Cassandra's POV
"Your father is alive?" I grab Kieran's arm. "You told me you killed him!"
"I did kill him!" Kieran's face is twisted with something between rage and terror. "I drove my claws through his heart. I watched him stop breathing. I burned his body myself!"
The howl comes again, and this time it's close enough that I can hear words buried in the sound: "Traitor son. Come face your judgment."
The entire pack is frozen in fear. Even Luna, who's usually fearless, is clutching Jamie and backing toward the dens.
"How is this possible?" I demand.
Kieran's beta Marcus Sharptooth speaks up, his voice shaking. "The old king... he was experimenting with dark magic before he died. Trading with witches from the Deadlands. He said he'd found a way to cheat death itself."
"And you didn't think to mention this before?" Kieran roars.
"We thought it was just mad ramblings! No one can actually—"
The tree line explodes.
Wolves pour out of the forest—dozens of them, all massive and battle-scarred. But they're wrong somehow. Their eyes glow red instead of natural colors. Their movements are jerky, unnatural.
And leading them is the biggest wolf I've ever seen.
He's silver like Kieran, but darker, corrupted. When he shifts to human form, I understand why Kieran looks afraid. This man is a nightmare version of Kieran's future—same sharp features, same powerful build, but twisted with cruelty. And his chest... where his heart should be, there's a glowing red mark like a brand.
"Hello, son." His voice is gravel and ice. "Did you miss me?"
"Father." Kieran steps in front of me. "You're dead."
"I was. Death didn't suit me." The Wolf King's red eyes find me, and I feel naked under that stare. "So this is the human causing all the trouble. The one who made my weakling son grow a spine."
"She's under my protection," Kieran warns.
"Is she?" The King laughs. "I heard an interesting rumor. A human female with magical powers. A System, they call it. Very valuable." His smile is all teeth. "I've come to collect her."
My System flashes:
[DANGER: CORRUPTED SYSTEM DETECTED]
[NECROTIC SYSTEM TYPE: DEATH-BOUND]
[WARNING: THIS SYSTEM USER HAS DIED AND BEEN RESURRECTED]
[THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME]
"He has a System too?" I whisper to Kieran.
"Apparently." Kieran's voice is flat. "And it brought him back from death."
The Wolf King spreads his arms. "Join me, son. Bring the human. Together we'll conquer all of Beastworld. Or refuse, and I'll slaughter your pathetic pack and take her anyway."
"You'll have to kill me first."
"I've done it before. I can do it again." The King signals his corrupted wolves. "Although I'd prefer not to. You're my blood, even if you are disappointingly soft. Last chance—kneel or die."
Kieran's answer is to shift into his massive silver wolf form.
The King sighs. "So be it."
What happens next is chaos.
The corrupted wolves attack. Kieran's pack tries to defend, but they're outnumbered and terrified. These aren't normal wolves—they fight without fear of death because they've already died once.
Kieran lunges at his father. They collide in a explosion of claws and fangs. The King is stronger, faster, impossible to kill. Every wound Kieran inflicts closes within seconds.
I stand frozen, useless. My medical knowledge means nothing here. I can't heal during a battle. I can't fight.
Then I see Luna trying to protect Jamie, surrounded by three corrupted wolves.
My body moves before my brain catches up.
I grab a burning branch from a nearby fire and swing it at the closest wolf. It yelps and jumps back. Fire—they're afraid of fire!
"Luna! Get Jamie to the den!"
She runs. The wolves try to follow, but I keep swinging my branch like a maniac, creating a wall of flame between them and the escaping cubs.
One wolf dodges my swing and lunges at my throat.
Kieran's jaws close around its neck. He throws the corrupted wolf into a tree so hard I hear bones crack.
But the distraction costs him. The Wolf King's claws rake across Kieran's side, opening deep gashes that pour blood.
"Kieran!" I scream.
He staggers but stays standing. His ice-blue eyes meet mine for just a second—and I see it. He's losing. His father is too strong.
The King laughs. "You always were weak. Just like your mother. I should have drowned you at birth."
Something in Kieran snaps. He fights with desperate fury, but it's not enough. The King pins him to the ground, claws at his throat.
"Die knowing you failed," the King whispers. "I'll take good care of your human."
No. No, this can't happen.
My System chimes:
[EMERGENCY MISSION ACTIVATED]
[SAVE KIERAN FROST]
[REWARD: COMBAT SYSTEM UPGRADE]
[TIME LIMIT: 30 SECONDS]
"How?" I scream at my System. "I'm not a fighter!"
[SOLUTION AVAILABLE]
[COST: ALL REMAINING POINTS (47)]
[WARNING: EXPERIMENTAL FUNCTION]
[SUCCESS RATE: UNKNOWN]
I don't hesitate. "Do it!"
My System floods my body with something—knowledge, instinct, impossible strength. My human muscles suddenly know exactly where to strike, how to move, where the weak points are on a wolf-shifter's body.
I grab a fallen spear from a dead wolf and run at the Wolf King.
He doesn't even see me coming. To him, I'm just a weak human.
I drive the spear into the glowing red mark on his chest—the place where his corrupted System keeps him alive.
The King's eyes go wide with shock. "What—"
The mark shatters like glass.
He stumbles off Kieran, staring at the spreading cracks across his chest. His corrupted wolves start dropping like puppets with cut strings.
"No," he gasps. "My System... you destroyed..."
Then he dissolves into ash, screaming. His entire body just... crumbles. Within seconds, there's nothing left but a pile of gray dust and the memory of his final, horrified expression.
I stand there shaking, the spear falling from my numb hands.
I just killed someone. Again.
Kieran shifts back to human form, bleeding heavily. "Cass... how did you..."
"I don't know." My voice sounds far away. "My System just... gave me the knowledge."
[MISSION COMPLETE]
[COMBAT UPGRADE UNLOCKED]
[WARNING: SYSTEM ENERGY DEPLETED]
[ENTERING EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN]
[HOST WILL LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS IN 5... 4... 3...]
"Wait, what?" I stagger. "No, not now—"
The world spins. I see Kieran trying to catch me, but he's too injured to move fast enough.
I hit the ground hard.
As darkness swallows me, I hear my System's final message:
[CRITICAL ALERT: HOST PREGNANCY DETECTED]
[GESTATION: 3 WEEKS]
[FATHER: UNKNOWN]
[SYSTEM WILL REBOOT IN 72 HOURS]
What?
WHAT?
But I'm already gone, falling into darkness with the impossible knowledge that somewhere in the chaos of the past three weeks, I got pregnant.
And I have no idea who the father is.