35. MATEO

35

MATEO

The air tastes of ash and blood. It clings to my tongue, bitter and metallic, as I watch the wolves limp their way back toward the packlands. The battlefield is eerily silent now, save for the occasional growl or pained whimper carried by the breeze. Moonlight spills through the trees, casting long, dark shadows that feel like they’re swallowing the ground beneath our feet.

It’s not over. Not even close.

“Gather everyone,” I command, my voice low but carrying the weight of my authority. River moves immediately, his gray wolf shifting back to his human form as he starts organizing the chaos.

Darius stands at the edge of the field, his shoulders tight, his eyes scanning the tree line like he’s waiting for something—or someone —to reappear. I know how he feels. I saw it too, that thing lurking in the darkness, its golden eyes cutting through the veil like twin flames. The First Alpha. A monster pulled straight from our nightmares.

I exhale sharply, shoving my own fear down into the pit of my stomach. I can’t afford to let it show. Not now.

By the time the wolves are gathered, I stand at the center of them, my shoulders back, my gaze sharp as it sweeps over their worn and bloodied faces. Remi stands beside me, quiet but radiating warmth, his presence grounding me. River is a step to my left, stoic as ever. Asani is on my right, his expression unreadable, though I can see the wheels turning in his head.

All eyes are on me.

“You saw it,” I begin, my voice steady even as the memory claws at the back of my mind. “You felt it. The darkness beyond the veil isn’t some story told to scare pups. It’s real. The First Alpha is real.”

A ripple of murmurs passes through the crowd, their fear tangible. Wolves shift uneasily, their eyes flicking toward the edges of the packlands as if expecting to see those molten gold eyes staring back at them.

“But hear me now.” I raise my voice, my tone sharp enough to cut through their unease. “That darkness does not define us. It will not destroy us.” I look out at them, wolves who’ve fought beside me, wolves who’ve doubted me, and wolves who’ve bled for me. “This land has protected us for generations. The magic that runs through the veil—through the packlands —is alive, and it’s on our side. Mother Nature herself chose this place to protect. She chose us. ”

Their eyes are wide now, filled with hope clashing against fear. Good. Let them hold both. Hope without fear is useless. Fear without hope is suffocating.

“And we have her .” My voice softens just slightly as I think of Nepheline. My mate. My Luna. Our Luna . “We have The Luna . The legends say she’s the heart of the magic, the anchor that binds all of this together. If those stories are true, then we are already destined to win.”

A few wolves murmur in agreement. Others nod, their shoulders straightening as they draw strength from my words.

“We don’t back down,” I say firmly, my voice cutting through the silence. “We don’t run. We fight . For our pack. For our Luna. For the future that belongs to all of us.”

I see heads lift. Resolve spreads through the crowd like wildfire, burning away the lingering embers of doubt.

But of course, there’s always someone who has to push.

Kehlani steps forward, his expression sharp, his lips curling into a sneer that has my hackles rising. He was standing at the edge this entire time, the rest of his pack in the heart of the Redstone packlands. It was agreed upon that they wouldn’t fight beside us and I accepted it but Kehlani’s antagonizing behavior is too much. “Legends don’t win battles, Mateo,” he says coldly. “Strength does. Blood does.”

I grit my teeth, my wolf bristling beneath my skin, but Asani’s voice cuts in before I can respond. “And yet you’re standing here because of her . Because of the magic you can’t explain but feel every damn day.”

Kehlani’s eyes flash— red .

A collective gasp echoes through the crowd as every wolf takes a step back. I freeze, my instincts screaming at me even as I fight to keep my composure. For a split second, it’s not Kehlani standing there—it’s something else , something darker, like a shadow wrapped in flesh.

And then it’s gone. His eyes return to their usual stormy blue, but the damage is done. Everyone saw it.

“Kehlani,” I say, my voice a low growl. “What the hell was that?”

Lawrence steps forward immediately, his face pale as he holds out his hands in a placating gesture. “Alpha Mateo, please—this isn’t normal. Something’s wrong. Kehlani’s been… off. I should’ve said something sooner.”

Asani glares at Kehlani and then Lawrence for several seconds before speaking. “Clinic. Now.” When one of them starts to protest, he just growls at them. I try to calm everyone’s fears, letting them know that they’ve helped protect the pack from further damage but that we’ll be setting out shortly to finish this.

There’s tired murmurs and head nods as they stay in their wolf forms and head back. There’s been no serious injuries but I’m sure some of them will show up at the clinic at some point. For now, there’s a certain Sapphire Alpha that has to be dealt with. I’ve been avoiding this moment but we can’t hold off any longer.

The room feels thick with tension—like the air itself is holding its breath. I stand at the center of it, facing Kehlani, whose glare could cut through steel. He doesn’t like being here, doesn’t like being called out, but this isn’t about his pride. This is about something darker.

Something that could tear us apart from the inside.

I fold my arms across my chest, leveling him with a look I know carries my full Alpha weight. “The outbursts,” I begin, voice calm but hard, “they’re not random. They’re not just you being angry, Kehlani.”

Kehlani snorts, shifting his weight. “You sound insane, Mateo. What do you think it is, then? Magic? A curse?”

“Worse,” I reply, the word like a blade slicing through the silence. “It’s the serum.”

The room stills.

Lawrence, standing just behind Kehlani, pales visibly, his hands curling into fists at his sides. Asani’s sharp gaze flicks between them, a dark kind of satisfaction lurking behind his calm facade.

Kehlani laughs—a bitter, humorless sound. “That’s bullshit.”

“It’s not,” I snap, my wolf pushing at the surface, demanding he listen . “You think you’re the first to have these outbursts? The first to lose control?” I take a step closer, watching as his jaw tightens. “The earlier batches of the serum were far more primitive. Wolves thought they were just getting stronger, faster—unbeatable. But it was a lie. That strength came with a cost.”

“What cost?” Kehlani challenges, his voice sharp as glass.

“They lost themselves,” I say simply, my gaze unrelenting. “The wolf takes over. Rational thought disappears. What starts as strength ends in destruction.”

Kehlani’s nostrils flare, but I can see it in his eyes—the doubt. He knows something is wrong. He’s felt it.

Asani clears his throat, stepping forward with his usual clinical calm, though his eyes gleam with something far darker. “If you don’t believe us, let me take a little blood,” he says, holding up his hands as if to calm a rabid animal. “We can test it. Rule it out.”

Kehlani scoffs, glaring at Asani. “What happens if you’re right? If there’s something in my blood?”

The room goes silent again, every wolf watching Asani as he lets out a slow breath. “Then we’ll have answers,” he says evenly. “And we’ll have options.”

Kehlani narrows his eyes. “ Options? What the hell does that mean?”

“It means,” Asani says, his voice hardening slightly, “that the only way to neutralize the serum in your system is to use the anti-serum we’ve been developing for the super wolves.”

A strangled noise escapes Lawrence, who suddenly steps forward, grabbing Kehlani’s arm like he can somehow protect him. “He’d lose his wolf?” Lawrence’s voice is hoarse, panicked. “Is that what you’re saying?”

Asani nods, his expression unreadable. “Yes.”

Kehlani jerks his arm out of Lawrence’s grasp, his face a mask of anger and disbelief. “So you’re telling me that if I do have something in my blood, your solution is to kill my wolf?”

Asani tilts his head slightly, unbothered by Kehlani’s rising rage. “The alternative,” he says dryly, “is that we do nothing and you lose yourself completely. At that point, the pack would have no choice but to put you down.”

The room cracks with silence.

Lawrence looks like he’s about to break, his chest rising and falling in uneven gasps as he stares at Asani like he’s a monster. “There has to be another way.”

Asani shakes his head slowly. “If there is, I haven’t found it yet. The serum corrupts the wolf from the inside out. It’s not just about losing control—it’s about becoming something else. ”

Kehlani’s fists tremble at his sides, his entire body vibrating with the effort to hold himself together. I can see the anger in him, the disbelief, the fear . He doesn’t trust us—doesn’t trust me —but there’s no denying the truth in Asani’s words.

“Or,” Asani adds, the faintest smirk curling at the edge of his mouth, “maybe you’re just an asshole, and there’s nothing wrong with you at all.”

A bitter laugh escapes Kehlani before he can stop it and I almost smile at the way the tension cracks, just slightly. Asani knows exactly how to pull people out of their spirals, even if it’s with a backhanded insult.

Kehlani exhales sharply, dragging a hand through his dark hair. “Fine,” he growls. “Take the blood. I can’t put my mates at risk.”

Asani shrugs. “If I’m wrong, you can rub it in my face for the rest of your life.”

Kehlani glares at him for another long moment before finally nodding, his shoulders sagging slightly as if the fight’s been drained out of him. Asani prepares the syringe, extracting just enough for the color test I watched him do when we first discovered the existence of super wolves. He then empties the contents into a vial.

Asani holds it up to the light, his expression unreadable as he adds a drop of something clear into the mix. We wait. It only takes a moment for the reaction to happen—a faint, sickly shimmer of red that spreads like ink through water.

Asani exhales sharply, lowering the vial as he turns toward us. “It’s there,” he says simply, his tone clinical but edged with exhaustion. “The serum’s in his blood.”

Kehlani flinches as though he’s been struck, his jaw clenching as he stares straight ahead. Lawrence looks like he might crumble, his hand coming up to grip Kehlani’s shoulder, but the Alpha shrugs it off, his pride refusing the comfort.

“What does that mean?” Kehlani asks, his voice low, hard—like he’s daring Asani to say something he doesn’t want to hear.

Asani sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not progressing as quickly as I’ve seen before,” he admits, placing the vial carefully on the counter. “Your wolf is fighting it. That’s probably why you’re still in control—for now.” He glances at Kehlani, his gaze sharp. “But make no mistake: this will overtake you if we don’t do something about it. You have time, though. Talk to your mates. Decide what you want to do. But I’ll be honest with you, Kehlani—once this accelerates, there’s no slowing it down.”

“I’m not even sure how it would have happened. I’ve only been on our lands and now yours.”

I drag a hand down my face. “Maybe when you came down here. It wouldn’t have been all in one journey. There’s many factors working against us and I can only imagine that the darkness is working against us from every side.”

Kehlani doesn’t say anything. He just bows his head slightly, the most respect I’ve seen from him since he’s been here. And then he heads out the door, Lawrence on his heels, the door shutting behind them with a dull thud.

I don’t move. Neither does Asani. For a moment, we just stare at the empty space where Kehlani and Lawrence had been. Finally, I exhale, raking a hand through my hair. “I don’t understand,” I mutter, my voice tight. “How the hell is everything working for us and against us at the same damn time?”

Asani chuckles bitterly, a sound without any real humor. “Welcome to leadership, Alpha.”

I glare at him, but it’s half-hearted at best. I’m too damn tired for this. “No, seriously,” I press, pacing a few steps before turning back to face him. “The magic’s back, but it’s unstable. The veil’s holding, but it’s cracking. Nepheline’s pregnant, which should be a damn miracle, but now she’s tied to the packlands in a way that could kill her if the magic dies. And this —” I gesture toward the empty exam table. “Super wolves. The First Alpha. It’s like we’re climbing uphill, and every time we get close to the top, something shoves us back down.”

Asani watches me silently for a beat before sighing and leaning against the counter, crossing his arms. “You’re thinking about what Silas said, aren’t you? About fate?” He shrugs. “Maybe he wasn’t wrong.”

My hands clench into fists at my sides. “Fate,” I bite out, “isn’t some beautiful thing that wraps everything up with a neat little bow. Everyone thinks fate is good—some guiding hand to help us—but it’s not.” I pause, my voice dropping lower. “Silas said that fate and Mother Nature don’t play nice. That the two are constantly at odds. And maybe that’s the problem.”

Asani tilts his head, studying me carefully. “You think the magic’s fighting itself.”

“I don’t think ,” I say tightly. “I know. ”

It makes too much sense. The returning magic, the cracks in the veil, Nepheline’s connection to it all—none of it feels like it fits together neatly. It feels like something is pulling the strings, forcing everything to overlap in ways that shouldn’t be possible.

Asani’s expression softens, though his voice is still steady. “Then we figure it out. That’s what we do, isn’t it? We figure it out, and we fight back.”

I shake my head, frustration clawing at me. “Before we figure it out, we have to face them. Head-on. The pack of the Forbidden isn’t going to wait for us to sort through all this shit. If we don’t move first, they will.”

“And we will,” Asani agrees, his tone firm. “But not tonight. Go check on Nepheline. She’s the one holding all of this together—don’t forget that.”

I look at him sharply, ready to argue, but he’s right. I know he’s right. Nepheline’s been my anchor through all of this, whether she knows it or not, and she needs me now more than ever.

Asani straightens, already turning back toward the counter where the blood samples sit. “I’ve got patients to see,” he mutters, more to himself than to me. “And wolves to test. I’ll keep you updated if I find anything.”

“Do that,” I say quietly, my gaze lingering on the blood swirling in the vial .

I turn on my heel and leave the clinic, my mind already halfway to Nepheline. The weight of the pack hangs heavy on my shoulders, the fractures in the magic pressing like a constant ache in my chest. I don’t know if it’s fate or nature or some twisted combination of both, but I know one thing for certain.

We’re running out of time.

And I’ll be damned if I let it take any of us down.