The moon hung low, a cold silver eye over the wildlands. The forest stretched for miles — dark, endless, and pulsing with something unnatural.
Here, beyond the pack borders, Damon walked alone.
Or so it seemed.
The trees whispered his name now. Shadows followed him like wolves without form — loyal to no one but him. Each step he took left a faint trail of golden fire that faded into ash. His eyes, once warm and steady, burned with streaks of black and gold.
He wasn’t the Alpha he used to be.
He was something else now.
⸻
When he reached the clearing, they were waiting — a dozen rogues, eyes glowing red, their bodies scarred and starved. Once outcasts, they now knelt before him.
One raised his head. “You called us, Alpha.”
Damon’s voice was steady, calm — but it carried an edge of d
