Scott nearly died first.
Which honestly surprised nobody.
Ethan and Aiden fought like synchronized monsters.
Every movement coordinated perfectly.
Scott blocked one attack—
Then got slammed through two walls by the second twin instantly afterward.
Pain exploded across his ribs.
The twins stalked toward him calmly.
"You're weaker than we expected," Ethan admitted.
Scott spat blood.
"…Rude."
Nearby Derek was losing badly against Kali.
Her speed overwhelmed him.
Her claws ripped across his shoulders repeatedly.
Even Peter struggled against Ennis's brute strength.
The Alpha Pack was winning.
Slowly.
Brutally.
Exactly as Deucalion intended.
Scott staggered back to his feet breathing heavily.
Across the mall he could hear his pack suffering.
Jackson screaming.
Isaac injured.
Boyd collapsing.
And underneath all of it—
Fear.
His fear.
The fear of failing everyone.
Deucalion noticed instantly.
"Good," the Demon Wolf said softly.
"Now kill them."
Scott froze.
"What?"
"Kill your enemies. Take their power."
Scott looked horrified.
"That's not who I am."
Deucalion smiled wider.
"Then you will lose."
Scott's heartbeat thundered violently.
Pain.
Fear.
Anger.
The pressure kept building.
Until suddenly—
He heard Drake's voice.
Calm.
Steady.
"Scott."
Scott turned instinctively.
Drake stood across the ruined courtyard watching him carefully.
Not intervening.
Just watching.
"You already know the answer," Drake said softly.
Scott frowned.
"What answer?"
Drake smiled faintly.
"The reason they'll never understand you."
The Alpha twins attacked again.
Scott moved instinctively.
Not with rage.
Not with violence.
With certainty.
He protected instead of destroyed.
Shielded Boyd.
Pulled Isaac out of danger.
Defended Jackson despite getting injured himself.
And then—
Something changed.
The entire mall shook.
Golden light erupted from Scott's eyes.
Pure.
Ancient.
True.
Every werewolf in the building froze instantly.
Deucalion's expression cracked completely.
"…Impossible."
Scott stood slowly.
Power rolled off him now.
Different from ordinary Alphas.
No stolen strength.
No murder.
Just will.
Just heart.
A True Alpha.
Drake smiled proudly.
"There you are."
Scott's transformation changed the battlefield instantly.
The twins backed away first.
Instinct screaming.
Kali stopped fighting Derek entirely.
Even Ennis looked uneasy.
Because every supernatural creature present felt it.
Scott's power was clean.
Natural.
The kind legends talked about.
Scott stared at his own glowing red eyes in shock.
"…I did it?"
Peter looked offended.
"Excuse me while I process the fact morality actually worked."
Deucalion snarled for the first time.
"You don't deserve that power."
Scott stepped forward calmly.
"No."
The mall trembled beneath his voice.
"I earned it."
Then Deucalion attacked.
Fast enough to blur.
Strong enough to shatter concrete.
The Demon Wolf slammed directly into Scott—
And stopped.
Scott caught him.
One hand against Deucalion's arm.
The shockwave exploded through the mall.
Everyone froze.
Scott looked just as surprised as everyone else.
"…Oh."
Drake laughed softly.
Good.
Confidence mattered.
Deucalion recovered instantly and attacked harder.
But Scott held his ground now.
Not overpowering.
Enduring.
Protecting.
Leading.
Everything a True Alpha should be.
Then Ennis roared and charged toward the injured pack members.
Wrong decision.
Drake moved.
Reality cracked.
The entire mall went silent as Drake appeared directly in front of Ennis.
The massive Alpha stopped instantly.
Because Drake's eyes—
Were no longer merely crimson.
Galaxies burned inside them now.
Infinite black space filled with dying stars.
The sight alone made the Alpha Pack recoil.
Drake looked almost disappointed.
"I gave you opportunities to leave."
Ennis attacked anyway.
Brave.
Stupid.
Drake caught the Alpha's punch effortlessly.
Then slowly tightened his grip.
Bones shattered instantly.
Ennis screamed.
Drake's voice echoed unnaturally through the collapsing mall.
"You threatened my pack."
Crimson power erupted outward violently.
The entire building split apart.
Windows exploded across multiple city blocks.
And everyone finally witnessed a fraction of Drake's true form.
Not wolf.
Not human.
Something cosmic wearing both shapes badly.
Massive crimson shadows unfolded behind him like wings made from the end of worlds.
The Alpha Pack froze in genuine terror.
Even Deucalion staggered backward.
"…What are you?"
Drake's smile held absolutely no humanity.
"The reason monsters fear the dark."
The Alpha Pack broke first.
Kali fled immediately.
The twins followed seconds later.
Ennis tried fighting anyway.
Which lasted approximately four seconds.
Drake grabbed the Alpha by the throat and slammed him through six floors of the mall.
The impact shook Beacon Hills.
Outside cars flipped from the shockwave.
Inside the preserve every supernatural creature dropped instinctively.
Even Scott struggled standing near Drake now.
Because his power kept growing.
Unfolding.
Awakening.
Drake descended through the crater slowly while Ennis lay broken beneath him.
The Alpha coughed blood weakly.
Fear saturated the air.
Drake crouched calmly beside him.
"You came here believing power belonged to whoever could kill for it."
Ennis trembled.
Drake tilted his head slightly.
"That's why you were always weak."
Then he released him.
Everyone froze.
Even Ennis looked confused.
"You're… sparing me?"
Drake stood slowly.
"No."
His cosmic eyes narrowed.
"I'm humiliating you."
Ennis fled instantly.
Meanwhile above the ruined mall—
Scott cornered Deucalion.
The blind Alpha looked shaken for the first time in years.
"You think becoming a True Alpha makes you special?" Deucalion snarled.
Scott stepped closer calmly.
"No."
Golden-red eyes glowed steadily.
"But it means I don't have to become you."
Silence.
Then Deucalion laughed quietly.
Not mocking.
Almost respectful.
"…Interesting."
Before the fight could continue—
A pulse erupted from the preserve.
The Nemeton awakened violently.
Every supernatural being cried out instantly.
And Drake collapsed.
The entire mall froze.
Ciri appeared beside him instantly.
"Drake!"
Crimson fractures spread across his skin rapidly now.
His body physically struggling to contain the power awakening inside him.
Scott knelt beside him immediately.
"What's happening?!"
Drake's voice sounded distorted.
Ancient.
Layered.
"…I remember."
That terrified everyone.
Because reality itself reacted to those words.
The sky cracked again.
And far above Beacon Hills—
Something enormous opened its eyes.