Power has a weight to it.

I feel it now as Lara’s silver energy flows through our mate bonds, turning reality itself fluid around us. The small cabin seems to exist in twilight, our presence masked from searching eyes by shadows that move like living things.

Through centuries of rule, I’ve never encountered anything quite like this. The way her power meshes with ours, turning three Alpha Kings’ strength into something entirely new. Something dangerous.

Something beautiful.

“They’re splitting up,” Lucas reports from his position by the window. “Teams of four, standard search pattern. But there’s something odd about their movements.”

I study the guards’ formations through the strange silver haze of Lara’s power. My brother is right—their search pattern is too precise. Too coordinated for simple hunters.

“Military precision,” Lara murmurs, echoing my thoughts. “Jackson’s been training them differently. More like...” She breaks off, understanding dawning in her eyes. “More like your forces.”

Ice settles in my stomach as the pieces click into place. “He has inside information about our tactics.”

“A spy?” Kian’s growl holds deadly promise.

“Or a defector.” I watch another group of guards move past the cabin, their movements eerily familiar. “Someone who knows how we think. How we fight.”

Through our bonds, I feel Lara’s fierce concentration as she maintains the masking spell. The silver power responds beautifully to our combined strength, but I can sense the strain it puts on her. We need to move soon.

“Southeast patrol is approaching,” Lucas warns. “Twenty seconds.”

I catch Lara’s eye, silently confirming our hastily formed plan. She nods once, her jaw set with determination.

“Sarah.” My voice carries the weight of Alpha command. “Get Chloe ready to move. When I give the signal, Lucas will guide you to the fallback position.”

The healer works swiftly, gathering her supplies while keeping one hand on her patient’s pulse. Chloe stirs restlessly, prophecy making her skin glow with unnatural light.

“The darkness comes,” she whispers, her voice holding that eerie resonance that marks true visions. “Silver and shadow dance on the edge of blade and bone...”

“Twelve seconds,” Lucas reports.

Lara moves to my side, close enough that her scent—sunshine and steel and raw power—fills my lungs. “Remember the plan. No killing unless absolutely necessary. These are still my people.”

“Your people chose Jackson,” I remind her coldly.

“No.” Her eyes flash silver. “They chose survival. There’s a difference.”

Before I can respond, boots crunch on gravel outside. The patrol approaches slowly, methodically checking each building. Through the mate bonds, I feel Kian’s wolf stirring with predatory anticipation. Lucas melts further into the shadows, ready to move at my signal.

The cabin door creaks open.

Four guards enter, their movements precise and coordinated. Elite warriors, then. Not common soldiers. Their eyes scan the room, passing over us as if we don’t exist. Lara’s power holds, bending light and shadow around us like a cloak.

One guard moves closer to where Sarah kneels beside Chloe. For a moment, I think he’ll walk right past them. Then he pauses, nostrils flaring.

“Wait,” he says sharply. “I smell—”

Now, I say to my brothers through our bond, the words traveling to our mate as well. Lara reacts instantly, her power flaring. She drops the masking spell as I surge forward, catching the nearest guard before he can shout a warning. My hand covers his mouth as Kian takes down two more with brutal efficiency. Lucas appears behind the fourth, pressing a knife to his throat.

“Quiet,” I command, letting Alpha power fill my voice. “Or this ends badly for everyone.”

The guards freeze, recognition widening their eyes as they realize exactly who they’re facing. Through our bonds, I feel Lara’s reluctant approval of our precision.

“Bind them,” she orders, already moving to help Sarah with Chloe. “Quickly. The next patrol will be here soon.”

We work swiftly, using spelled rope that will hold even shifted wolves. But as I secure the last guard, something about his scent catches my attention. Something familiar...

“Sir,” he whispers, too low for the others to hear. “Gamma sends word. The ritual—it’s not what we thought. Jackson’s planning—”

A howl splits the night before he can finish. Not a standard patrol signal, but something more urgent. More deadly.

“Elite hunters,” Lara breathes, recognition flashing through our bonds. “Jackson’s personal guard. They only hunt in—”

“Packs of twelve,” I finish grimly. “Moving in kill formation.”

Sarah looks up from checking Chloe’s pulse. “She’s too weak to move far. The prophecies are getting stronger...”

As if in response, Chloe’s eyes snap open, glowing with silver fire. “The throne of bones rises,” she gasps. “Blood pays for blood, power calls to power, the dark king seeks the silver crown...”

“We need to split up,” Lucas says, his usual playful tone gone. “Draw them away from here.”

I nod shortly. “Kian, take point. Clear us a path south. Lucas—”

“I’ll shadow Sarah and the prophet,” he finishes. “Get them somewhere safe.”

“No.” Lara’s voice cracks like a whip. “We stick together. Trust me.”

I study her face, noting the calculated determination in her eyes. She has a plan. Something she’s not telling us.

I narrow my gaze. What are you playing at, little Alpha?

Her expression gives nothing away, but I have no time to question her as more howls join the first, closer now. The elite hunters moving to surround us.

“The scrolls,” the guard whispers urgently. “Check the temple scrolls. The ritual isn’t meant to—”

An arrow whistles through the window, burying itself in his throat. His last words die in a gurgle of blood.

“Shit.” Kian moves to the window, ducking as more arrows fly past. “They’ve got high ground positions. Professional ambush formation.”

My mind races through options, discarding each as too risky. We’re surrounded, outnumbered, with a critically ill prophet to protect. Worse, they’re using our own tactics against us.

But the worst part, the part that really burns, is the presence of Gamma. The silent Guardian they brought over from the Kings to train the guard after my own allies betrayed me. Now, I have no choice but to believe everything Lara said.

That those closest to us aren't always trustworthy.

My fingers tighten around my knife as more arrows fly through the window. Chaos is coming, and we have no way to stop it.

Unless...

“Lara.” I catch her arm as she moves to check the back exit. “The silver power. Can you do more than just mask our presence?”

Understanding dawns in her eyes. Through our bonds, I feel her drawing on our combined strength, letting the silver energy build until it crackles in the air like lightning.

“Cover Chloe,” she commands. “And whatever happens next... trust me.”

Power explodes outward from her in a wave of silver fire. Reality itself seems to bend as shadows come alive, taking shapes that defy description. Through our mate bonds, I feel the moment she fully opens herself to our strength—not fighting it anymore, but embracing it completely.

The effect is devastating.

Elite hunters cry out in confusion as their own shadows turn against them. Arrows freeze mid-flight, caught in silver fire before dissolving into ash. The very air feels charged with ancient power as Lara weaves our combined strength into something entirely new.

“Now,” she gasps, strain evident in her voice. “Move. All of us. I can’t hold this long.”

We burst from the cabin in tight formation—Kian and I flanking Lara while Lucas guides Sarah and Chloe between us. The night erupts into chaos as Jackson’s forces try to regroup, but they can’t counter what they can’t understand.

Through the silver haze of Lara’s power, I watch my mate transform from reluctant ally to living weapon. She moves with deadly grace, using our strength to amplify her own in ways I’ve never seen. Silver fire dances around her like a living thing, responding to her will with terrifying precision.

But it’s the strategy behind her actions that truly impresses me. She’s not just fighting—she’s conducting a battle symphony. Every move calculated, every burst of power precisely targeted to create maximum confusion with minimum casualties.

She’s protecting her people even as she fights them.

An arrow breaks through her defenses, heading straight for Chloe. Without thinking, I throw my power through our bond, lending her the strength to deflect it. The silver energy accepts my contribution eagerly, turning the arrow to dust inches from her sister’s face.

“The temple,” Lara gasps as we run. “We need... the temple archives...”

“You’re in no condition to—” I start, but she cuts me off with a look that burns hotter than her power.

“Trust goes both ways, remember?” Silver fire dances in her eyes. “The scrolls will tell us what Jackson’s really planning. Why he needs a female Alpha’s power so badly...”

More hunters appear ahead, blocking our path. But before anyone can react, Lara’s power surges again. Reality ripples like water as multiple versions of our group appear, running in different directions. The hunters hesitate, unable to tell which images are real.

“Clever,” Lucas murmurs appreciatively. “Very clever.”

Pride pulses through our bonds—both at her tactical brilliance and at how naturally she’s working with our power now. Our little Alpha is finally beginning to understand what being our mate truly means.

But as we break free of the ambush, racing toward the temple district, a cold certainty settles in my gut. Whatever we find in those archives, whatever ritual Jackson is planning...

This is only the beginning.

The real battle—for power, for territory, for our mate’s very soul—is just starting.

And something tells me none of us truly understand the price of victory.