The first Alpha attacked his own Beta.
It happened in Iron Ridge, a northern mountain pack known for discipline and order. The warriors had just returned from a routine patrol when Alpha Victor Kane suddenly froze in the courtyard. His breathing turned harsh. His pupils expanded. A violent surge of dominance exploded outward.
Without warning, he struck his Beta across the stone steps.
Not a training blow.
Not controlled.
Savage.
Warriors rushed forward, but Victor's power lashed wildly. Two men were thrown against the courtyard wall. One shifted mid air out of pure instinct. The Alpha's roar echoed across the mountains, thick with confusion and rage.
"I can't control it," Victor growled through clenched teeth.
The words barely left his mouth before another violent pulse hit him. His claws extended halfway, shifting without full transformation. He grabbed his own head as if something inside him was tearing loose.
Then, suddenly, he staggered back as if struck by invisible force.
Miles away.
At the exact same moment.
The second Alpha fell to his knees inside a council chamber in Riverfall territory.
Alpha Cedric Rowan had been in the middle of signing trade agreements when his pen snapped in his hand. His body stiffened. The air around him vibrated. The table cracked down the middle as dominance pressure burst outward.
Council members screamed.
Cedric slammed his fist into the marble floor, cracking it.
"What is happening?" his Gamma shouted.
Cedric's eyes glowed silver, but not with power. With instability.
His wolf pushed forward uncontrollably. He struggled to hold form.
"Find my Luna," he ordered, but the words sounded strangled.
Before anyone could move, he collapsed face forward onto the stone floor.
Across the sea.
The third Alpha nearly killed a visiting ambassador.
In the coastal territory of Storm Bay, Alpha Mateo Alvarez was meeting with neighboring pack leaders when his entire body locked in place mid sentence. His voice cut off sharply. His hand crushed the armrest of his chair.
A violent wave of dominance slammed across the room.
The visiting ambassador dropped to his knees, unable to breathe.
Mateo stood slowly, but something in his expression was wrong. His control had fractured. His wolf's instincts pushed aggressively against every living being near him.
His mate rushed forward.
"Mateo," she whispered urgently. "Look at me."
For a moment, he did not recognize her.
Then he did something far worse than attack.
He stepped back from her.
Fear flickered in his eyes.
"I can't feel you," he said.
The room went silent.
The bond between Alpha and Luna was the stabilizing force of every pack. It anchored dominance. It balanced aggression. It kept order.
If that connection weakened, the pack weakened.
Mateo's breathing became ragged.
"Something snapped," he murmured.
Back in Silver Crest.
Mark Ravenwood had barely regained his footing when Beta Liam burst back into the office.
"Alpha," Liam said urgently. "Iron Ridge reports Alpha Victor lost control. Riverfall reports Cedric collapsed. Storm Bay says Mateo nearly attacked his own Luna."
Mark's jaw tightened.
"All within the same minute?" he asked.
"Yes."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Stacy stood near the window, her mind racing.
The timeline was clear.
It happened when she signed.
Mark's sharp gaze shifted to her again.
He was not accusing.
He was calculating.
"Call the Council," he said. "Emergency conference. Now."
Liam nodded and moved quickly.
Outside, Silver Crest warriors were still restraining two fighters in the courtyard. But the aggression had lowered slightly.
Because Stacy was still standing there.
She felt it clearly now.
The pressure in the air pulsed like a heartbeat.
Wild.
Unbalanced.
Her wolf was not trembling anymore.
It stood tall.
Aware.
She turned toward Mark.
"They are not just losing control," she said quietly. "They are losing balance."
Mark's eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
She closed her eyes briefly.
"I feel their dominance. It is surging without an anchor."
He stepped closer, stopping several feet away. Not too near. Not distant either.
"You can feel other Alphas?"
"Yes."
The answer unsettled both of them.
Even experienced Lunas did not feel other packs this clearly.
Mark ran a hand through his dark hair, something he only did when deeply stressed.
"If the bond between Alpha and Luna stabilizes dominance," he said slowly, "what happens when a bond breaks violently?"
The implication settled in the room.
Stacy's chest tightened.
"You think this is connected to us."
Mark did not respond immediately.
He walked toward the desk and picked up the divorce papers. He stared at her signature.
Then he looked back at her.
"I think," he said carefully, "the timing is not coincidence."
Before either could speak again, the office door burst open.
An Omega stumbled inside, pale and shaking.
"Alpha," she said breathlessly. "The western patrol almost turned on each other again. But when Luna stepped outside earlier, they stopped."
Her eyes shifted to Stacy.
Not with fear.
With hope.
Stacy felt the weight of that gaze.
Mark noticed it too.
"Leave us," he ordered gently.
The Omega nodded and retreated.
Silence fell once more.
Mark studied Stacy as if seeing something he had missed for years.
"You stabilized them," he said.
"I did not mean to," she replied honestly.
"That does not matter."
His voice regained some strength.
"What matters is why."
A low rumble echoed faintly through the building again. Another wave from somewhere distant. Another Alpha struggling.
Stacy's heart pounded.
"This is bigger than Silver Crest."
"Yes."
He met her eyes fully now.
And there was no distance between them emotionally at that moment. Only urgency.
"If three Alphas lost control," he continued, "others will follow."
As if summoned by his words, Liam's voice came through the office speaker system.
"Alpha Ravenwood. The Council confirms seven additional territories reporting instability. Three Alphas are critical. One pack reports internal fighting."
Mark's expression hardened.
"How long until the summit?"
"They demand immediate travel."
Mark glanced toward Stacy.
He hesitated only briefly.
"She comes with me," he said.
Liam paused.
"Alpha, that may not be safe."
Mark's voice deepened.
"Nothing is safe right now."
He stepped closer to Stacy again. This time, not as a distant husband. Not as a cold leader.
As a man facing a crisis.
"You will stay near me," he said quietly.
It was not a command filled with dominance.
It was a concern.
She searched his face for any sign of manipulation.
There was none.
Only tension and responsibility.
"Do you think they will blame me?" she asked.
He did not lie.
"Yes."
Her breath caught.
"But," he added firmly, "I will not allow them to touch you."
The statement was calm.
Absolute.
Another howl echoed across the horizon, faint but unmistakable.
Stacy's wolf stirred again.
Not in fear.
In recognition.
She could feel it now.
Threads connecting packs.
Invisible lines of dominance.
And one of those threads had snapped violently when she signed her name.
Mark's phone vibrated in his hand.
A direct call from Alpha Victor.
Mark answered immediately.
"Victor."
The voice on the other end was strained.
"What did you do?" Victor demanded hoarsely.
Mark did not respond emotionally.
"I divorced my Luna."
Silence.
Then a curse.
"You broke something," Victor said. "My bond flickered when yours snapped."
Mark's grip tightened on the phone.
"We are attending the emergency Council," he replied.
"You fix this," Victor growled. "Or there will be war."
The line went dead.
Mark lowered the phone slowly.
Stacy felt the weight of that word.
War.
All because she wanted freedom.
She felt guilt rise inside her chest.
But then something else replaced it.
Clarity.
If her presence calmed the pack, then she was not the problem.
She was the solution.
She stepped forward.
"Take me to the summit."
Mark studied her carefully.
"You are walking into an accusation."
She lifted her chin slightly.
"For five years I have been invisible. I can survive the accusation."
Something shifted in his gaze.
Respect.
Another distant dominance wave pulsed through the land.
Weaker this time.
Because she was focusing.
Unconsciously steadying it.
Mark noticed.
"So it is true," he murmured.
"What?"
"You are the anchor."
The word lingered between them.
Anchor.
Not a burden.
Not curse.
Anchor.
Outside, clouds gathered unnaturally fast over Silver Crest territory. The air felt heavy. Charged.
Across mountains, rivers, and oceans, three powerful Alphas struggled to regain control.
And at the center of the storm stood a divorced Luna who had just become the most important woman on the continent.
The Council would not see her as hope.
They would see her as power.
And power was something they would try to control.