Chapter 223
Even the wind seemed to hesitate.
Silvermen’s smile thinned, the pleasant edge sharpening into something cold. “Kneel.”
The word cracked through the air like a whip, sharp and absolute.
I stayed where I was.
Sacred pack law was clear. A challenge had been issued. Words had been
exchanged. There were witnesses. The next move mattered more than anything that had come before.
Silvermen made it.
He struck first.
Fast. Brutal. No formal declaration. No ritual acknowledgment. He lunged without warning, claws flashing silver in the light, body moving with lethal intent straight for my throat.
Sacred law shattered the instant his attack landed.
I twisted on instinct, my wolf surging up as pain ripped across my shoulder. Claws tore fabric and skin, heat flaring bright and sharp as blood welled instantly. The force of the blow sent me stumbling back a step, boots skidding in the dirt as I barely kept my footing.
The clearing exploded.
Shouts rang out. Warriors surged forward on instinct before training reined them back. The line wavered.
“Enough.”
Morgan’s voice cut through the chaos like steel through bone.
She stepped out from the tree line to my left, power radiating outward in a wave that slammed into the clearing and froze movement mid step. Wolves halted with claws half extended, muscles locked, breath caught.
Ezra emerged opposite her, flanked by two other Alphas whose presence hit like a wall. Their combined authority pressed down hard, undeniable, filling the space Silvermen had tried to dominate.
Silvermen spun toward them, fury blazing openly now. “You dare interfere.”
“You broke sacred law,” Ezra said coldly. “On pack land. In front of witnesses.”
Silvermen’s warriors hesitated.
I saw it clearly now. The moment of doubt. The instinctive recoil from something that felt wrong in the bones. A few glanced at each other. One took a half step back without realizing it.
Ben moved then.
He did not shout. He did not hesitate.
He shifted.
The sound was brutal and unmistakable. Bone cracked and reformed in a raw, violent display that ripped gasps from the crowd. Flesh surged, muscle expanding, fur exploding outward as his wolf burst into the clearing, massive and dark, landing between Silvermen and me with a force that shook the ground.
He snarled, low and vicious, teeth bared not in threat but in promise.
Gasps rippled through the gathered wolves.
Public shifting was not subtle. It was a declaration. Allegiance made visible. A line drawn without words.
Silvermen stared at Ben, then at me, realization snapping into place like a blade sliding free. “You planned this.”
“Yes,” Morgan said.
The clearing changed again.
Screens flickered to life around the perimeter as hidden projectors activated, their
hum rising under the tension. Images stabilized. Sound carried.
Silvermen’s voice filled the air.
Clear. Unmistakable.
Orders. Threats. Executions spoken without hesitation.
Murmurs spread, swelling into shock.
Then Sally’s testimony followed, steady and unbroken, her voice carrying weight that could not be argued away. Dates. Names. Truth laid bare without apology.
The warriors shifted again. Unease deepened into something closer to fear. Some stepped back without realizing they were doing it. Others looked toward Silvermen, waiting for him to restore certainty.
Silvermen roared, the sound tearing out of him raw and furious. “Attack.”
The hesitation snapped.
Training overrode doubt. Claws came out. Wolves lunged.
And the clearing erupted into violence.
Pack against pack. Blood on pack land.
The first impact shook the ground beneath my feet as bodies collided with bone crushing force. Howls tore through the air, pain and fury and fear tangling together until the sound became almost unbearable. moved instinctively, my wolf surging forward now without restraint, meeting the chaos head on.
Claws met claws. Teeth flashed. Dirt sprayed.
Ben was at my side in an instant, a dark blur of muscle and teeth, covering my flank, driving attackers back with brutal efficiency. I felt Morgans presence like a thunderhead, Ezra’s like iron Alphas asserting control even as violence raged around them.
This was no longer a trap.
It was war.
And it had only just begun.