Nyx's POV
"Hello, Nyx," Alpha Aldric said, his smile cold as winter. "I think it's time we had a chat about your miraculous resurrection."
My hand was already reaching for the knife hidden in my dress when he held up a hand.
"Now, now. No need for violence. I came alone." He glanced down the hallway. "Though I suspect my son and his friends will be here shortly. They're quite protective of you now, aren't they? How touching."
I kept my expression blank, even though my heart was racing. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't you?" He stepped closer, and I caught his scent—power and corruption mixed with expensive cologne. "Silver-white hair. Violet eyes. A Primordial Omega who survived a fall that should've killed her. There's only one person you could be."
"Then why ask?"
His smile widened. "Because I want to hear you admit it. I want to see the look in your eyes when you realize you're not as clever as you think."
I laughed—actually laughed. "You're the one who rigged my father's debt. Who ordered your son to break me. Who tried to have me killed." I let my eyes glow violet. "And you think I'm the one who's not clever?"
"I think you're playing a dangerous game." He leaned against the doorframe. "Revenge against my son and his friends? That's personal. I understand personal." His eyes hardened. "But if you think you can take down the Four Families, you're delusional. We've ruled the pack world for generations. One little omega—even a Primordial one—won't change that."
"We'll see."
"Yes. We will." He straightened up. "I'll give you one chance, Nyx. Walk away now. Disappear back into whatever hole you crawled out of. Because if you stay..." He let the threat hang. "I finished the job once. I can do it again."
Before I could respond, footsteps thundered down the hallway. The Four appeared, all of them radiating protective fury.
"Father." Kade's voice was ice. "Step away from her."
Aldric's expression shifted to amused surprise. "Interesting. You're defending her now?"
"I said step away."
For a long moment, father and son stared at each other. Then Aldric chuckled and backed up. "Of course. Though I wonder what you'll think when you discover what she's really planning." He looked at me one more time. "Sleep well, Nyx. While you still can."
He walked away, and I realized I'd been holding my breath.
"Are you okay?" Ryker asked, reaching for me.
I jerked back. "Don't touch me."
"Nyx—"
"I said don't." I stepped into my room and tried to close the door, but Kade blocked it.
"We need to talk about my father," he said.
"No, we really don't."
"He knows who you are. He'll come after you."
"Let him try." I met his ice-blue eyes. "I'm not the helpless omega he tried to kill anymore."
"We know that." Damon moved closer. "But four against one are better odds."
"You want to protect me?" I couldn't keep the bitterness from my voice. "Five years too late for that."
Ash spoke quietly. "We know we don't deserve your trust. But Aldric is dangerous. If he's threatened by you—"
"Then I'll handle it." I finally managed to close the door. "Like I've handled everything else. Alone."
I locked it and pressed my forehead against the wood, listening to them argue on the other side. Part of me wanted to let them in. Wanted to accept their protection, their apologies, their presence.
That part of me was the enemy.
Four Hours Later
I couldn't sleep. The mate bond was worse at night, pulling at me like an invisible chain. And Aldric's threat kept replaying in my mind.
I finished the job once. I can do it again.
But I wasn't afraid. I was angry.
He'd orchestrated my father's downfall. He'd turned his son into a weapon. He'd tried to kill me because he was scared of what I might become.
Well, now I'd become his worst nightmare.
I pulled out my laptop and opened the files Cain had sent me—five years of dirt on the Four Families. Corruption, theft, abuse of power. Everything they'd done to stay on top.
And Alpha Aldric's file was the thickest.
I smiled and started making copies.
The Next Morning
The breakfast hall was full of alphas discussing pack business over coffee and pastries. I walked in wearing a simple dress, my silver hair pulled back, looking like I belonged.
Kade sat at a table near the window with the other three. They all looked up when I entered, their eyes tracking my every move. The mate bond pulled harder, like my wolf was trying to drag me over there.
Ignore them, I told myself.
I grabbed a coffee and walked straight to Kade's table. All four tensed, clearly not expecting me to approach them.
"Good morning," I said pleasantly.
"Nyx." Kade's voice was carefully neutral. "Please, sit."
"I can't stay long." I pulled out a file folder and set it in front of him. "But I thought you should see this."
He opened it slowly. I watched his expression change as he read—confusion, then shock, then horror.
"What is this?" he asked, voice tight.
"Evidence. Your father has been rigging contracts with smaller packs for years. Stealing their territory, their resources, their money." I tapped the first page. "This pack lost everything because Aldric changed the terms after they'd signed. This one was forced into bankruptcy. This one..." I flipped to a particularly damning document. "This one had three omegas who disappeared after they discovered the fraud."
Kade's hands shook as he read. Damon leaned over to look, his face darkening. Ash and Ryker crowded close.
"This can't be real," Kade said, but his voice said he knew it was.
"It's all documented. Signed contracts. Financial records. Witness statements." I straightened up. "Thought you should know what kind of man you're protecting."
I turned to walk away.
"Wait." Kade stood up fast enough to knock his chair back. "Why are you showing me this?"
I looked back at him. "Because you built your reputation on honesty. On being better than the corrupt alphas who came before you." I let that sink in. "But everything you are is built on your father's lies. Your pack's wealth? Stolen. Your family's power? Bought with other people's suffering."
"Nyx—"
"Your whole life is a lie, Kade Blackthorn." I smiled sweetly. "Must hurt."
I walked away while he stood there, staring at proof that his father was everything I'd accused him of being.
Behind me, I heard Damon say quietly, "Is this what we were protecting? This is what we tortured her for?"
Good. Let them drown in guilt.
I made it to the hallway before someone grabbed my wrist—gently, but firmly. I spun, ready to fight, and found myself face-to-face with Ryker.
"That was cruel," he said.
"So was throwing me off a cliff."
"Fair." He didn't let go. "But destroying Kade's faith in his father—that's not revenge. That's warfare."
"Finally catching on?" I tried to pull free, but he held on.
"What's your endgame here? Break us? Fine. We deserve it. But tearing down the Four Families means chaos. Smaller packs will suffer. Omegas will suffer."
"Omegas are already suffering!" The words burst out before I could stop them. "They suffer every day in a system the Four Families created. So yes, I'm going to tear it all down. And if chaos is what it takes to rebuild something better, then bring on the chaos."
Ryker studied my face. "You really believe that."
"I know it."
"Even if it destroys you too?"
"I'm already destroyed. You made sure of that five years ago."
Something flickered in his eyes—pain, guilt, understanding. "The prophecy I found. About Primordial Omegas. It said you'd either save us all or destroy us all." He stepped closer. "Which one are you, Nyx?"
Before I could answer, an alarm shrieked through the building. Wolves started running. Someone shouted about an attack.
Ryker's grip tightened. "What did you do?"
"Nothing. I've been with you."
More shouts. The smell of smoke. Then a massive explosion rocked the building, throwing us both to the ground.
Through the ringing in my ears, I heard screaming. Felt heat. Saw flames licking up the walls.
Ryker pulled me to my feet. "We need to get out of here."
"Wait." I grabbed his arm. "The omegas. The servers. They're on the lower level."
"We don't have time—"
"I'm not leaving them!"
I yanked free and ran toward the stairs. Behind me, Ryker cursed and followed. Smoke filled the stairwell, making it hard to breathe. When we reached the lower level, I found them—twelve omegas huddled in the kitchen, trapped by flames blocking the exits.
"This way!" I shouted.
We got them out through a side door just as another explosion hit. The building groaned, walls cracking. Ryker shielded me with his body as debris rained down.
Outside, chaos. Alphas running. Guards searching for the attacker. And standing in the parking lot, watching the Summit building burn, was a figure I recognized.
Cain.
My mentor. My trainer. The man who'd saved my life.
He met my eyes across the distance and smiled.
Then he mouthed two words: Phase Three.
Ice flooded my veins.
I hadn't ordered this attack. Hadn't known about it.
Which meant the Shadow Council was playing their own game.
And I was just another piece on their board.