The surrender

Garrett's POVThe industrial zone warehouse was surrounded by 4:17 a.m.Ninety-three confederation fighters positioned at every exit. Three perimeter teams. One strike force. Two hours of coordination. One goal…..contain Kieran before he could scatter his remaining forces."All teams report ready," Tamara said through the comm.I was in the mobile command center two blocks away, watching the drone feed of the warehouse. Kieran's last known location. The industrial zone……southern territory, isolated, perfect for a final stand.But Kieran wouldn't be making a final stand. Not if we executed right."Confirmation on Kieran inside?" I asked."Confirmed," Sarah said. She was leading this operation personally. "Two scouts confirmed his signature entering forty minutes ago. He's in there."I studied the thermal imaging. Forty-seven heat signatures inside the warehouse. Down from the hundred-plus he'd started with. Northridge had collapsed morale. Southfield had fallen yesterday in seventeen m

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-09-29

The still after

Tamara's POVThe war was over.I kept thinking those words like they weren't real. Like if I repeated them enough, my body would understand what my brain already knew…..there was no more crisis, no more emergency, no more midnight council meetings where the entire confederation's survival depended on the next four hours.The war was over.And now I couldn't sleep.It was 2:47 a.m. on a Tuesday……five days after Kieran's surrender. I was sitting in the library's darkest corner, staring at a textbook I hadn't read a single word of. My college classes were due to resume in three days. Normal life was supposed to resume. But my hands wouldn't stop shaking."You're going to damage your eyes sitting in the dark," Garrett said.I didn't startle. Somehow I always knew when he was near now."Can't sleep," I said.He didn't lecture me about sleep cycles or body recovery. He just sat down across from me, pulled the textbook gently away, and replaced it with two mugs of tea."Drink this," he said.

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-09-29

The bridge

Tamara's POVWe heard him before we saw him, footsteps on the trail.Garrett didn't move neither did I. We just lay there in the grass, still breathing hard, and waited.Lucas came into the field like he'd tracked our scent which he probably had. He was still in his clothes…..jeans and a grey shirt that had seen better days. He looked at us lying in the grass and just stood there."Hey," he said."Hey," Garrett said back. He didn't sit up.Lucas laughed quietly."You two look like you got hit by something.""We ran," I said. "For about an hour.""Shifted?" Lucas asked."Yeah," Garrett said.Lucas sat down on the grass a few feet away. Not with us just near. He was quiet for a minute, watching the sky."It all ended," Garrett said.He didn’t ask a question, not really directed at Lucas. He just said it.Lucas looked at him."The whole thing," Garrett continued. "Six weeks ago it was an existential threat. Now it's just……" He paused. "Over.""Yeah," Lucas said. He was smiling. "It is."G

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-09-30

Breaking ground

Lucas's POVMy father's study looked the same…..leather chairs that creaked when you sat in them. Same smell books and whiskey and something else I'd never quite identified.He was sitting behind the desk when I walked in. Older than I remembered. Or maybe I was just seeing him clearly for the first time."Lucas," he said."Dad."He didn't stand up. Just watched me close the door and walk across the room. I sat in one of the leather chairs without waiting for an invitation."Thomas says you're joining the confederation," I said."Yes," my father said. He didn't apologize. He didn't explain. Just confirmed it."Why now?" I asked.My father leaned back in his chair. His hands were on the desk. Strong hands. Alpha hands. Hands that had shaped my entire childhood."Because I was wrong," he said finally.I waited."I sent you away," he continued. "Demanded you come back. Cut you off when you didn't comply." He looked at me. "I watched you build something without me. Lead something without

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-09-30

Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 121 - Chapitre 124

The surrender

The still after

The bridge

Breaking ground