"Run."
Alaric's voice was sharp and low.
Zoraide did not move.
The horns of the High Council echoed again from the valley. Rogues circled the village like starving dogs.
Fenris stood at the tree line, watching her with open hunger.
"Shift back," Alaric ordered. "Now."
Her massive silver head turned slightly toward him.
Even in wolf form, she could feel his scent pressing against her. Cedar. Heat. Possession.
It tangled with her own, wild and commanding.
"I do not take orders," she said into his mind.
He flinched.
"You can mind speak."
"You are surprised too often."
Another wave of rogues burst from the trees.
One lunged toward a wounded scout.
Zoraide stepped forward.
"Enough."
She did not shout.
She released it.
The Command Voice.
It rolled across the battlefield like thunder.
"Stop."
Every rogue froze.
Mid stride.
Mid snarl.
Mid breath.
Silence dropped hard over the village.
Even the wind seemed to choke.
Alaric's eyes widened. His wolf bowed without meaning to.
"What are you?" he whispered.
Fenris stiffened but did not kneel.
He smiled slowly. "There it is."
Zoraide's silver gaze locked on him.
"Kneel."
Her Voice hit him like a physical blow.
The rogues collapsed to their knees in unison, trembling.
Fenris staggered but stayed standing.
He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
"You think that makes you queen?"
She stepped closer.
The earth dented under her paws.
"It makes me your end."
Alaric recovered first.
"Zora, do not let him bait you," he said. "We need to pull back."
"You can leave," she replied coolly.
His jaw tightened.
"You are my mate."
Her eyes flashed.
"Do not claim what you do not understand."
Fenris laughed softly.
"You feel it, do you not?" he taunted Alaric. "The bond is wrong."
Alaric's eyes flickered gold.
"Careful."
"She is not meant for your pack," Fenris continued. "She was born for a throne soaked in blood."
Zoraide's growl vibrated through the ground.
"Speak carefully."
Fenris spread his arms.
"The High Council hunts you because you were never supposed to survive."
Alaric's head snapped toward her.
"Survive what?"
She did not answer.
Instead, she stepped into Fenris's space.
The rogues around them trembled violently, trapped under her Voice.
Fenris lowered his tone.
"They locked you in silver chains when you were a child," he murmured. "They tried to break you."
A flash hit her mind.
Cold metal.
Dark walls.
Pain.
Her breath hitched.
Alaric saw it.
His scent shifted. Less dominance. More fury.
"Who chained her?" he demanded.
Fenris's eyes never left hers.
"They feared what she would become."
Zoraide leaned closer.
"And you?"
"I wanted to free you."
"You attacked my pack."
"I wanted to force you to wake."
Her lip curled.
"You killed wolves."
His smile faded.
"Collateral."
That was enough.
Alaric stepped forward.
"Touch one more member of my pack and I will scatter your bones."
Fenris looked amused.
"You cannot command her," he told Alaric softly. "You can barely stand under her Voice."
Alaric straightened.
His wolf pushed up hard against the pressure.
He refused to kneel.
Zoraide felt it.
The resistance.
Strong.
Stubborn.
It sent a sharp pulse through the mate bond.
"Do not test me," she warned him.
He met her silver gaze without blinking.
"I am not your subject."
A dangerous pause stretched between them.
Fenris used it.
He lunged.
Fast.
Too fast for most wolves.
But not for her.
She moved before he completed the strike.
Her massive body slammed into him, crushing him into the dirt.
The frozen rogues whimpered.
Fenris shifted mid impact, claws slashing across her shoulder.
Silver blood spilled.
Alaric roared and lunged forward.
"Stay back!" she snapped through the bond.
He froze.
Fury radiated off him like heat from flame.
Fenris twisted free and staggered upright.
"You see?" he spat blood. "You need someone who understands you."
"I understand enough," she said.
She released more power.
The Command Voice intensified.
"Bow."
Fenris's knees buckled.
He fought it, shaking violently.
"I do not kneel," he hissed.
Her silver eyes burned brighter.
"You already are."
He hit the ground.
Flat.
Face in the dirt.
Shock rippled through every wolf present.
Even Alaric inhaled sharply.
Zoraide stepped over Fenris's pinned body.
"You mistake obsession for loyalty," she said coldly.
"I would have crowned you," he rasped.
"You would have used me."
His eyes flickered.
Silence confirmed it.
She lowered her massive head.
Alaric's voice cut through.
"Zora."
A warning.
A plea.
A question.
She ignored it.
Fenris looked up at her one last time.
"You will be alone," he whispered. "They will fear you."
She did not hesitate.
Her jaws closed around his throat.
One sharp twist.
It ended.
The Command Voice released.
The rogues gasped as control snapped away.
For half a second, no one moved.
Then chaos erupted.
"Retreat!" one rogue screamed.
They scattered toward the forest, dragging their wounded.
Zoraide did not chase.
She stood over Fenris's lifeless body.
Breathing hard.
Blood dripped from her fur.
Alaric approached slowly.
His scouts regrouped behind him, watching her with wide eyes.
"You just killed a rogue Alpha," one whispered.
"Silence," Alaric snapped without looking back.
He stepped closer.
"You are bleeding."
"I will heal."
His eyes scanned her massive form.
"You are not Omega."
"No."
"Then what are you?"
She hesitated.
The village watched.
Fear and awe tangled in the air.
"I am what they tried to bury," she said quietly.
Alaric stepped even closer.
Close enough that their scents collided.
The mate bond flared painfully bright.
"You hid from me," he said.
"You would have caged me."
His jaw tightened.
"I would have protected you."
"I do not need protection."
His hand lifted slightly as if to touch her fur, then stopped.
"You need allies."
She stared down at him.
"And you need truth."
The wind shifted.
A new scent rolled over the ridge.
Not rogue.
Not Council.
Alaric stiffened.
His scouts turned sharply.
One pointed upward.
"Alpha."
Zoraide followed their gaze.
On the ridge above the village stood a line of wolves.
Large.
Disciplined.
Eyes sharp.
At their center stood a tall man in dark armor.
His presence pressed down like a mountain.
Alaric Vane.
Not the wounded Alpha at her side.
This one.
Untouched.
Cold.
Watching.
Zoraide's heart slammed.
She turned slowly toward the Alaric beside her.
His scent flickered with shock.
He looked up at the ridge.
And the man there smiled faintly.
"Interesting," the man on the ridge called down. "You found her."
The scouts beside Zoraide shifted uneasily.
The Alaric next to her clenched his fists.
"What is this?" she demanded.
The man on the ridge tilted his head.
"You did not tell her?" he asked mildly.
Silence.
The Alaric at her side swallowed.
She looked between them.
Two identical faces.
Same gold eyes.
Same dominant scent.
But one was colder.
Sharper.
More controlled.
The man on the ridge took one step forward.
"I am Alaric Vane," he said smoothly. "Alpha of Crescent Fang."
Zoraide's silver eyes widened.
Then who was the man standing beside her?