"They thought they buried me. But I was seed, not stone."
---
The horns didn't stop.
From the ridge, Selene could see them — thousands, maybe more. Black armor glinting like obsidian beneath the cloudy skies. Red banners unfurled, marked with the clawed sigil of the Ravenscourge, stained by the blood of too many innocent packs. The ground shook beneath their march. War drums beat like a heartbeat from hell itself.
Kai stood beside her, jaw clenched, gaze locked on the horizon.
"They brought everyone."
Selene's fingers curled around the hilt of her blade. "Then they'll all fall together."
Riven's eyes narrowed. "We don't have enough fighters. We don't have a fort. We don't even have enough time to run."
"I'm not running," Selene said.
Kai turned to her. "We can't fight an army, Selene."
"We're not fighting alone."
She raised her hand.
And the earth answered.
From the trees, from the bones of forgotten dens, from the ashes of burned villages, they came. Lone wolves. Broken betas. Forgotten alphas. Rogues. Survivors. All marked by scars. All with nothing left but hate. They emerged from the shadows one by one, silent as ghosts, eyes locked on Selene.
No one had summoned them.
They had simply heard her howl.
One massive werewolf stepped forward, his gray fur patchy, eye missing, but his presence radiating strength. "You are the Blood Voice," he growled. "We heard you in the marrow. What's the call?"
Selene didn't hesitate.
"We burn them to the root."
A roar echoed from the crowd.
Blades unsheathed. Fangs bared.
The army at the ridge had numbers.
Selene had rage.
Night fell.
And with it came fire.
The battle began not with swords but with screams. Selene led the charge, her blade drawn, her form already shifting mid-leap, claws bursting from her fingers, eyes glowing crimson. The rogues followed, not with discipline, but fury—howling as they launched themselves into the ranks of the Ravenscourge.
Blood spattered the snow.
Limbs torn.
Throats ripped.
And still the drums beat.
Selene tore through a line of armored warriors, her claws dragging steel from flesh. She ducked a halberd, snapped the wielder's neck, spun, and flung a knife into another throat. She didn't pause. She didn't breathe.
Every step, every kill, was justice. Every drop of blood was vengeance.
Kai was a storm beside her—silent, devastating. His fur black, his form monstrous, ripping through soldiers like parchment. And when they tried to flank her—he was there. Always.
Riven danced through the chaos like death given rhythm. She carved patterns into flesh. Her blades sang, and every verse was a kill.
But it wasn't enough.
The Ravenscourge kept coming.
Selene's shoulder was gashed. Blood streamed down her thigh. Her lungs burned.
And then…
A horn deeper than the rest echoed.
From the other side of the battlefield, a black chariot emerged.
Drawn not by horses, but massive shadow-wolves with no eyes.
Standing atop it…
Alpha Cael.
The Butcher of Black Hollow.
The one who ordered her family's execution.
The one who laughed while her mother burned.
His armor was plated with the bones of slain alphas.
His eyes were dead.
He raised his hand.
And the shadows answered.
The sky darkened. Not with clouds—but wings.
Twisted shifters with warped bodies descended like a storm, clawing through Selene's ranks. They weren't wolves. They were failed experiments—beasts spliced with magic and madness.
Selene screamed for retreat—but it was too late.
The rogue wolves were falling.
Riven went down, blood pouring from her side.
Kai was locked in a savage brawl with three monsters, holding them back with brute strength alone.
Selene turned toward Cael.
And he looked straight at her.
Smiled.
Then leapt from his chariot.
The impact cracked the ground.
Selene barely got her blade up before he was on her—his claws crashing into hers, forcing her back. He was stronger. Faster. Every strike of his threatened to shatter bone.
"You've grown," he said. "I remember when you whimpered in a cage."
Selene spat blood in his face. "And I remember the sound your brother made when I gutted him."
His snarl was immediate.
He struck—fast.
Selene dodged.
He backhanded her.
The force threw her through a tree.
Pain exploded in her ribs.
She tried to rise.
Couldn't.
He stalked toward her, fangs bared. "You think a few rogues make you strong? You think blood makes you queen?"
He lifted his claw.
Then stopped.
A howl.
Not hers.
Kai's.
It echoed across the battlefield, deep and broken and furious.
He charged.
Crushed two beasts in his path.
Launched himself at Cael.
They collided like titans.
Selene watched, barely able to lift her head.
They fought in a storm of teeth and rage, both bleeding, both roaring.
But Cael had waited for this.
He stabbed deep into Kai's side.
Twisted.
Kai collapsed.
Selene screamed.
Something in her snapped.
A second heartbeat.
A third.
Then silence.
Not in the world—but in her.
Everything slowed.
She stood.
Not walked—stood.
Her form rose, taller than before.
Her wounds vanished.
Her eyes burned.
And when she opened her mouth—
She howled.
Not just sound. Not just fury.
It was truth.
It shook the battlefield.
Every creature froze.
Even Cael.
And Selene moved.
No blade.
No strategy.
Just pure, divine rage.
She crashed into Cael, driving him back with claws that shone like moonlight. He tried to counter. She shattered his wrist. He tried to flee.
She dragged him back.
"You killed my mother," she whispered.
He laughed, spitting blood. "She was weak."
Selene leaned close.
"So were you."
She ripped his heart out.
Watched it stop beating in her hand.
Then crushed it.
The field was silent.
The beasts fled.
The Ravenscourge broke ranks and ran.
Riven rose, bloodied, staggering. Kai was still breathing, barely.
Selene stood over Cael's corpse.
The war was far from over.
But tonight?
Tonight the wolves had won.