Alpha Damon POV
I watched my three boys disappear into the shadow-filled forest and knew I was about to lose everything.
Fifty years of leading this pack. Twenty-eight years of raising those boys. Eighteen years of protecting a girl whose very presence could destroy us all.
And now it was ending in the worst possible way.
"Alpha," Beta Marcus approached cautiously. "The perimeter guards say Viktor's forces are only thirty minutes out. What are your orders?"
I stared at the window where my sons had disappeared, feeling like my heart was being ripped from my chest. As an Alpha, my duty was to guard the pack. As a father, my job was to protect my children.
Tonight, I couldn't do both.
"Evacuate the non-fighters to the safe caves," I directed, my voice steady despite the chaos inside my head. "Send word to the neighboring packs that we may need emergency assistance."
"Sir," Marcus paused. "What about talks with Viktor? He's still expecting an answer about giving over the girl."
Anna Moon moved forward from where she'd been standing silently. "There won't be talks. Viktor never meant to negotiate."
"Then why did he say he was bringing proof that you were alive?" I asked.
Anna's laugh was bitter and cold. "Because he knew it would make Iris upset. Strong feelings make Silver Wolf magic more powerful. He needed her to have a magical breakdown so he could track her exact location."
The pieces clicked together in my mind, and I felt sick. "The whole thing was a setup. From the beginning."
"From before the beginning," Anna confirmed. "Viktor has been planning this for eighteen years. Every move, every manipulation, even using that poor Celeste girl's anger to start the kitchen fire."
"How long have you been watching us?" I asked.
"Since the day I supposedly died," Anna said softly. "I've been living in the sacred caves, protecting the old Silver Wolf hiding places, waiting for this day."
"You let us think you were dead for eighteen years?" The deception hit me like a physical blow. "You let your daughter grow up thinking she was an orphan?"
"I let my daughter grow up alive!" Anna snapped back, her violet eyes sparkling with power. "Do you know what Viktor does to Silver Wolf children? He drains their blood slowly, over months, keeping them alive as long as possible to gather maximum power."
The image made my stomach turn. "Why didn't you tell me the truth?"
"Because you would have tried to fight him head-on, and you would have lost," Anna said frankly. "Your pack is strong, Damon, but Viktor has been building an army for decades. The only chance was to keep Iris hidden until she was old enough to access her full powers."
"Well, that plan failed spectacularly," I said bitterly.
A new voice spoke from the doorway. "Actually, the plan worked perfectly."
I spun around to see Elder Sage walking in, but she looked different. Younger somehow, and oozing power that made my Alpha wolf want to bow down.
"Who are you really?" I asked suspiciously.
"I am Sage Moonwhisper, last Guardian of the Silver Wolf bloodline," she said politely. "And I have been waiting eighteen years for tonight."
"Waiting for what exactly?" I asked.
"For Iris to break her mate bonds under the blood moon and become the Pure Silver Wolf," Sage explained quietly. "For the Shadow Beasts to rise. For the Void Walker to cross dimensions. For Viktor to show his true intentions."
My mind reeled. "You wanted all this to happen?"
"I needed all this to happen," Sage corrected. "Because tonight is the only night in five hundred years when a Silver Wolf can perform the Great Binding."
"What's the Great Binding?" Anna asked, her face pale.
Sage's face was grave. "A ritual that will either seal away all supernatural threats forever, or release them to destroy the human world."
The radio on Marcus's belt crackled to life. "Alpha, Viktor's forces have crossed our lines. They're moving fast toward the mountain's heart."
"And the boys?" I asked desperately.
"No touch, sir. But we're picking up huge magical energy from the holy grove. Whatever's happening up there, it's big."
Through the pack bond I shared with my boys, I could feel their terror and determination. They were still alive, but they were in terrible danger.
"I have to go to them," I said, making for the door.
"No," Sage blocked my way. "If you interfere with what's happening tonight, you'll doom us all."
"Those are my children!"
"And they're exactly where they need to be," Sage said strongly. "The prophecy needs three Alpha-born wolves to anchor the Silver Wolf during the Great Binding. Your kids aren't just trying to save their mate, Damon. They're trying to save the world."
"From what?" I shouted, my patience finally snapping.
Sage's next words chilled me to the bone.
"The Shadow Beasts and Void Walker aren't the real threat. They're just the beginning. Viktor's true plan is to use Iris's Pure Silver blood to tear open permanent doorways between worlds. He wants to release every supernatural horror that's ever been removed from our world."
The room went dead silent.
"Why would he do that?" Marcus whispered.
"Because he's made deals with those horrors," Anna said, understanding filling her face. "He's promised them our world in exchange for ultimate power over what's left."
I felt like the ground was falling away beneath my feet. This wasn't just about one rogue Alpha anymore. This was about the survival of every living thing on Earth.
"How do we stop him?" I asked.
"We don't," Sage said sadly. "Only Iris can perform the Great Binding, and only if she chooses to sacrifice her own power to seal the dimensional doors."
"Sacrifice how?" I asked.
Sage's eyes filled with tears. "The ritual needs the Pure Silver Wolf to give up her immortal lifespan. She'll save the world, but she'll only live a normal human lifetime afterward. Maybe sixty years instead of the thousand she was born for."
My heart shattered. That brave, beautiful girl was about to trade centuries of life to save people who had treated her like a servant.
The radio crackled again. "Alpha, we've got a problem. Viktor isn't going for the sacred grove."
"Where is he going?" Marcus asked.
"He's coming straight for the pack house. Fast. And sir... he's not alone. There are things with him that aren't wolves."
I closed my eyes, understanding the final piece of Viktor's plan.
"He's going to use the pack as hostages," I said quietly. "Force Iris to come to him instead of staying safe in the sacred grove."
"How long until he gets here?" I asked.
"Ten minutes, maybe less."
I looked around the room at the faces of the people I'd sworn to guard. Marcus, loyal and brave. Anna, who had given everything for her daughter. Sage, carrying the weight of ancient duties.
In ten minutes, Viktor Shadowmoon would be here with an army of rogues and spatial monsters. My boys were fighting for their lives in a haunted forest. And somewhere in the woods, an eighteen-year-old girl was trying to save the world.
"Sir," Marcus said quietly. "What are your orders?"
I straightened my shoulders and let the Alpha power flow into my voice. "Prepare for attack. Lock down the pack house. And send a message to every friend we have."
"What message?" Marcus asked.
I looked out the window toward the mountains where my kids were fighting for their mate and their world.
"Tell them that tonight, the Blackthorne Pack makes our last stand."
But as the words left my mouth, a new sound cut through the night. Not howls or roars or war cries.
Laughter. Cold, cruel laughs that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
Viktor's voice echoed across our land, amplified by dark magic.
"Hello, old friend. I hope you're ready for a meeting. Because I brought some friends who are very excited to meet your kids' new mate."
The laughing faded, but what followed was worse.
Complete silence.
Which meant Viktor wasn't just bringing rogues and monsters.
He was bringing something so terrible that even the Shadow Beasts were afraid of it.