The courtyard was a warzone.
Mud and blood mixed into thick sludge underfoot as the Cursed Pack fought desperately against waves of mutated wolves. The Alpha Killer from before had been restrained temporarily, but hundreds more were advancing from the forest edges.
Dominic moved like a shadow storm, fangs sinking, claws lashing, shadow energy exploding around him with every strike. But even his unmatched strength wasn't enough to hold the line forever.
Leila stayed close, her hands glowing with the intertwined silver and obsidian threads of the First Bloodline. Every time a mutated wolf came too close, she tried to purify it—reach its corrupted core and restore its natural balance.
But there were too many.
"They're too far gone," she said through the bond. "I can't reach them all!"
Dominic's wolf form skidded through the mud, catching a lunging mutant midair. "Then you reach the leaders," he growled. "Break their chains, not just fight the army."
Leila's mind raced. Leaders. That made sense. Every wave of mutated wolves followed Alpha Killers or those the Order had enhanced. Destroy the puppeteers, and the army might collapse.
She closed her eyes, letting the First Bloodline surge inside her. The power thrummed like a living heartbeat. She felt every corrupted wolf as if they were pieces of a broken mirror. Some were violent, some terrified, all trapped in the Order's cruel experiments.
Her hands shot forward, threads of silver and black energy weaving through the battlefield. She focused on the strongest Alpha Killer nearby, the one controlling dozens of mutants.
The creature paused mid-attack, tilting its head as if sensing her intrusion.
"You will not control them anymore," Leila whispered.
Her energy pulsed outward like a wave.
For the first time, a mutated wolf faltered in mid-attack. Its claws froze, teeth barely missing a pack member. Its eyes cleared for a heartbeat—silver replacing red, natural instincts returning.
Dominic noticed immediately. "It's working!" he barked.
Leila's energy intensified, threading through the battlefield like invisible chains snapping. One by one, the mutated wolves closest to the Alpha Killers hesitated. They shook, as though waking from a nightmare.
One Alpha Killer staggered, howling in frustration. "What… what is this?"
Leila's power reached its peak. She touched the Alpha Killer's mind, the First Bloodline inside her harmonizing with its unstable core. Memories of the wolf it once was flashed in her mind—fear, pain, loyalty, and confusion.
"No more," she said firmly. "You are not a weapon."
For a moment, the impossible happened. The Alpha Killer fell to its knees. The silver veins in its body dimmed. Its eyes cleared slightly, revealing a wolf beneath the chaos.
The battlefield shifted. Mutated wolves around it stopped attacking entirely, confused. Many looked to the Alpha Killer for direction—now seeing its leader broken, they hesitated, unsure how to act.
Dominic leapt beside Leila, fangs bared. "Keep going! Purify them!"
She gritted her teeth, spreading the energy further, reaching the second and third Alpha Killers, each one faltering under her First Bloodline's influence. Slowly, the corrupted army began to crumble, instinct overtaking the manipulation imposed on them.
Even the Council scouts who had joined the battle stared in awe.
Marcus shouted from the gates. "They're breaking! The army's collapsing!"
Leila's hands burned, her power nearly overwhelming her body. The First Bloodline inside her surged violently, like it recognized the need for full convergence.
Dominic placed a hand on her shoulder. "Focus. Don't lose yourself."
She nodded, gritting her teeth, and directed the energy precisely at the Alpha Killers, severing their connection to the corrupted wolves. One by one, the monstrous creations fell to the ground, exhausted, natural instincts slowly returning.
The courtyard was silent for a heartbeat. Then, the purified wolves howled—not in aggression, but in relief and instinctive communication.
Dominic shifted back to human form, breathing heavily. He looked at Leila. "You did it."
She collapsed to her knees, exhausted, silver light dimming from her body. "I… I didn't know if I could…"
"You can," Dominic said softly, lifting her. "And you just did."
Kael, who had been watching from the edge of the battlefield, stepped forward cautiously. "I've never seen anything like that. The First Bloodline… it's… alive in her."
Leila looked at him, faintly smiling despite her exhaustion. "Alive… and it chooses its host carefully. It chose me because it knew I wouldn't destroy them, even when it was easy to strike."
Dominic wrapped an arm around her. "And now," he said, voice hardening, "we turn our eyes on the Order. They won't stop, and neither will we."
From the distant mountains, a storm of wind and shadow seemed to echo their resolve. The Iron Mountains awaited, and the laboratories within held even darker secrets.
But for the first time, the Cursed Pack stood victorious—not just surviving, but strengthened. They had tasted the enemy's power and reclaimed it.
Leila felt the First Bloodline settle inside her, steady and humming like a living pulse.
Dominic's hand brushed against hers. "This war is far from over," he murmured.
She nodded, silver eyes glowing faintly. "But now… we can fight it together."
And high above, the moon broke free from the clouds, casting silver light over the pack and the blood-soaked courtyard. A beacon of hope—and a warning that the battles ahead would be larger, deadlier, and more unforgiving than anything they had faced.