The Wilds finally went quiet.
Liam stood on the ridge where Nysera had yielded, rain fading into mist, the thorns pressed flat as if the forest itself had bowed. Behind him, jagged trees and broken cliffs breathed in that stillness. Beside him, Nysera waited… eyes half-lidded, ears tilted, tail slow, every inch of her relaxed and alert at the same time. She had said little since the bond sealed.
She did not need to.
He could feel her now, the tight thread in the system that tied her to him, the push and pull of her will under his hand. She had not just submitted. She had tested him… and the echo of that challenge still clung to every step she took.
She was his.
Only because he made it so.
The system pulsed behind his eyes.
> [System Update]
Bond secured. Nysera, Huntress of Shadows.
Buff unlocked, Shadowstep, short range shift, evasion boost.
Territory claimed, Stormclaw Wilds, secured.
Clan alliance trigger, initiated, beastkin access available.
Bond count, twelve of ninety-nine.
Loyalty sync, eighty-eight percent, stable.
Directive, return to Mall Fortress. Alliance formation pending.
New feature, Summoning Chamber override granted, one time use.
Warning, horde activity increasing near fortress perimeter.
Liam's jaw set.
Mall Fortress.
Three days without its walls. Three days without them. Queens scattered across his map by necessity, not choice. He needed them now. The storm in the Wilds was over. Another one was already moving on his borders.
"You think too loudly," Nysera murmured, a hint of amusement in her tone.
"You heard that?"
"No… I felt it." She stepped closer, shadow pooling at her feet. "You are about to pull your pack."
"My wives," he said, sharper than intended.
Her mouth curved. "Then summon them… and let them see who you claimed."
He reached for the chamber, let the world thin around him. Stone gave way to glass and cold. The heart of the fortress rose up, the throne room lit by the slow pulse of the Summoning Circle. Runes woke like embers under the first breath of wind.
He stepped into the circle.
Light fell.
> [System Alert]
Summoning Chamber active.
Override use authorized, one time.
Limit lifted, all bonded may return for twenty-four hours.
Loyalty boost pending.
Warning, horde raid incoming in ten hours.
Prepare defense. Alliance council scheduled. Beastkin included.
"Bring them back," Liam said. "All of them."
The circle answered.
Rena arrived first, armor scored, sword already bare. Elyra followed, silver-eyed and smiling. Vexa, shoulders rolled, fists ready. Kaelith and Kaelithra, twin steel catching the light. Ice Queen, frost hissing where her feet touched stone. Sylvara, hair crackling with the last touch of storm. Sarya, crossbow slung like a promise. Kaelyn, silent and sharp. Naia, wild and bright, sand still in her hair.
All of them, watching him.
"You ruled your zones," Liam said. "You kept what we took. Now the horde marches, and we stand together."
Nysera moved to his side.
Rena's eyes narrowed. "She came willing?"
Nysera's smile was slow. "He made me."
Elyra laughed softly. "I like her."
Ice Queen looked up at the trembling glass above. "Then we make ready."
Liam lifted his sword.
"This kingdom is not finished," he said. "It is just beginning."
They would come. So would he.
Together.
The Wilds had one last demand.
Nysera led him back into the cliffs at dusk, quiet as breath, the earth still wet from rain. The den mouth yawned in the rock, marked with old symbols that glowed a low red haze. Smoke, damp earth, wet fur… the air tasted like the storm before it broke.
"You pause," Nysera said, voice low. "You did not pause for me."
"This is not power," he said. "This is rule."
The system agreed.
> [System Alert]
Clan alliance trigger active.
Ritual acknowledgement required.
Enter den alone. No weapons. No commands.
Reward, clan command, patrol buff, summon override.
"If they do not see you as alpha," Nysera said, stepping into the dark, "you die."
"And you?"
Her grin flashed, quick and sharp. "I will be watching. If they try… I will kill them first."
He went in.
Eyes lined the chamber, dozens of them, some narrow, some wide, all bright. Warriors crouched along the rim, ears pricked, shoulders bunched. A throne of bone waited at the center, a massive beastkin upon it, fur dark silver, claws like polished obsidian.
"You come to take her," the alpha said. "You come to take us."
Liam stood in the middle of their circle and did not lower his chin.
"I came because I won her," he said. "I came because I lead her. Now I lead you."
A low ripple of sound moved the walls. The alpha stepped down, claws ticking against stone.
"We do not follow the weak."
"Good," Liam said. "I am not here to ask."
He raised his hand. Shadow, frost, and storm curled over his skin. The system's light answered. Nysera stepped from the dark at his shoulder, silver eyes bright.
"He broke me," she said. "He commands me. Obey him… or challenge him."
Silence, long and hot.
The alpha dropped to one knee.
The den followed.
The system flared.
> [System Update]
Clan alliance secured. Stormclaw Den loyal.
Buff unlocked, beastkin patrol, zone defense increase.
Summon override triggered. Harem recall active.
Rotation paused for forty-eight hours.
Horde convergence in nine hours, fifty-seven minutes.
Nysera's shoulder brushed his. "Now call them," she whispered. "Let them see what you built."
He did not need telling.
He called them again, not with light and runes, but with the new thread the den had tied through him. The fortress answered. The roads froze where Ice Queen willed it. The alleys darkened where Nysera asked. Shadow patrols spilled into the outer ring. Stormstride and Shadowstep braided together in the walls.
The war table glowed when he returned.
Sarya traced the red arcs with one finger, not smiling, satisfied anyway. "Lines are clean."
Rena took his right. "We sharpen," she said. "Then we hold."
Elyra's voice fell like silk. "And after we hold, we take."
Vexa cracked her knuckles. "Always."
Liam set his hands on the table, felt the fortress beat under his palms, felt the roads and rivers and scars answer back. Outside, the dust was already lifting on the horizon.
"Let them come," he said, quiet, certain.