Smoke coiled through the air, thick and clinging, turning the rising sun into a blood-red eye glaring down on a world falling apart. Theron moved like a beast unleashed his Alpha aura thrumming, oppressive, and pulsing through every inch of the shattered woods. Noah kept close, just like he'd promised, but his fingers twitched at his sides, itching for more than just survival.
They stepped over a fallen scout, the boy barely breathing, his side torn open by something with claws too big, too sharp. Noah knelt, pressing his hands to the wound while Theron scanned the perimeter, teeth clenched.
"This wasn't a rogue," Theron muttered, his voice like gravel and thunder. "This was coordinated. Precise."
"Someone who knew our border shifts," Noah added, his voice tight. "Someone inside."
Theron's gaze flicked to him, sharp and impressed. "You're thinking like an Alpha."
"I'm thinking like someone who's not ready to die," Noah shot back.
Theron smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. Not today. His thoughts were darker, heavier. He could feel the world tilting beneath his feet and he hated when he wasn't the one shaking the ground.
A howl echoed in the distance low, eerie, unfamiliar.
"That's not one of ours," Theron said immediately, body tensing like a coiled spring. "Get back to the house. Now."
"No," Noah said instantly, fire sparking in his chest. "We're not splitting up."
"You think I'm gonna let anything happen to you?" Theron growled, closing the space between them. His hand gripped the back of Noah's neck, not rough, but firm claiming. "I just made you mine, and I'm not losing you to some backstabbing coward with a death wish."
Noah's heart stuttered, lips parting. "You're not losing me. But I'm not running either."
For a second, everything froze between them just breath, heartbeats, and that electric thread tying their souls together.
Then Theron released him, reluctantly. "Stay close. If something moves, kill it."
They moved together through the trees like a two-man pack, the unspoken rhythm between them something primal. As they reached the northern ridge, the trees thinned… and the bodies multiplied.
Five more scouts.
All dead.
Noah knelt beside one, brushing his fingers over a strange symbol carved into the man's chest. "Theron… this is a mark. It's a warning."
Theron looked down and his blood turned ice.
He knew that symbol.
It was old.
Ancient.
From a faction that had been erased long ago exiled werewolves who believed in tearing down the hierarchy. Destroying the Alphas. Unleashing chaos.
"The Forsaken," Theron whispered, his voice hoarse.
Noah looked up at him. "I thought they were extinct."
"They were," Theron said, his eyes flickering gold. "Or so we fucking thought."
A second howl rang out.
Then a third.
Then five more.
They were surrounded.
Theron grabbed Noah's hand tight, possessive, protective and pulled him back, toward a slope that would lead them to the fallback trench. But before they could run, shadows peeled away from the trees.
Wolves. Black-furred, eyes red as blood.
"Run," Theron growled.
Noah didn't argue this time. They sprinted through the trees, dodging roots and bloodied leaves, their breaths ragged. Theron shifted mid-stride, bones cracking, fur sprouting, until he was the monster Noah both feared and adored. Huge, midnight black, and terrifyingly beautiful.
Behind them, the enemy wolves gave chase.
But Noah wasn't just some weak omega. Not anymore.
He stopped running.
And when one of the Forsaken wolves lunged for him he slashed its throat with the silver blade hidden in his boot, the same one Theron had forged for him under moonlight.
Theron turned back, growling approval through bloody jaws. That's my omega.
They fought together, back to back, teeth and steel and snarls of rage cutting through the smoke. But they were outnumbered.
For every wolf they killed, two more took its place.
Then Noah was knocked down his blade skittering across the dirt. A Forsaken wolf stood over him, claws raised
And Theron lost it.
A roar ripped from his chest as he slammed into the wolf, tearing its throat open in one bite. Blood sprayed across the grass. His beast didn't stop there it tore through the next attacker, and the next, until Theron stood panting, drenched in red, his fur matted and eyes blazing.
Noah sat up, coughing, dazed. "Theron…"
The Alpha shifted back, stumbling toward him, hands trembling, breath ragged. "Are you hurt? Tell me where"
Noah grabbed his face with both hands. "I'm okay. I'm okay."
Theron collapsed to his knees in front of him, burying his face in Noah's neck. "I can't lose you. I won't lose you."
"You won't," Noah whispered, stroking his back. "But whatever this is… whatever's coming… it's not just about us anymore, is it?"
"No," Theron said, pulling back, eyes shining with rage and dread. "They're not here for territory. They're here for me."