The war council convenes before Sera's bones have fully set.
"We have two objectives," Darius says without preamble. "Defend Nightshade against Ashrock's attack. And rescue Rhys from Ironvale."
"Why bother rescuing him?" a warrior challenges. "He's Ironvale. Let them deal with their own mess."
"Because we need him alive," Darius snaps. "The Council of Alphas won't be able to ignore evidence from Ironvale's legitimate Alpha."
Kieran leans over the maps. "Ashrock will march most of his warriors out to attack us at dawn. That leaves Ironvale defended but not impenetrable."
"How many will he leave behind?" Torsten asks.
"Fifty. Maybe seventy-five at most." Kieran's jaw tightens. "The problem is getting inside. Their walls are reinforced."
"We could scale the walls," someone suggests.
"In daylight? They'd pick us off before we made it halfway." Kieran shakes his head. "We need someone inside to open a gate."
Silence falls. Everyone knows what he's suggesting is nearly impossible.
"I can do it."
Every head turns. Sera stands in the doorway. Her arm is bound tight in a sling, her face still pale from blood loss and pain medicine.
"Absolutely not," I say immediately. "You're injured. You need to rest."
"I need to help." She walks into the room with careful steps. "There are wolves inside Ironvale who hate what's happening."
Kieran studies her. "How many?"
"Thirty. Maybe more. Servants mostly. Warriors who remember what pack law means." Sera's voice strengthens. "They're waiting for a reason to act."
"Your arm—" I start.
"Doesn't need to work to pass messages." She meets my eyes. "I know who to contact. And I'm the only one they'll trust."
Darius considers this. "What's your plan?"
"I return to Ironvale disguised as a refugee fleeing Nightshade. My injuries support the story." She gestures to her broken arm. "Guards will let me in."
"Then what?" Torsten asks.
"Once inside, I tell the loyalists what's coming. When Ashrock marches his forces out at dawn to attack Nightshade, they free Rhys and Elder Maren. Open the eastern gate from inside."
Kieran's eyes sharpen. "And Nightshade forces pour in behind Ashrock's army."
"Exactly. We trap him between two fronts." Sera's voice carries absolute certainty. "He loses either way."
I shake my head. "It's too dangerous. If anyone recognizes you—"
"They won't." Sera touches my arm. "I'm a servant, Ardena. I've been invisible my whole life."
The truth of that hits hard.
"She has a point," Kieran says quietly. "Ashrock will be focused on the attack. He won't pay attention to one injured servant returning home."
Darius looks around the table. "All in favor?"
Hands rise. Not all of them but enough.
"It's decided then." Darius turns to Sera. "You leave within the hour. Can you make it to Ironvale before dawn?"
"If I shift, yes. The pain will be manageable." She straightens. "I'll need civilian clothes."
"I'll find something," I say.
While Sera prepares, the council continues planning. Darius assigns positions, coordinates timing, goes over contingencies. His five hundred warriors will defend Nightshade's main settlement. Another hundred will circle behind Ashrock's army.
"What about me?" I ask.
"You stay here," Kieran says. "Where it's safe."
"Absolutely not."
He turns to face me fully. "Ardena—"
"Don't." I cut him off. "Ashrock orchestrated my family's murder. I'm not sitting this out."
"You're not trained for large-scale battle."
"I have more reason to fight than anyone here." I plant my feet. "I'm going. Argue all you want. I'm going."
Kieran's jaw clenches. He knows he's lost this argument.
I help Sera dress. We find torn clothes, dirt them convincingly. Her broken arm needs no additional staging.
"Thank you for risking everything to find the truth." I tie the cloth carefully around her sling. "When this is over, you're part of Bloodfang. If you want."
Her eyes glisten. "I'd like that."
She leaves as darkness falls, shifting into wolf form despite the pain. I watch until she disappears into the trees.
Back at our cabin, I find armor laid out on the bed. Leather reinforced with metal plates, designed for mobility and protection. Kieran sits beside it, sharpening his blade.
"I found it in the armory," he says without looking up. "Should fit."
I pick up the chest piece. My hands shake as I try to lace it.
He stands, moving behind me. "Let me."
His fingers work the laces with practiced ease. Each pull brings the armor tighter, more secure. When he's done, I turn to face him.
"You don't have to fight this battle," he says quietly.
"Yes, I do."
He cups my face with both hands. "Just promise me you'll stay alive."
"We survive this together." I press my forehead to his.
We make love that night. Slow. Deliberate. Memorizing every touch, every gasp, every moment. Neither of us says what we're both thinking—that tomorrow might be the last time. That war doesn't promise survivors.
Afterward, we lie tangled together in the darkness. His heartbeat steady beneath my ear. My hand resting on his chest.
We don't sleep. Just hold each other as night bleeds toward dawn. As the moment approaches when everything we've built will be tested in blood and fire.
When gray light finally touches the windows, Kieran rises first. He dresses in silence, strapping on weapons with movements I've seen a hundred times. Each blade finds its sheath. Each buckle clicks into place.
I dress beside him. The armor feels heavier now, weighted with what's coming.
Outside, warriors gather. Five hundred wolves in various forms—some human, some shifted, all ready. Darius stands on a platform, addressing them.
"Today we defend our home. Not for revenge. Not for glory. For survival. For truth." His voice carries across the assembled pack. "Today we show them what real strength looks like."
The howl that rises in response shakes the trees.
Kieran takes my hand.
"Ready?" he asks.
I look at the warriors around us. At Darius giving final orders. At the forest beyond where Ashrock's army will appear with the sunrise.
"No," I say honestly. "But let's do it anyway."
He almost smiles. "That's the spirit."
We move into position as dawn breaks red and gold across the eastern sky.
And then, through the trees, we hear it.
The war drums of Ironvale. Coming closer.