The air between them grew heavier as Caesar stepped forward. The other hybrids didn't follow—but they didn't need to. Their presence pressed in like a wall, inescapable and solid.
Opal didn't flinch. She didn't run.
But her grip on the stake tightened until her knuckles blanched white.
Caesar's boots echoed on the wet pavement, steady and deliberate. He stopped just a few feet from her, his eyes drinking her in—not with affection, but calculation. She could see it in the way his jaw clenched, the way his hands curled into fists by his sides. He was trying to stay calm. That made it worse.
"Still got that little piece of wood?" said a voice behind her—amused, cruel.
Nikolai.
"Cute," another muttered—Felix, she thought. "But this is taking too long."
Caesar's eyes flicked sideways, cold and sharp.
"Enough."
Just one word, but it cracked like thunder. The others instantly went still, their cocky smirks vanishing. She saw it then—his control over them. Caesar wasn't just part of the pack.
He was the alpha now.
The realization chilled her.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. "Why bring them? To scare me? To kill me?"
"I didn't come to kill you, Opal." His voice was low and laced with venom. "Not unless you make me."
Her heart thudded in her chest.
"You killed her," he continued. "You didn't even try to hide it."
Opal's throat tightened. "She came after me."
"She came after you?" Caesar's voice rose, sharp and incredulous. "She didn't even touch you. You waited until I was gone and then murdered her like a coward. Out of what—jealousy? Rage?"
Opal's hands shook, but she forced herself to meet his gaze. "You abandoned me. You walked out on me. On James."
That made him pause.
For just a second, the name hit him like a blow—but then it vanished, buried beneath years of bitterness.
"I left," he said slowly, "because I thought you'd be safer. But you didn't wait. You didn't grieve. You hunted."
She took a shaky step forward. "I lost you. I loved you. I was alone, raising our son—scared, tired, barely able to sleep without thinking about her face. And then I found out everything. That she wasn't just some other woman. She was a witch. She knew who I was, and she mocked me like I was nothing."
Her voice cracked.
"I didn't plan to kill her. I just... broke."
Caesar stared at her. Unmoving. Unforgiving.
"I know about James," he said at last.
The words hit her like a wave.
But he said nothing else. No questions. No concern. No warmth. Just the cold, sharp truth of the fact.
"You come with us," Caesar said. "Stand trial before the Crossbreeds' Jury—the oldest, fairest, most powerful of our kind."
"And if I don't?" she whispered.
His lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile.
"Then we deal with your family instead."
Her breath caught. "You wouldn't."
"Try me."
This wasn't about justice. Not entirely.
This was about control. About reputation. He needed to show his pack he could bring her in—his old love, his betrayal, his mistake—and put her on trial.
If she ran, he'd look weak. She understood now.
It wasn't just punishment.
It was pride.
"Fine," she whispered, stepping forward. "Take me."
The hybrids relaxed slightly. Caesar didn't move.
Opal's hand dropped to her side—slow, practiced. Her fingers brushed the stake.
In one swift, sudden motion, she flung it across the alley—straight into Felix's shoulder.
He screamed, stumbling back, clawing at the stake lodged in his flesh.
The pack exploded.
Tobias lunged first. Opal ducked, rolling to the side, just as Nikolai reached for her. She slammed her elbow into his ribs and scrambled back toward the alley's wall.
Everything blurred—snarling, movement, boots on wet concrete.
Someone grabbed her from behind.
A fist swung.
But before it connected, there was a sharp crack.
The hybrid holding her dropped to the ground.
Neck snapped.
Opal looked up in shock.
Caesar stood over the corpse, chest heaving.
"ENOUGH!"
His voice thundered through the alley.
"Nothing happens to her," he roared, turning to the others. "Nothing—without my permission. If any of you break that rule again, I will kill you myself."
Silence.
The pack fell back, eyes wide. Felix was still groaning, but no one moved to help him.
Caesar's face twisted into something unreadable—rage and something else. Something old. Something hurt.
Behind them, a voice called out—
"Opal!"
She turned.
Derek Sr. stood at the alley's entrance, breathless, eyes wide with fear.
"No," she whispered. "Derek, run!"
But it was too late.
Caesar moved like lightning.
One hand wrapped around Derek's throat, lifting him off the ground with terrifying ease.
"NO!" Opal screamed.
Caesar's glowing eyes locked on her.
"You will come with us," he growled, "and you will stand before the Crossbreeds' Jury. They will decide your fate. And if you try to run—if you fight—then I swear to you, I will kill him where he stands."
Derek choked, kicking, his face turning red.
"And then I'll kill you."
Silence hung in the air.
Opal stood frozen, staring into the eyes of the man she once loved—the man who now held her entire world in his hand.
She had no choice.
Not anymore.