The war room beneath Volkov Tower was thick with tension and the scent of aggression.

Maps covered the long obsidian table, marked with red pins showing Silverfang movements. Holographic displays flickered with real-time intelligence reports. Nikolai Volkov stood at the head of the table, arms braced on the surface, his powerful frame radiating barely leashed fury. His raven-black hair was messy from running his hands through it, and his ice-grey eyes burned with silver intensity.

The pack elders and senior warriors filled the room, their expressions grim.

“They’ve crossed the eastern border in force,” Beta Marcus reported, voice tight. “Over fifty warriors. They hit three of our outposts simultaneously. We lost twelve wolves. More are injured with silver poisoning.”

One of the elders, an ancient wolf named Viktor with silver-streaked hair, slammed his fist on the table. “This is no longer skirmishes. This is open war. The Silverfang Alpha is using your distraction to strike.”

The words landed heavily. Nikolai’s jaw clenched. He knew exactly what “distraction” meant.

*Elena.*

For the past week, his focus had been fractured. Every waking thought, every restless dream, revolved around her. The memory of her tears in the garden, her quiet rejection after his public grovel, haunted him constantly. His wolf was a snarling, desperate mess inside him, torn between the need to chase his mate and the duty to protect his pack.

“Send reinforcements to the eastern lines,” Nikolai ordered, voice low and commanding. “Double the patrols. Evacuate the outer families. I want every warrior ready within the hour.”

Another elder leaned forward. “Alpha, we need a Luna. The pack is unsettled. They saw you on your knees before the Voss girl. While your devotion is… admirable, it has made us appear weak. The Silverfang are exploiting that.”

Nikolai’s eyes flashed dangerously. “The Voss girl is my true mate. My Luna. Speak of her with respect.”

The elder bowed his head, but the tension in the room only thickened.

Marcus cleared his throat. “There’s more. We captured one of their scouts. Before he died, he confessed that they’ve been in contact with someone inside our territory. Someone who fed them information about your… personal situation.”

Nikolai’s blood ran cold. “Lana?”

“Possibly. Or someone still loyal to her. Either way, they know you’re distracted. They’re coming for you, Alpha. And they’re coming hard.”

Nikolai straightened, his powerful shoulders squaring as Alpha authority rolled off him in waves. “Then we remind them why the Volkov pack is feared. Prepare for full mobilization. I want strike teams ready by dawn. We hit their main den before they can consolidate.”

As the meeting broke up and warriors filed out to prepare, Marcus lingered behind.

“You should reach out to Elena,” he said quietly. “Her healing gift could save dozens of lives in the coming battles. The pack needs her. *You* need her.”

Nikolai’s chest tightened painfully. The bond throbbed in response, a constant ache that had only grown stronger since his public kneeling. “She doesn’t want to see me.”

“She’s still your mate,” Marcus replied. “Whether she’s ready to forgive you or not, war doesn’t wait for personal matters.”

Nikolai nodded grimly. His wolf agreed violently — the need to protect Elena, to keep her close during the coming conflict, was almost overwhelming.

---

Later that night, as Nikolai stood alone on the rooftop terrace where he had once wrestled with his past, the first reports of a major Silverfang assault came in.

They had launched a full-scale attack on one of the pack’s key strongholds. Casualties were mounting. Silver weapons were being used en masse. The enemy Alpha had sent a direct message:

*“Your weakness has been exposed, Volkov. The time of the false savior is over. We will take what you’ve failed to protect.”*

Nikolai crushed the tablet in his hand, glass and metal splintering. His wolf erupted with a roar that echoed across the city skyline. The bond with Elena flared in response, sharp and urgent, as if sensing the rising danger.

He couldn’t keep her out of this any longer.

Whether she forgave him or not, war was here.

And in war, he needed his true Luna by his side.