The storm didn't stop when they made it back to base.
If anything, it got worse.
Lightning split the sky in jagged flashes, painting the safehouse in white light for a heartbeat before plunging it back into blackness. The air smelled of wet steel, gun oil, and something else—tension. The kind that crept into everyone's lungs and stayed there.
Kael stood in the main hall, staring down at the restrained hybrid Rylan had dragged in. It lay slumped against the floor, breathing shallowly, silver restraints digging into its flesh. Its eyes flicked open occasionally, glowing faint red before rolling back again.
Mira stood over it with a syringe. "I've given it enough sedative to knock out a rhino," she said. "Still twitching."
Kael crouched beside the creature. "Then he made them stronger."
Selene leaned against the far wall, arms crossed. "Or more broken. Look at its skin—it's rejecting itself."
Kael didn't respond. He just studied it, eyes narrowing. "Lucien's trying to stabilize the transformation permanently. No reversion. No humanity left."
Rylan spat on the ground. "And we're supposed to question that thing? You're wasting time, Alpha. Put it down before it wakes and tears someone apart."
Kael's jaw flexed. "We don't kill until we have answers."
Rylan growled low, his eyes flashing amber for a split second. "And what if your 'answers' get one of us killed, huh?"
"Enough," Kael said, standing. The weight in his voice made the whole room still. "No one dies unless I say so."
Rylan turned away, muttering something under his breath.
Selene watched the exchange quietly. She'd been around soldiers long enough to know when a pack was fraying. Fear did that—made everyone sharp, quick to bleed.
Kael finally stepped away from the hybrid, shoulders tight. "Lock it down. Double restraints. I'll deal with it later."
Mira nodded and dragged the creature toward the back room.
When the others dispersed, Selene moved closer. "You can't keep them in line forever if you don't tell them what you're planning."
Kael gave a short, tired laugh. "Plans change every time he moves."
"Then make them trust you enough to move with you."
He looked at her. For a second, the wolf in him faded, and the man was there—exhausted, scarred, trying to hold too much together.
"I don't need their trust," he said quietly. "Just their loyalty."
"Same thing, Kael."
He didn't reply.
Thunder cracked again, shaking the walls. The lights flickered.
Selene's gaze darted to the ceiling. "That wasn't thunder."
Kael froze. He knew that sound—deep, metallic. Not thunder. Detonation.
"Everyone down!" he shouted.
The explosion ripped through the north wall before the last word left his mouth. Concrete and glass shattered. The blast threw them both to the ground. Smoke filled the air—thick, choking, burning.
"Ambush!" Rylan roared from somewhere in the haze. "We're under attack!"
Kael's ears rang. His vision blurred. But instinct kicked in before thought. He grabbed Selene's arm and pulled her behind a pillar as bullets ripped through the space they'd been standing in.
Figures stormed through the hole in the wall—armored, fast, efficient. Lucien's mercenaries.
Kael bared his teeth. "He found us."
Selene checked her gun. "Then we make him regret it."
They split up—Kael moving low and fast through the smoke, Selene taking position on higher ground. The room became chaos again—gunfire, growls, screams.
Rylan shifted mid-stride, fur bursting from skin as he tore into a soldier. Blood sprayed against the wall. Mira threw a flashbang, blinding two more.
Selene fired from above, her shots precise and surgical. Every time Kael moved, she covered him. Every time she reloaded, he drew the heat. It was seamless, like they'd fought together for years.
But there were too many of them.
Kael took a hit—bullet grazing his ribs—but he barely flinched. He caught a merc by the throat and slammed him into the ground so hard the floor cracked.
Selene dropped from the balcony, landing beside him. "You're bleeding."
"Not enough to stop."
She almost smiled. "Cocky bastard."
Before Kael could answer, another explosion rocked the far wall. Fire poured through the storage room. Someone screamed—Mira.
Kael turned, eyes wide. "Mira!"
He sprinted into the flames, smoke stinging his eyes. She was pinned under debris, blood streaming from her leg. He lifted the rubble with one arm and dragged her free, coughing hard.
"Stay with me," he said.
She nodded weakly, eyes glassy. "They knew… where we were… Kael, they—"
A gunshot cut her off. Her body jerked once, then went still.
Kael froze. His heart stopped. He looked up—through the smoke, he saw him.
Lucien.
Standing just outside the breach, coat slick with rain, red eyes glowing like hellfire.
"Draven," Lucien called. "You never learn, do you?"
Kael's vision blurred red.
Selene appeared behind him, gun raised. "Kael—don't!"
But it was too late. He shifted.
The sound of bones cracking filled the air. His form expanded, muscles bulging, claws extending. In seconds, the man was gone and the wolf stood in his place—towering, silver-eyed, rage barely contained.
Lucien smiled. "That's more like it."
Kael lunged. The impact shook the floor. Lucien met him halfway, half-shifted himself, claws clashing against claws. Sparks flew from every hit.
They fought through the fire, through the rain pouring in from above.
Lucien's strikes were clean, controlled, too precise. Kael's were raw and vicious, fueled by loss. For every hit Kael landed, Lucien gave one back twice as hard.
"You've already lost, Draven," Lucien hissed, pushing him back. "Your pack is dying. Your future dies with them."
Kael's growl rumbled like thunder. "Not while I'm breathing."
He slammed Lucien through a wall, claws sinking deep. But before he could finish it, Lucien twisted free and threw something—small, metallic.
A flash.
Then darkness.
When Kael opened his eyes, Lucien was gone.
The fire still burned. The safehouse was collapsing. Selene was dragging Rylan, both bleeding, both covered in ash.
"Kael!" she shouted. "We have to move!"
He looked around—Mira's body, the ruined walls, the blood. His home was gone. Everything burned.
He staggered forward, grabbed Selene's hand, and they ran.
Out into the rain, into the broken city, smoke still chasing them like ghosts.
When they finally stopped, far from the burning wreck, Kael dropped to his knees. His hands trembled—not from fear, but fury.
Selene knelt beside him. "Kael…"
He didn't look at her. "He killed her. He burned our home."
"Then we make him pay."
Kael raised his head. The silver glow in his eyes was brighter now—colder.
"This isn't war anymore," he said softly. "It's personal."