Dawn came without warmth.
A thin gray light stretched across the western forest, filtering through skeletal branches and settling over frost-coated earth. The air was sharp enough to sting the lungs.
Nyra stood at the edge of the clearing.
She was not inside the circle.
She was not allowed to be.
Ancient law demanded that a blood challenge remain untouched by mate, council, or pack.
But that did not mean she would not witness it.
The clearing itself had been marked before sunrise—stones forming a wide ring, carved long ago with the sigil of the Alpha bloodline. The earth inside was dark, damp, waiting.
Waiting for blood.
Kaelen stood opposite the rising sun.
Bare hands.
No weapons.
No armor.
Only strength.
Only instinct.
Across the circle—
Ardyn.
Silver hair loose around his shoulders. Golden eyes bright, almost feverish beneath the fractured moon fading in the sky.
He looked… pleased.
As if this moment had lived in him for years.
"You came," Ardyn said smoothly.
"I said I would," Kaelen replied.
The wolves of Nightfall gathered behind Kaelen's side of the clearing. Silent. Tense.
The rogues stood behind Ardyn.
Equal numbers.
Equal silence.
Nyra's heart pounded against her ribs, but her face remained expressionless.
Executioners did not show fear.
Even when their mate stood at the edge of death.
Ardyn rolled his shoulders lazily.
"You always were predictable, brother."
"And you were always hungry."
Ardyn's smile sharpened.
"For power? Yes."
"For control? Certainly."
His gaze flicked briefly toward Nyra.
"For what is yours? Absolutely."
A growl ripped from Kaelen's chest.
Low.
Deadly.
The sound vibrated through the clearing like thunder.
Ardyn's eyes flashed in satisfaction.
"There it is," he murmured. "The beast you hide."
Kaelen stepped forward into the circle.
The moment his foot crossed the carved stone boundary—
The air changed.
He shifted.
Bone cracked.
Muscle surged.
Fur erupted in a wave of dark midnight and silver along his spine.
Within seconds, a massive black wolf stood where the Alpha had been.
Power rolled off him in waves.
Ardyn's grin widened.
He shifted without hesitation.
His transformation was violent.
Brutal.
Silver fur shot through with streaks of pale gold. Larger than Kaelen by inches. Broader in the shoulders.
His golden eyes burned unnaturally bright.
Old magic.
Nyra felt it again.
That unnatural pulse beneath his skin.
The wolves backed further from the circle.
No one breathed.
For a heartbeat—
The two brothers stared at each other.
Then—
They collided.
The impact shook the earth.
Teeth snapped.
Claws tore.
They moved too fast for the human eye—dark and silver blurs crashing through frost and dirt.
Kaelen lunged first, aiming for Ardyn's throat.
Ardyn twisted midair, raking claws across Kaelen's flank.
Blood splattered the earth.
Nyra's fingers curled at her sides.
Do not move.
Do not interfere.
Ardyn hit Kaelen hard enough to send both wolves skidding across the ground. Dirt flew.
Ardyn recovered faster.
He slammed into Kaelen again, jaws snapping inches from his neck.
Kaelen twisted, countered, sinking his teeth into Ardyn's shoulder.
A snarl split the air.
Silver fur darkened with red.
The rogues howled encouragement.
Nightfall wolves growled in response.
But no one stepped forward.
This was ancient law.
And ancient law was merciless.
Ardyn broke free with a vicious jerk, spinning and striking Kaelen across the muzzle.
Kaelen staggered.
Just a second—
But Ardyn saw it.
He lunged.
Knocking Kaelen flat.
Claws pinned.
Jaws descending.
Nyra's wolf exploded against her skin.
Move.
Move.
MOVE.
She took one step forward.
Three Nightfall warriors blocked her instantly.
"You cannot," one whispered urgently.
Inside the circle, Ardyn's teeth sank into Kaelen's shoulder.
Blood poured.
Kaelen roared—not in pain.
In fury.
The sound was so powerful it made the ground tremble.
And then—
Something changed.
The fractured moon, still faint in the morning sky—
Flickered.
A pulse of silver light shot across the clearing.
Ardyn recoiled slightly, eyes flashing upward.
Kaelen used that hesitation.
He twisted violently, breaking free from beneath Ardyn's weight, and launched forward with every ounce of Alpha strength he possessed.
They crashed again.
But this time—
Kaelen fought differently.
Not just with power.
With precision.
He anticipated Ardyn's movements.
Countered faster.
Struck deeper.
Ardyn snarled in frustration.
"You were never stronger than me!" he growled in wolf-tongue.
Kaelen answered with a brutal slash across Ardyn's chest.
"I don't need to be."
Ardyn lunged again—
But Kaelen stepped aside.
And drove him down into the dirt.
Hard.
This time—
Kaelen pinned him.
Teeth at Ardyn's throat.
The clearing went utterly silent.
Ardyn thrashed once.
Twice.
Then stilled.
Golden eyes flicked upward toward Nyra.
And in them—
There was no fear.
Only calculation.
Kaelen's jaws tightened.
One bite.
One snap.
And it would end.
The law demanded death.
The challenger must fall.
The moonlight pulsed again faintly across the clearing.
Nyra's breath trembled.
Kill him.
End it.
But Kaelen hesitated.
Just slightly.
And Ardyn smiled.
Even pinned.
Even bleeding.
He smiled.
"You still hesitate," he whispered hoarsely.
"Because you are still my brother."
The words hit like a blade.
Ardyn's eyes hardened.
"And that," he hissed, "is why you will lose everything."
Before anyone could react—
Ardyn's body flared with golden light.
Not moonlight.
Something else.
Ancient.
Corrupt.
A shockwave exploded outward from him.
Kaelen was thrown backward violently.
The circle stones cracked.
Wolves were knocked off their feet.
Nyra stumbled but remained standing.
When the dust cleared—
Ardyn stood alone in the center.
Uninjured.
The wounds across his chest… gone.
Gasps tore through the clearing.
Kaelen rose slowly from the ground, blood staining his dark fur.
Ardyn's golden eyes gleamed.
"You truly believed this was only strength against strength?" he said softly.
"This is evolution."
Nyra's heart pounded violently.
"He bound himself to forbidden magic," she whispered.
Kaelen shifted back to human form, breathing hard but steady.
"You forfeited the rite," he said coldly.
Ardyn tilted his head.
"No," he replied. "I rewrote it."
The rogues stepped forward now.
Not attacking.
Claiming ground.
"This Dominion is outdated," Ardyn continued calmly. "Bound by fragile laws and sentimental Alphas."
His gaze slid to Nyra.
"But perhaps… I will allow you to keep the Executioner."
Kaelen's eyes turned lethal.
"You will not touch her."
Ardyn's smile widened.
"Try to stop me."
The ancient rite was broken.
The law shattered.
And the war—
Had officially begun.
Nyra stepped forward now.
Not as mate.
Not as witness.
But as Executioner.
Her blade slid free with a deadly whisper.
"If you want him," she said coldly, eyes locking on Ardyn, "you will have to go through me."
And for the first time—
Ardyn looked interested.