Chapter 92

KAEL

We all rushed outside just as the ground stopped shaking. I stared at the faces of my men, all white with fear. I could see the damage more clearly now. The highest spire of the stronghold that rose like a pillar to the sky had a twisted, zigzag crack running down it. The green clouds swirled like mist.

"Stay calm, everyone!" I yelled, standing firm despite the fear that threatened to consume me. I did it for the men, giving them something to look up to other than the doom that nearly consumed us.

Raven appeared, standing beside me. I sighed in relief. She was fine. Orion was with her. It was all I could do to keep myself from wrapping her in a tight hug. More men came out of the stronghold. I saw Merrick and Thalion leading them.

"What's happening, Alpha?" Lukas asked, grim-faced. The people began to look in my direction. They were looking up to me, I knew.

I glared up at the green clouds in the sky. Then, like a bad dream, the clouds converged.

"Look!" one of the men shouted. Oh, I was looking alright. Under our gaze, the clouds morphed into words. The rain began to fall in torrents.

SURRENDER

Everyone stood, masking the fear on their faces as they looked at the word in the sky. Then it faded away, and the clouds cleared off. For a moment, I didn't know what to think.

It was Raven who addressed the situation.

"Everyone to the barracks," she shouted over the rain. The men began to move. The stronghold was still standing, but it was clearly affected by whatever just happened. The barracks were safer.

Raven touched my arm.

I tore my eyes away from the sky.

"We have to go," she said. She was shaking slightly, but her voice was firm. I looked at our son in her arms.

We were safe... but were we really? For now, I thought. For the next twenty-four hours if we were lucky. But I had to protect my family.

I clenched my fist, trying to summon my determination from wherever it was hidden.

"You're right."

"The men are shaken up. Everyone is shaken up," Vance said. I stepped into the weapon room to find Lukas and Vance already there. Maya stood examining the shelves of weapons: daggers, crossbows, silencers... about hundreds of them. But were they going to be enough for what was coming?

"I've never seen anything like it," Jared muttered, torn between astonishment and fear.

"Everyone is scared, Alpha," Lukas turned to me. The rest of them faced me as I entered the room. Raven went with Leah and Merrick. The two were trying their best to calm the people down.

Rumors flew around at uncontrollable speed.

I bit my teeth. My jaw was set in a firm line. Obviously, that's Viper's plan: to get us to cower and lose our morale.

"She always had a way of messing with minds," Vance grunted.

I stared across the room, suddenly noticing that someone was missing. "Where is Eria?" I asked. "She's supposed to be among us."

Maya frowned. "She didn't show up to the training grounds," she said carefully.

Vance stood as still as an arrow. "What do you mean she didn't show up?"

"Look, she could be in her room..." Maya began.

I shook my head. "We evacuated everybody." I thought. I was so focused on Orion and Raven that I hadn't even noticed that Eria didn't seem to be anywhere.

"Fuck," I cursed under my breath. This was the worst time for someone to... I shook my head. She wasn't missing, but I couldn't shake off the image of her storming off during the last meeting.

"I'll call a meeting," I said. "Address the men." I glanced at Vance. "She's alright. She has to be."

The door opened, and Merrick came inside. "Has anyone seen my lightpen?" he asked, his brows furrowed in a frown.

"After everything that just happened... you're concerned about a lightpen?" I stared at him in disbelief.

Merrick looked at me like I punched him. "That's one of the last portal tools existing. I lent it to Lukas, but I could swear I took it back..."

"Alpha," Thalion came into view, Raven following close behind him.

"Everyone is ready. You have to come to them."

And so I had to push everything else aside as we made our way down the hallway. I could hear the rain pouring outside. It should have been around noon, but the sky had darkened so much that it looked like midnight. I found everyone in the large hall: our fighters, as well as the women we saved from the refugee camp, even kids. All looking up to me for something. I took a deep breath.

I had to reassure them. This was the Obsidian Spire.

"I know with everything that just happened, we're all scared," I began, my voice somehow carrying across the room over the raging rain outside.

"But this is a well-calculated move by the Order, to weaken our minds."

"How long do we have?" someone yelled.

Mumbles went through the crowd. "The Order wants us to surrender," I raised my hand, calling for silence. "But that's not going to happen."

The crowd erupted into chaos. Some men shook their heads. I caught the words "too small" and "not enough."

I gritted my teeth.

All really fine arguments. Was I really mad enough to lead these men into a massacre? The rest of the packs wouldn't help us. We were no match against the full Order.

Raven looked at me, offering me silent strength. We would deal with that later, but for now, I needed to give the people something so that they would be able to sleep at night without seeing green clouds of smoke.

"Do not underestimate yourselves. Remember, we fought Darian and Viper before. And we won."

Just then, the doors of the barracks banged open. Outside, all around, drenched in the rain, were werewolves. Hundreds of them.

I felt my blood run cold. Lukas and Maya leaped down from the platform, their weapons drawn.

The crowd seemed to part as a black wolf stepped forward.

"Wait," I raised my hand, recognizing the golden pendant hanging on his neck, a single letter carved into it: S.

The Shadow Pack.

The people backed away as he stepped into the room, radiating a different kind of authority. Claws and fur retracted as he shrank in size, shifting back to human form, his clothes magically preserved. Markov Romanov stood, dressed in black, a coat reaching his heels. He strode forward, his boots echoing in rhythm against the tiles.

I clenched my jaw, raising my hand for Lukas and Maya to hold back. His pack remained outside, but I knew that they could swarm in at any moment.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice cold.

"Relax," Romanov waved a white handkerchief in the air. It gave a fine contrast to his black.

"The Shadow Pack heeded your calls. We come to your aid," he said very seriously.

"How did you get in?" I asked cautiously. The walls of the strongholds were fortified and supposed to keep intruders out.

I could feel the men around me holding their breaths, not trusting but waiting for my decision. It was too good to be true.

Markov smirked. "Your wards are down. Interesting, isn't it? Whatever Viper did didn't just shake the foundations of the Spire. A truly remarkable thing under different circumstances."

"What?" For once, I was at a loss for words. We could literally be attacked right now.

I stepped down from the platform to meet Markov. I didn't know if I could trust him, but I didn't have much of a choice now.

"This way," I said, leading him out of the room. "Make provisions for his men," I instructed Leah. "Dismiss the meeting for now."

She nodded and was off immediately.

I turned to face Markov once we were out of sight and earshot. The rain had receded, I noticed, like the effects of the black magic were finally wearing off.

"Days ago, I was certain that you were against the idea of the packs fighting side by side," I said. I regarded the Alpha closely.

His coat was dripping wet, his hair tied in a knot. To race all the way here, I thought. He must have had one hell of a change of mind.

"I was," Markov admitted, his expression grim. "But after what I saw today, I would be a fool to doubt you. Viper has to be stopped. We have to destroy the Order before they destroy us, because with that kind of power..."

He paused, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "They're not just going to stop at the Obsidian Spire, and I don't like being threatened."

I was finally able to breathe. I felt a surge of relief, a small one, but relief either way. We weren't alone.

"And the Moon Pack?" I asked. It still felt strange that the Shadow Pack would come around on its own. Thalion spent days in the Moon Pack to no avail.

Markov shrugged. "You never know what's going on in Santiago's mind."