wasn’t unstable. It was… alert. Like it knew something she didn’t. “Say it again,” Kaelen said, voice tight. Rex didn’t look up. “The Seeker confirmed it.” Ash dragged a hand through his hair. “Yeah, yeah—‘they’re coming faster.’ Still hate that sentence.” Kaelen’s gaze flicked to Isabella. “What did you feel when it said that?” She hesitated. Then answered honest

(Rex’s POV ) I knew something was wrong the second the light hit her. Not the explosion itself, I’ve seen power before. Fought it. Survived it. But this? This was different. This wasn’t power out of control. It was power deciding. And that was far more dangerous. One second, Isabella was behind me. The next— She wasn’t. No sound. No warning. No movement I could track. Just… gone from where I placed her. And standing in front of that thing. Too close. Far too close. My body reacted before my mind did. I stepped forward, ready to drag her back, ready to tear through whatever stood between us but something stopped me. Not physically. Instinct. The kind that keeps you alive when everything else fails. Don’t interfere. I hate that instinct. The creature didn’t move. That alone told me everything I needed to know. Whatever just happened, it wasn’t in control anymore. She was. And that should have relieved me. It didn’t. Because I didn’t understand what she had

(Rex’s POV)I don’t like unknowns.Unknown enemies can be tracked. Fought. Killed.Unknown intentions?Those are worse.Because they sit in front of you, smiling, like they already know how this ends.I stepped closer to him.Close enough now that if he tried anything, he wouldn’t finish it.“You’re going to explain,” I said.Not a request.Not a warning.A decision.He didn’t flinch.Didn’t step back.Just looked at me like he was measuring something.Then he smiled again.“You really don’t like not being in control.”Ash snorted behind me. “You’re just figuring that out?”I ignored both of them.“Talk.”The stranger exhaled slowly.Like he was deciding how much to give away.“That thing you faced,” he said, glancing briefly toward the sky, “wasn’t even meant to reach you.”Kaelen’s voice cut in immediately.“Explain that.”He shrugged.“It was a correction unit. Sent to clean up instability.”My jaw tightened.“Instability.”His eyes flicked to Isabella.“Yes.”I didn’t like the way