Cassandra's POV
Marcus's smile is poison wrapped in silk.
"A deal, Cassandra?" He spreads his hands like we're old friends. "I'm listening."
Every instinct screams to run. But Jamie is dying because of me—because Elder Moira sabotaged my medicine to prove humans are useless. If I don't fix this in the next ten minutes, the pack will rip me apart.
I can feel Kieran behind me, radiating fury. His wolf wants to tear Marcus's throat out. Honestly? Mine does too.
But I need what Marcus has.
"I need points," I say flatly. "Your System has them. I want access to your store."
Marcus's eyebrows rise. "You want to... borrow from my System?" He laughs, and it's the same condescending sound that used to make me feel small. "Sweetheart, that's not how Systems work. Mine is Conquest. I take things. I don't share."
"Then let me take something from you." I step closer, close enough to smell his expensive cologne—so wrong in this wild place. "Your System steals from others, right? So it must have a transfer function. Let me access it for five minutes. That's all I need."
His eyes glitter with interest. "And what do I get in return?"
"I won't tell Kieran to kill you."
"Empty threat. You need me alive to save your little wolf boy." He's enjoying this. Marcus always did love having power over me. "But I'll make you a counter-offer. I'll give you the points you need—all of them. Enough to buy whatever miracle cure your System is selling."
My heart pounds. "In exchange for what?"
"Your Medical System." His smile widens. "Temporarily, of course. Just let me... examine it. See how it works. Maybe copy a few functions. Then you can have it back and save the kid. Everyone wins."
Liar. He's lying and we both know it.
[WARNING: HOSTILE SYSTEM DETECTED]
[DO NOT ALLOW DIRECT SYSTEM CONTACT]
[CONQUEST SYSTEMS ARE PARASITIC—THEY CONSUME OTHER SYSTEMS]
My System's warning flashes in my vision. If Marcus touches my System, he won't just copy it. He'll steal it completely. I'll lose everything—my medical knowledge, my only advantage, my chance to save Jamie.
But without his points, Jamie dies anyway.
"How do I know you'll actually give me the points?" I ask, stalling.
"You don't. But what choice do you have?" Marcus tilts his head, studying me like I'm a lab rat. "You always were too soft, Cass. Too worried about saving everyone. It's your biggest weakness."
"Being decent isn't a weakness."
"It is when it gets you killed." He glances past me at Kieran. "Although I have to admit, I'm impressed. You've managed to train these animals pretty well. The big scary wolf follows you around like a puppy. How'd you manage that? Sexual favors?"
Kieran snarls, actually snarls, and I feel his heat at my back.
"Careful," I warn Marcus. "He doesn't understand human insults, but he understands your tone. And he's very protective."
"Is he?" Marcus's smile turns cruel. "Then let me speak clearly so even a beast can understand. I'm taking what's mine—Cassandra, her System, and eventually this entire world. You're just animals playing at civilization. Once I have her power, I'll show you what real conquest looks like."
The wolves guarding Marcus growl. Kieran's beta Marcus Sharptooth—I really need to remember his name isn't the same as my ex—steps forward with claws extended.
"Alpha, say the word," the beta rumbles.
"Wait!" I spin to face Kieran. "We need him alive."
"Why?" Kieran's ice-blue eyes are hard. "He just threatened you."
"Because I have a plan." I don't. I absolutely don't. But an idea is forming—risky, probably stupid, but it might work. "Trust me?"
Kieran stares at me for a long moment. Then, impossibly, he nods. "Five minutes. Then I'm killing him."
I turn back to Marcus, my mind racing. The System warned me his is parasitic. But my System... my System heals. It fights infections, destroys foreign invaders, protects its host.
What if I can use that?
"Fine," I tell Marcus. "I'll give you temporary access to my System. But we do it my way."
His eyes light up with triumph. "I knew you'd see reason."
"Extend your hand."
He does, and I see his System interface shimmer around him in red letters:
[CONQUEST SYSTEM ACTIVE]
[INITIATING THEFT PROTOCOL]
[AWAITING PHYSICAL CONTACT]
My own System flashes frantically:
[DO NOT PROCEED]
[HOST WILL BE COMPROMISED]
[PROBABILITY OF SYSTEM LOSS: 87%]
I ignore it and reach for Marcus's hand.
The moment our skin touches, I feel it—his System trying to latch onto mine like a parasite. Cold tendrils of code attempting to burrow into my interface, to steal and consume.
But I'm ready.
"System," I whisper. "Treat his System like an infection. Destroy it."
[COMMAND UNCLEAR]
[CONQUEST SYSTEMS CANNOT BE ELIMINATED BY—]
"It's trying to kill your host!" I snap internally. "It's a foreign invader. Do what you do best—fight back!"
For a heartbeat, nothing happens.
Then my System surges.
It's like my entire body becomes fire. I feel my Medical System responding the way it would to bacteria or a virus—identifying the threat, mobilizing defenses, attacking.
Marcus's eyes go wide. "What are you—"
His System's interface starts glitching. Red letters flicker and corrupt.
[ERR0R]
[HOST PR0T3CT10N F41LING]
[UNKNOWN C0UNTER-ATT4CK DET3CTED]
"You bitch!" Marcus tries to pull away, but I hold on tight. "What did you do?"
"I weaponized healing," I say through gritted teeth. "Your System is a parasite. Mine just developed antibodies."
His Conquest System is crumbling, code fragmenting and dissolving. And as it breaks apart, something wonderful happens—points start flooding into my System.
[ABSORBING CONQUEST SYSTEM FRAGMENTS]
[+50 POINTS]
[+100 POINTS]
[+500 POINTS]
[WARNING: EXCESSIVE POINT GAIN MAY CAUSE SYSTEM INSTABILITY]
I don't care. I need those points.
Marcus screams and wrenches his hand away. His System interface is barely visible now, corrupted beyond recognition.
"You destroyed it!" He stares at his hands in horror. "You destroyed my System!"
"No. Just... borrowed some points." I feel dizzy, drunk on the sudden influx of power. "Thanks for the donation."
My System is singing:
[EMERGENCY POINTS ACQUIRED: 847]
[STORE NOW ACCESSIBLE]
[ADVANCED ANTIBIOTICS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE]
"I'm going to kill you!" Marcus lunges at me.
He doesn't make it two steps before Kieran's fist connects with his jaw. My ex-fiancé drops like a stone.
"Are you insane?" Kieran catches me as I sway. "You could have lost everything!"
"But I didn't." I grin up at him, probably looking manic. "I won. Now let's go save Jamie."
We run back to the village. Jamie is barely breathing, his small body convulsing. The pack has gathered in a circle, waiting to see if I'll fail.
Elder Moira stands with her arms crossed, certain of my defeat.
I access my System store with shaking hands:
[ADVANCED BROAD-SPECTRUM ANTIBIOTIC: 500 POINTS]
[ANTI-TOXIN FOR MIXED MEDICINE POISONING: 300 POINTS]
[PURCHASE BOTH?]
"Yes!"
Two vials materialize in my hands—one modern antibiotic, one System-created antidote. I inject both into Jamie's arm while the entire pack watches in dead silence.
For five agonizing seconds, nothing happens.
Then Jamie gasps. His eyes flutter open. The deathly gray color drains from his skin.
"Aunt Luna?" he whispers, confused.
Luna—Kieran's sister—bursts into tears and scoops him up.
The pack erupts. Not in cheers, but in shocked whispers that quickly turn to something else.
"She saved him."
"After Elder Moira's medicine failed."
"The human's magic is stronger."
I turn to Moira, who's gone pale. "You tried to kill me by killing him. You failed."
"You're an abomination," she hisses. "Unnatural!"
"No. I'm a doctor." I address the whole pack, surprised by the steadiness in my voice. "I'm not your enemy. I'm not trying to replace your ways. But I can help you. Medicine, real medicine, can save lives. All you have to do is let me."
Kieran steps up beside me. "The human saved my nephew. Twice. Anyone who threatens her threatens the future alpha." His voice drops to a growl. "Are we clear?"
Silence. Then, one by one, wolves bow their heads.
Elder Moira doesn't bow. But she doesn't challenge either. She just backs away into the crowd, her eyes promising revenge.
I've made a real enemy today.
My System chimes:
[MISSION COMPLETE: SAVE THE CHILD]
[REPUTATION INCREASED: PACK STATUS ELEVATED]
[NEW MISSION UNLOCKED: THE POISONED PEACE]
[WARNING: ELDER MOIRA HAS CONTACTED EXTERNAL FORCES]
[A HUNTING PARTY IS EN ROUTE TO YOUR LOCATION]
[ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: 6 HOURS]
[THREAT LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC]
My blood runs cold. "Kieran. We have a problem."
"What now?"
Before I can answer, a howl splits the night—not from our pack. This one comes from the north, deep and resonant and wrong.
Kieran's face goes white. "No. That's impossible."
"What? What is that?"
He meets my eyes, and for the first time, I see real fear in them.
"That's my father. The Wolf King." His voice is hollow. "He's supposed to be dead. I killed him five years ago."
The howl comes again, closer now. And this time, dozens of voices answer it.
An army is coming.
And somehow, I know this is all connected to me.