The storm broke before dawn.
Rain fell hard across the forest, drumming against leaves and soaking the earth until the scent of wet soil filled the air.
Dominic stood at the edge of the Council grounds, staring into the darkness beyond the trees.
He hadn't slept.
Neither had Leila.
The mutated wolf from the previous night had changed everything. Whatever the Order of Fracture was doing, it was no longer just manipulation—it was transformation.
Leila joined him quietly.
"You're thinking about the mutation," she said.
Dominic didn't look away from the forest.
"That thing wasn't just corrupted," he replied. "It was engineered."
Leila folded her arms, her silver eyes reflecting the faint moonlight breaking through the clouds.
"The First Bloodline is reacting to it," she said.
Dominic glanced at her. "How?"
"It's… uneasy," she admitted.
The energy inside her chest had been restless ever since the creature exploded into ash. The ancient power was meant to stabilize wolves, not fight something unnatural.
"Like it recognizes the threat," she added.
Before Dominic could respond—
A shout echoed from the outer perimeter.
"Alpha!"
Both of them turned instantly.
One of the Council guards came running through the trees, soaked by the rain and breathing hard.
"We have a problem."
Dominic's eyes narrowed. "Report."
The guard hesitated.
"The prisoner… Kael."
Leila stiffened.
"What about him?" Dominic asked coldly.
"He's gone."
Silence fell.
Dominic's voice dropped dangerously low.
"You're telling me the wolf who started this war just walked out of Council custody?"
"No, Alpha," the guard said quickly.
"He didn't walk out."
Dominic's brow furrowed.
"Then how?"
The guard swallowed.
"He escaped."
The words barely left his mouth before a new scent drifted into the clearing.
Blood.
Fresh.
Dominic's head snapped toward the trees.
Leila felt it too.
Something was approaching.
Fast.
Branches snapped as a figure stumbled into the clearing.
It collapsed onto its knees in the mud.
Dominic moved first, grabbing the wolf by the collar and yanking him upright.
And froze.
"Kael."
The former alpha looked terrible.
His face was pale, his clothes torn, and dark blood soaked through his side.
Leila stepped closer cautiously.
"You escaped just to come back here?" she asked.
Kael coughed, a streak of blood touching his lips.
"I didn't escape," he rasped.
Dominic's grip tightened.
"Then start explaining."
Kael looked between them, his expression strained.
"They're coming."
Dominic's voice hardened.
"Who?"
Kael's eyes darkened.
"The Order."
Leila exchanged a look with Dominic.
"That's not new information," Dominic said bluntly.
Kael shook his head weakly.
"You don't understand."
He grabbed Dominic's arm with surprising strength.
"They've already deployed the first wave."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"Mutated wolves."
Kael's grip tightened.
"That's just the beginning."
Leila stepped closer.
"What do you mean?"
Kael looked at her, something close to regret flickering across his face.
"The Order has been experimenting on rogue wolves for years," he said.
"You already figured that out," Dominic replied impatiently.
Kael shook his head again.
"You're still thinking too small."
The rain poured harder around them.
"What they created last night wasn't a finished weapon."
Leila felt a chill crawl down her spine.
"What was it then?"
Kael's voice dropped to a whisper.
"A prototype."
Dominic released him slowly.
"How many?"
Kael looked toward the dark horizon.
"Hundreds."
The clearing went silent.
Even the elders standing nearby stiffened.
"That's impossible," one of them muttered.
Kael laughed weakly.
"Not if you have a laboratory."
Leila's stomach tightened.
"Where?"
Kael hesitated.
Dominic stepped forward again.
"If you're lying—"
"I'm not," Kael snapped, anger flaring briefly in his eyes.
Then his strength faded again.
"They built it in the Iron Mountains."
Dominic frowned.
"That territory is unclaimed."
"Exactly," Kael said.
"They've been hiding there for decades."
Leila's mind raced.
"The Order is building an army."
Kael nodded.
"And now that the bloodline fracture is repaired… they're accelerating their plans."
Dominic folded his arms.
"Why come to us?"
Kael met his gaze.
"Because you're the only ones who can stop them."
Dominic laughed darkly.
"You expect me to trust the wolf who called my mate disloyal and started this conflict?"
Kael looked down.
"I was wrong."
The admission hung heavy in the air.
"I thought the Order was protecting pack stability," he continued quietly.
"They told me your bloodline was dangerous."
Leila's voice was calm.
"And now?"
Kael looked up again.
"Now I know they're trying to replace us."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"With what?"
Kael gestured weakly toward the ash from the mutated wolf.
"With those."
The elders exchanged uneasy looks.
Leila could feel the First Bloodline stirring again.
The ancient power pulsed like a warning bell.
Dominic studied Kael carefully.
"You expect us to believe you suddenly grew a conscience?"
Kael's voice was rough.
"I expect you to believe I saw their next creation."
Dominic didn't respond.
Leila stepped forward instead.
"What did you see?"
Kael hesitated.
His voice dropped almost to a whisper.
"A wolf that doesn't need a pack bond."
The clearing went completely still.
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"That's not possible."
Kael shook his head slowly.
"That's what I thought."
Then he said the one thing that made even the Council elders pale.
"They called it the Alpha Killer."
The storm thundered overhead.
Leila felt the First Bloodline react violently inside her chest.
Whatever the Order was building—
It wasn't meant to fight packs.
It was meant to destroy them.
Dominic looked toward the distant mountains.
The Iron Mountains.
Hidden laboratories.
Hundreds of mutated wolves.
And something called the Alpha Killer.
He turned back to Leila.
"This just became a hunt."
She nodded slowly.
"Yes."
But deep inside, the First Bloodline whispered something else.
A warning.
Because if the Order had truly created a wolf without a pack bond—
Then they had done the impossible.
They had broken the oldest law of their kind.
And creatures without bonds…
Didn't just fight.
They destroyed everything.