Gasps rippled through the room. A few Alphas shifted in their chairs.
"You'd let him keep Nightfall Province?" barked Wolfric.
"She's a Luna, not a general—"
"This isn't the time for doubt!"
"Your plan assumes we're dealing with a predictable enemy," Nova said, calm and steady. Her gaze shifted to Lunaris. "We're not. He's baiting us."
Nova looked back at Bloodmoon and his expression remained neutral.
"You're also not accounting for Queen Velora," Nova continued. "She holds command over her son. She was born in Umbrael and maintains deep ties to Elaris. We must assume they've adopted Umbraelian warfare doctrine."
She scanned the table. Outside of Redmoon, she could see it on their faces. They didn't fully understand yet.
Nova nodded once and kept going.
"In Umbrael and Elaris, battalions deploy by portal. Mages are the predominant population. Their continents are larger than Varos. Magic isn't rare there. It's infrastructure."
She didn't pause for a comprehension check this time. These men were Alphas for a reason and she trusted they would be able to follow along.
"Based on the speed of Ashbane's advance," Nova continued, "he's leveraging that advantage. He would be a fool not to."
Darkhowler grunted in agreement. Redmoon's attention sharpened. Two of them were tracking her now.
"Ashbane wants us to concentrate our forces in one place. He's already withdrawn from captured territory just enough to make invasion tempting. If his advance were happening by land, it would be logical. But at this pace, we have to assume either full portal deployment or simultaneous command of multiple armies."
She paused. Every Alpha leaned in.
"Which is why he's borrowing his mother's."
Laughs broke the tension. Her gaze flicked briefly to Moonfang. His expression had shifted. Neutral now. Attentive.
"If we commit our full force," Nova said, her gaze steady on Bloodmoon, "he collapses the realmways behind us and traps us."
Wolfric nodded once.
"I am saying we let him believe we are going to invade," Nova continued. "We let him believe we are practicing warfare the way we always have. Wolf-heavy armies. Limited mage support. But instead, we strike from three angles."
Lunaris let out a breath. "Alright, Queen. You have my attention. How do you propose we do that?"
Nova gestured toward the map.
"We establish full battlespace denial," Nova said. "No portal access. No ground movement. No resupply."
She noticed most of the Alphas frown when she mentioned portal access. It dawned on her then that, outside of Redmoon, the rest were less familiar with mage warfare. She inevitably had learned bits and pieces of it through Aeron's assigned readings.
She also noticed there were no mages in the tent.
That was a blind spot. One she might be able to use to her advantage.
Moonfang slid a pile of tokens toward her, each one representing a pack, along with several smaller gold markers.
"You have my attention," he said. "Show us."
Nova nodded and stood.
"In Varos, portals cannot be opened through the Elaran Range, Highwind Pass, the Ironbound Pass, the Karth Divide, or the Ashen Lowlands," Nova said, placing a marker on each location as she spoke.
"These lands are saturated with nullstone crystal or black aetherstone. Anchors can't stabilize in either. He'll be forced to move on foot or bypass these regions entirely."
No one spoke for a long moment.
A few of the Alphas grunted in response. Most of them made a point of not reacting, as if this were information they'd always known. It was unconvincing.
Redmoon's lips twitched and he made eye contact with Nova. He seemed to be the only Alpha who followed her train of thought.
Then Beta Fang of Redmoon spoke from the back of the tent, voice carrying authority. "She's correct on that."
Moonfang, Lunaris, and Darkhowler all gave a single nod at his words. Fang held power in this tent, and his endorsement gave her credibility. Nova made a mental note of that.
She placed two more tokens, both bearing pack emblems, along the southern valley.
"First. Bloodmoon and Wolfric secure the southern valley. His primary ground supply corridor and only viable non-portal route. No reinforcements. Once it's cut, the clock starts."
She placed another pair of pack emblem tokens along the western river route.
"Second. Lunaris and Darkhowler control the western river. We deny reconnaissance and signal traffic. Command cohesion collapses. His forces stop operating as an army. He fights blind."
She pulled two more tokens marked with pack emblems and placed them on the map.
"Third. Redmoon and Shadowclaw take the eastern mountain pass. Redmoon knows the terrain best. It's the most viable portal deployment zone in Varos due to stable leyline convergence."
She shifted her gaze briefly to Fang.
"She's correct," he called, lips twitching.
Nova turned back and continued, not waiting for nods.
"The terrain there forces ground combat, which turns his mage-heavy doctrine into a liability. Portals are useless if troops can't land together. The next closest viable deployment zone is inside his own territory. His primary portals are forced west."
She placed three tokens on separate points within Ashbane territory. The most viable portal sites. No one questioned it.
"Without the aid of portals on all three fronts," Nova continued, "he has no choice but to commit to conventional ground warfare."
"We close the map around him." she said.
She began placing the remaining tokens, each movement deliberate.
"Eclipseborne and Hallowborne along the northern highlands."
"Hollowbrook, Moonfang, and Starfang along the eastern plains."
"Bardoff, Blackthorne, and Darkfang along the southern approach."
Nova finished placing the last of the tokens.
Each pack sat where it made the most sense. Terrain they had already fought over. Ground they had already bled for. Land every Alpha in the room was instinctively invested in protecting, without her ever needing to say it out loud.
The map had changed.
There were only so many paths left open. Only so many choices.
"Three fronts guarantee one battlefield. That battlefield is fixed," Nova said. "He walks into it."
Silence followed.
Then she continued, her voice steady. Final.
"And there's nowhere for him to run."
No one moved. All eyes were on the map. About half the room understood it immediately. The others were still working through it, but getting there. Nova waited.
This wasn't a plan. It was a conclusion. An airtight one, and Nova knew it.
Another murmur rippled through the tent. Some leaned forward again, studying the map with new eyes.
Nova assumed most of the Alphas were mindlinking. Fact-checking. Testing the edges of it. She waited.
Darkhowler leaned forward and placed a token on the map. "You're talking guerrilla warfare."
Starfang scoffed, barely audible. "Reckless."
"Or brilliant," came another voice from the edge of the tent.
Hollowbrook finally broke the silence. "She's right." He shook his head and looked at Nova in surrender.
Moonfang nodded and spoke. "It ends this war faster."
Darkhowler let out a long breath. "He loses."
Alpha Wolfric's eyes hadn't left Nova for the last 20 minutes at this point. His expression blank, but unable to look away. He smiled, tilting his head. Eyes gleaming, with a chuckle he commented, "I see it now. I see why he sent you."
Another mummer swarmed the tent. But at this point, it was clear that the consensus had tipped in Nova's favor.
"Do we have a second vote?" Bloodmoon asked.
"I will back that, if the queen agrees to lead the northern front," Alpha Darkfang said, voice low. "You held us back. You'd better be right. Can you back up your sharp tongue?"
Nova didn't hesitate. "I'll lead it."
"You're going to lead an operation across the territory Ashbane controls?" Starfang asked, now clearly upset that things were not going his way.
"I've already had one throne offered this week, Alpha." Her eyes flicked briefly to Renwick Lunaris, a silent callback only a few would catch. Then back to Starfang, sharper now.
"But I didn't come here to be seated. I came to end this war and I don't plan on doing that from behind a wall."
The tent went silent.
A flicker of surprise danced across more than one face — Alphas and advisors alike. Even the scribes paused mid-quill, glancing up.
Redmoon gave a short, sharp laugh under his breath, clearly impressed.
Darkhowler tilted his head, a grin playing at his lips like a wolf who'd just found someone worth respecting. He murmured to no one in particular, "Told you she bites."
Starfang's expression hardened. Jaw tense. His gaze stayed locked on Nova, calculating. Challenged.
Jax, standing just behind her to the left, felt his entire chest tighten. But his heart, however, did something else entirely.
Pride. Pride so fierce it burned behind his ribs.
He'd seen Nova in his arms. But this? This was something else. This was a queen claiming her place.
Beta Baldemar from the Moonfang pack leaned towards Jax and a few other advisors without taking his eyes off her and muttered under his breath, "If she weren't already taken, half this room would propose."
Beta Clawris from the Darkfang Pack on their left chuckled and added, "And the other half would follow her into hell."
"Just don't make me dig your grave," Wolfric said.
Nova smiled, half-amused. "You won't have to."
Lunaris leaned back in his chair, a slow grin spreading across his face. "A revote is in order," he said, lifting a hand. "All in favor?"
Redmoon nodded, raising his hand.
Bloodmoon followed, his expression firm.
Darkhowler lifted his hand without hesitation.
Wolfric exchanged a glance with his advisor before raising his hand as well.
Moonfang—silent until now—crossed his arms and raised his hand, his eyes never leaving Nova.
Darkfang exhaled slowly. "Let's see if this Queen can outmaneuver a dark army," he said, lifting his hand.
Lunaris raised his hand, with a smirk.
That made seven.
The room turned and all eyes fell on the remaining.
Bardoff hesitated… and then lifted his hand with a grimace.
Eclipseborne stayed still for a moment too long, then muttered, "Fine," and joined the others.
Blackthorne grunted and lifted his finger off the table, then muttered "Fine."
Hallowbrook's fingers drummed on the table—then he gave a tight nod and raised his hand.
Starfang sneered. "You're all fools." But he raised his hand—slowly, bitterly.
Twelve hands in the air. All eyes shifted to the final voice in the room.
"Shadowclaw votes Yes."
The room fell still. For a moment, no one spoke.
Then, slowly, as if waking from a spell, murmurs began—quiet at first, then rising. Not in protest—but in awe.
Nova had turned the tide. She wasn't just queen in name. She had just led twelve Alphas into war.
On her terms.