Chapter 5 THE FIRST TRUCE

Kaelen looked directly into the terrifying silver eyes of the Alpha. His jaw tightened. He could feel the pulse of the Moonstone—Roman must have hidden it nearby—but more than that, he felt a strange, deep-seated anger rising from the pit of his stomach. It wasn't human fear. It was a defiant, ancient roar that wanted to challenge the giant standing over him.

"Go to hell," Kaelen said softly, spitting a speck of blood right onto Aldric’s chest.

Aldric’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. His hand flew up, his claws hovering over Kaelen’s throat, ready to rip.The air in the subterranean chamber grew so tense it felt ready to combust. Aldric’s talons hovered a mere millimeter from the pulsing vein in Kaelen’s neck. Kaelen didn't blink. He kept his steely gray gaze locked onto the Alpha’s silver eyes, his jaw set, refusing to give this monster the satisfaction of seeing him beg.

"Aldric, stop!" Roman barked, his hand slamming down onto his brother’s tense shoulder. "Kill him, and we lose any chance of understanding what the Ashwood pack is planning. Look at the dead Beta's body upstairs—he was mutilated by human weapons. The Silver Circle is already operating within our borders. If we go to war with Ashwood now, we’re doing exactly what the hunters want."

Aldric’s chest heaved, his breath coming in hot, angry plumes. For a long, agonizing three seconds, he didn't move. The primal urge to assert dominance over a defiant captive warred directly with his responsibilities as the leader of a threatened pack.

Slowly, deliberately, Aldric retracted his claws. He straightened up, though his gaze remained lethal.

"You think you are brave, soldier," Aldric said, his voice dropping into a chillingly calm register. "I know your record. Kaelen Vance. Special Forces. Discharged after your entire squad was wiped out in an ambush you alone survived. You came to these woods to die slowly in isolation. But let me make one thing clear: you are no longer in control of your destiny. You are in my domain now."

Kaelen felt a cold spike hit his chest at the mention of his past, but he kept his expression an unreadable mask. "If you know my record, then you know I don't break under interrogation. You want to know what the dying man said? He said the truce is shattered. He said the Silver Circle is coming. And he told me to keep the stone away from both of you."

Roman let out a low whistle, crossing his arms. "Well, he certainly got the stubborn part right."

"The stone stays here, under my guard," Aldric said, ignoring his brother. He turned his back on Kaelen, walking toward the stone steps. "The Council meets at dawn. The elders will want to see the human who carries the mark of the dual flame. Until then, he stays chained. If he moves, break his other leg, Roman."

"Always a pleasure, big brother," Roman murmured with a mock salute.

As Aldric’s heavy footsteps faded up the stairs, the massive oak door clanging shut behind him, the heavy silence returned to the room. Kaelen let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, his broken ribs throbbing in protest.

Roman turned back to Kaelen, a softer, more calculating expression on his face. He picked up the bowl of broth from the tray and sat on the edge of the granite slab. "He’s under a lot of pressure," Roman said quietly, blowing on a spoonful of the hot liquid. "The Blood Moon is exactly twelve months away. If the packs don't unite by then, the ancient curse takes over. Every wolf on the continent will lose their human mind, turning into feral, mindless beasts permanently. Aldric is trying to save our people, even if he acts like a brutal bastard to do it."

Roman held the spoon up to Kaelen’s lips. "Eat. You need your strength if you're going to survive the Council tomorrow."

Kaelen turned his head away. "I don't need your pity, and I don't need your food."

"It's not pity, Kaelen," Roman whispered, his amber eyes shifting, glowing with an intense, raw sincerity that caught Kaelen completely off guard. He leaned in close, his breath warm against Kaelen’s cheek. "It’s the bond. Whether you want to admit it or not, you belong to us. And I protect what is mine."

Kaelen looked at Roman, his mind racing. He was trapped in a subterranean fortress, surrounded by supernatural monsters, with a global countdown ticking toward some apocalyptic curse. His quiet, isolated life was dead.

"If I eat," Kaelen said, his voice low and dangerous, "you tell me everything about this prophecy. No lies. No mystical cryptic garbage. The raw tactical truth."

Roman’s roguish grin slowly returned, brilliant and sharp. "Deal."

Meanwhile, miles away at the edge of the Ashwood forest, the remnants of Kaelen’s cabin were engulfed in a different kind of light.

High-powered floodlights illuminated the blackened, smoking ruins of the clearing. Forensic teams clad in white hazmat suits over tactical armor crawled through the debris, gathering shell casings and scraping samples of the boiling black blood from the frozen mud.

Captain Elena Cross stood on the porch, her boots crunching on the charred timber. She held a small, high-tech handheld scanner, sweeping it over the area where Kaelen had dropped to his knees before the transformation.

The scanner suddenly let out a sharp, high-pitched whine. The screen flashed a bright, warning violet.

Warning: Residual High-Mass Non-Human Energy Detected. Signature Match: Eclipse Compound.

Elena’s breath hitched in her throat. She stared at the screen, her cold, calculating eyes widening in shock. "It's true," she whispered to herself. "The project... it wasn't destroyed thirty years ago."

Her tech specialist, Miller, jogged up the porch steps, panting. "Captain! We just got the satellite playback from the moment the target escaped. The two high-mass subjects—the Thorn Alphas—they didn't kill the civilian. They carried him away. They took Kaelen Vance alive."

Elena turned, her face hardening into a mask of pure steel.