This is the tale of those who now walk the land he left behind.
The Obsidians.
The ones who learned to survive in the ruin.
Led by the one known only as The Alpha—
A figure feared across distant lands.
Said to be one of the First Bloods—
The original werewolves, birthed by the Apex himself.
Despite his ancient origins, he appears no older than his early fifties.
Those likeThe Phantom King and The Alpha—the First Bloods—do not age like others.
They've lived as long as history itself, watching empires rise and crumble.
They've cut down their own kind… and watched legends fall.
He sat upon his throne of bone and iron—
Still as stone. Watching. Waiting.
The Alpha.
His eyes, glowing a deep, violent red, burned through the dim haze of the chamber. Around him, the fortress pulsed with silent reverence.
He spoke rarely. Moved even less.
But when he did—the world shook.
No Luna stood at his side.
Yet he had three children, each born of different bloodlines.
Each carrying a shard of his ferocity.
They were called The Pillars.
Some whispered they were bred for war, not love.
No one dared ask him.
One of the last First Bloods still standing.
Huntress, his first and only daughter, knelt before him—one fist pressed to the cold obsidian floor, her head bowed low.
"They're about to make their move, Father," she said, voice cold and steady. "What do we do?"
Silence.
The Alpha didn't blink. Didn't shift.
Only after a long pause did he speak—voice deep, graveled, ancient.
"Let them."
She lifted her gaze slightly. "You want them to come to us?"
"We want them exposed," another voice cut in—Scar, the last-born. Lean and lethal, lounging in the shadows. "No one beats us on home soil. No one knows these ruins like we do."
Huntress rose to her feet, her father's red gaze mirrored in her own. "They have the full force of the Shadow Legion."
The Alpha's jaw tensed. The name tasted like ash.
"Then we remind them," he said darkly,
"Why the Claw's Heart still stands."
"This is madness," a voice snapped from the far end of the hall.
Hunter, twin brother of Huntress, stepped out of the shadows—shoulders tense, eyes burning.
"You're nothing compared to Verek," he barked at The Alpha. "We should be on our knees, thanking him for letting us live this long."
He moved closer, jaw clenched. "He leads a pack where even the weakest are stronger than we—the so-called Pillars—combined."
Before The Alpha could move, Huntress was already between them—eyes flashing, voice sharp.
"Speak with respect, or I'll rip the tongue from your mouth."
Hunter scoffed. "You want us to keep pretending we're stronger than they are? That he"—he pointed toward The Alpha—"can protect us from the Shadow Legion?"
He stepped back, rubbing his jaw bitterly. "I can't even remember the last time he left that throne. When was the last time he fought? Led a charge? He just sits there."
He spat the words like poison. "We're the second strongest pack because of us. The warriors. The blood we've shed. Not because of him. That title—'second strongest Alpha'? He didn't earn it. We did."
The chamber went still.
"I'm not gonna try to stop you from doing whatever it is you wanna do…" Hunter growled, voice low but shaking with fury. "But I won't sit back and watch you send my sister to her coffin."
His eyes locked onto The Alpha. "You sit there like a god—but you bleed like the rest of us."
He turned, steps echoing into the silence—then paused at the edge of the shadows.
"If a single strand of her hair goes missing…"
He glanced back, gaze sharp as a blade.
"I'll take your head myself."
And then—he was gone.
Vanished into the darkness.
The chamber stayed silent long after Hunter's footsteps faded into the dark.
Huntress didn't move.
Her jaw clenched, her heart a storm beneath her ribs. But she kept her eyes forward—on the throne… on The Alpha.
Finally, The Alpha stirred.
A low sigh rumbled from his chest.
Scar stepped forward, arms folded. "I'll bring him back."
"Let him go," The Alpha growled.
Scar paused.
"He's right…"
Huntress's eyes widened. Even Scar stiffened.
"I've watched and waited. Perhaps… for too long."
He rose slowly—taller than they remembered, more massive than the room could contain. His voice rolled like thunder.
"It's time you all remembered what it means to be First Blood."
He stepped down from the throne. The iron groaned behind him.
"Time the world remembered why I sit on that throne… and no one else."
A pause.
Then his eyes glowed brighter—crimson flaring like flame.
"First order of business…"
His voice was calm. Dangerous.
"We bring back Luna."
"Are you kidding me?" Huntress snapped, stepping forward. "We're on the verge of war and you're still chasing her?"
Scar lifted a brow but didn't interfere.
"She can wait," Huntress said, her voice rising. "We have bigger threats right now."
The Alpha turned his head—slowly. His eyes glowed, deep and unblinking.
"No one questions my authority," he said, calm as stone. "Not you. Not your brother."
Then—
The air shifted.
It hit without warning. The chamber groaned. The torches lining the walls flared violently, then dimmed under a crushing, unseen weight.
The Alpha had released his aura.
Ancient. Relentless. Absolute.
It bore down like a storm, pressing Huntress to one knee before she could resist. Scar gritted his teeth as his back hunched, his lungs straining under the force.
Even the shadows seemed to retreat from him.
"You will obey," he growled—his voice no longer just his. It echoed, layered, like something older was speaking through him.
"You will trust in my command… or be reminded why you bow."
His red eyes blazed like fire through the gloom.
Huntress clenched her fists, shaking from the pressure.
But she said nothing.
She couldn't.
Outside the chamber, the heavy silence finally broke.
Huntress paced, eyes fierce but worried. "Why would you do that? Are you even in your right mind? Dad's not some tyrant—we all owe him that much!"
Hunter's gaze was steady, but soft. "Remember when you said you'd stand up to Father for Luna's sake?"
She stopped, glancing at him.
"Well, someone's gotta stand up to him for yours."
There was a beat. Then, the first tears welled up in her eyes.
"This… this reminds me of when we were kids. When we ran out because they wouldn't let us hunt. Then those big bad wolves attacked."
She swallowed hard, voice breaking. "We fought. They beat us. But no matter how many times you got hurt, you never backed down."
Hunter's lips twitched in a sad smile. "I said I'd kill every one of them—and die before I let you get hurt."
Huntress wiped her cheeks fiercely, fighting back more tears. "I'm not ready to lose you… not now. Not ever."
Hunter pulled her into a rough hug. "Neither am I."
They stood there a moment, two warriors bound by blood and love — bracing for the storm to come.
Scar watched from a distance, a small, cruel smile playing on his lips.
"Weak."