Alaric's POV

Days had passed since the raid on Ironclaw. Freya and I had returned victorious, leaving a battalion of hybrids behind to occupy the ruins. No retaliation had come. The world had gone quiet, as if everyone were holding their breath, waiting. Cowards. Let them cower. Let them watch as I reshape this broken world.

Back at the mountain laboratory, the cold stone walls greeted me like an old friend—silent, obedient, unfeeling. Just the way I liked them. I strode into ...