Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

Chapter 76: Shadowfang’s Awakening

POV: Xavier

Tell me, General, would you be proposing peace if we hadn't just destroyed your secret prison?"

"Probably not," Hawthorne admitted. "But that doesn't make the offer less genuine. The world is changing. We can either adapt together or destroy each other. I choose adaptation."

"As do I," a new voice said.

Alpha Celeste walked through the military line, the soldiers parting for her automatically. The ancient Alpha's presence commanded respect even from humans. Behind her came other members of the Wolf Council, including Damien.

"The Council tracked the crisis here," Celeste explained. "We're prepared to enter negotiations for a formal supernatural-human council. The first in history."

I looked at Thelma, then Theo, then Luna. This was bigger than us now. Bigger than one destroyed facility or one group of survivors.

This could change everything.

"I want one condition," I said. "Every prisoner freed from this facility gets full immunity. No prosecution, no registration against their will, no discrimination. They've suffered enough."

"Agreed," Hawthorne said without hesitation.

"And the bodies," Marcus Blackwood said, emerging from the crowd of survivors with Riley beside him. "The ones who didn't make it out. They deserve proper burial. Recognition that they existed and were murdered."

Hawthorne nodded. "You have my word. We'll recover everybody and identify them all. Their families will be notified."

"I have a condition as well," Ravencrest said smoothly. "The blood debt I hold over the Alpha twins remains valid. It predates any human treaty and must be honored."

Thelma tensed beside me, but she nodded. "Agreed. When you call, we'll answer. One favor of equal value to the trial we failed."

"Excellent." Ravencrest smiled, showing teeth. "I do so enjoy having talented young wolves in my debt."

Damien stepped forward, and I braced for confrontation. But his expression was complicated, not hostile.

"Xavier," he said quietly. "I was wrong about you. About many things. Elder Thorne has been arrested for embezzlement and conspiracy. The Council wants you to take his seat."

I stared at him. "What?"

"You're a True Alpha. You've proven yourself a leader. The Council needs your voice." Damien paused. "And Finn needs his brother. I've failed him as a father. But maybe you won't."

It was the closest thing to an apology Damien had ever given anyone.

"I'll consider it," I said carefully.

The group began moving toward the military medical tents that had been set up. Negotiations would take time, details would need to be worked out, but for the first time, there was hope.

I kept Thelma close to my side, unwilling to let her go even for a moment now that I remembered everything we'd been through.

We were halfway to the tents when the shot rang out. General Hawthorne jerked, stumbled, clutched her chest. Blood spread across her uniform.

Chaos erupted. Soldiers dove for cover, weapons raised. Supernatural creatures scattered or prepared to fight.

I traced the shot's trajectory to see Private Mitchell, the young soldier who'd helped Marcus's group escape. He stood twenty feet away, holding a smoking pistol, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry. But they have my family. They said if I didn't kill her, they'd kill my sister. They're making me do this!"

He turned the gun toward his own head.

I moved with True Alpha speed, closing the distance before he could pull the trigger. I tackled him, wrestling the weapon away. It clattered across concrete as we hit the ground.

Mitchell collapsed beneath me, sobbing hysterically. "They're watching. They're always watching. The real organization, the one that CREATED Dr. Vex's facility. They have people everywhere. And they just activated all their sleeper agents. The war isn't over, it's just beginning."

General Hawthorne sat up, ripping open her uniform to reveal body armor beneath. The bullet had hit the center mass but the vest had stopped it. She was bruised but alive.

"Who?" she demanded, moving toward Mitchell. "Who has your family?"

Mitchell looked at her with desperate, terrified eyes. "They call themselves the Crimson Dawn. And they've been preparing for the supernatural war for fifty years. Dr. Vex was just one cell. There are dozens more facilities, hundreds of agents, thousands of weapons. And their leader..." He swallowed hard. "Their leader is someone you all know. Someone supernatural who's been working with them to eliminate other supernatural creatures. They're playing both sides."

The assembled crowd erupted. Wolves accused vampires. Vampires blamed witches. Humans looked at each other with suspicion. The fragile peace shattered in seconds.

"How many facilities?" I demanded, gripping Mitchell's shoulders.

"I don't know. Dozens? They're everywhere. And their leader..."

"Who is the leader?" Thelma asked.

"I don't know their real name. I've never seen their face. But the code name they use is Shadowfang."

My blood ran cold. Shadowfang. My family name.

"That's impossible," I said.

But even as I said it, doubt crept in. Someone in my family? Someone using my name for this conspiracy?

Hawthorne pressed her comm unit. "I need immediate extraction for this soldier. Full protective custody. And someone get me intelligence on the Crimson Dawn. Everything we have."

I looked at Thelma, seeing my own shock mirrored in her face. "We destroyed one facility. How many more are there?"

"As many as it takes," a voice said from the darkness.

Everyone spun toward the treeline. A figure stood there, just beyond the spotlight's reach. They held binoculars in one hand and a phone in the other.

"They survived," the figure said into the phone, their voice electronically distorted. "But that's acceptable. We have what we need, proof that the hybrids can be created. Begin Phase Two: The Purge."

Then they were gone, vanishing into the forest before anyone could react.

Thelma grabbed my arm. "Xavier, what's Phase Two?"

I didn't know. But looking at the chaos around us, the fear and suspicion poisoning every interaction, I had a terrible feeling we were about to find out. The war wasn't over. It was just beginning.