KAEL POV
A huge chunk of stone ceiling crashed down right where I’d been standing.
I rolled sideways, my Alpha senses screaming danger from every direction. The refuge was falling apart around us. Lucien and Aria were stuck in that magical circle. Shadow Lords were pouring through the opening above them. And that strange voice still echoed in my head.
"We need to get them out of there!" Jaxon shouted over the noise.
I tried to think like an Alpha. Like a boss. But how do you lead when everything is going apart?
That’s when another voice cut through the noise. One I never thought I’d be glad to hear.
"Boys! Over here!"
It was Darius. Our dead father who was ant to be our enemy. He was standing near a crack in the wall that looked like it might lead outside.
"Are you crazy?" Jaxon yelled at when he saw where I was looking. "He’s working with the Shadow Lords!"
"I know," I said. But my military mind was already working. "But look around us."
The ceiling was falling faster now. Huge stones were falling like dangerous rain. The opening above Lucien and Aria was getting bigger. More Shadow Lords were coming through every second.
And the three of us were stuck.
"We can’t save them if we’re dead," I said, hating every word.
Jaxon’s eyes went wide. "You want to work with him? With the man who just betrayed Aria?"
"I want to save our mate and our brother," I snapped back. "And right now, he’s the only one offering us a way out."
It went against everything I believed in. Everything I’d been told about honor and loyalty. But sotis being an Alpha ant making hard choices.
"Darius!" I called out. "What do you want?"
He grinned, and for a second he looked like the father I rembered. The one who taught to fight. The one who used to tell nightti stories.
"To get out of here alive," he said. "Sa as you."
"Why should we trust you?" Jaxon asked.
"Because," Darius said, dodging a falling beam, "I just figured out that my Shadow Lord masters lied to too."
That stopped cold. "What do you an?"
"They promised I could keep my family safe if I helped them," he said. "But look around. They’re going to destroy everything. Including you three."
Another piece of roof fell, nearly crushing us all. The opening was getting so big now that the Shadow Lords were coming through in groups instead of one at a ti.
"Move! Now!" I ordered.
We ran toward Darius and the crack in the wall. It felt wrong. Like abandoning everything I stood for. But my brothers needed to live. Aria needed us to save her.
"This way," Darius said, pushing through the crack first.
I paused. What if this was another trap? What if he was taking us sowhere worse?
But then I heard Aria scream through our bond. Pain. Terror. The routine was hurting her.
I pushed through the crack after Darius.
The tunnel was narrow and dark. We had to crawl on our hands and knees. Behind us, the sanctuary continued to fall with thunderous crashes.
"Where does this lead?" I asked.
"Outside," Darius said. "But there’s sothing you need to know first."
"What now?" Jaxon muttered.
"The Shadow Lords didn’t just lie to about keeping you safe," Darius said. "They lied about everything. Including what that ritual really does."
My blood went cold. "Explain."
"It’s not just going to anchor them to this world," he said. "It’s going to give them the power to control anyone with magical blood. Every werewolf, vampire, witch, and fae will beco their slave."
"Everyone?" I whispered.
"Everyone," he stated. "Including the three of you. And Aria."
We crawled faster. My mind was running. If that was true, then stopping this rite wasn’t just about saving our world. It was about saving our free will.
"How do we stop it?" I asked.
"We can’t," Darius said. "Not from out here. Soone has to break the circle from the inside."
"Lucien’s already inside," Jaxon pointed out.
"Lucien’s trapped," Darius corrected. "He can’t move without the ritual killing both him and Aria instantly."
"Then what do you suggest?" I asked.
Darius stopped crawling and looked back at . In the dim light, his black eyes looked almost normal again.
"We go back," he said. "All of us. Together."
"That’s suicide," Jaxon said.
"Maybe," Darius agreed. "But it’s the only way to save them."
I stared at my father. The man who had raised . Who had misled us. Who was now offering to die with us.
"Why?" I asked. "Why help us now?"
His expression relaxed. For just a mont, he looked like the father I rembered from before everything went wrong.
"Because I realized sothing when I saw that portal opening," he said. "Being their tool wasn’t better than being nothing at all. I was wrong about that. Dead wrong."
We reached the end of the tunnel. Light was coming through another crack ahead of us. But instead of daylight, it was the sick green glow of Shadow Lord power.
"They’re everywhere," Jaxon breathed.
I peered through the crack and felt my heart sink. The Shadow Lords hadn’t just taken over the refuge. They had circled the entire area. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands.
"We’re completely outnumbered," I said.
"Yes," Darius agreed. "But I know sothing they don’t."
"What?"
He smiled, and this ti it looked truly proud. Like he was proud of us.
"I know that my sons are the strongest Alphas I’ve ever trained," he said. "And they’re about to prove it."
"Dad," I started to say, then caught myself. This was still the enemy. Still the man who had betrayed us.
But he was also the man who taught how to fight. How to lead. How to protect the people I loved.
"There’s one more thing," he said softly. "About that voice we all heard in the sanctuary."
"What about it?" Jaxon asked.
Darius looked straight at . "I think I know who it was. And if I’m right, everything we thought we knew about this war is about to change."
"Who?" I asked.
But before he could answer, the crack we were looking through suddenly went dark. Sothing big was blocking the light.
A voice spoke from the other side. A voice that was definitely not human.
"We know you’re in there, little dogs. Co out and play."
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