The royal forge of Ignis was a place where sound went to die, drowned out by the rhythmic, deafening clang of hammers hitting metal that was hotter than the surface of most stars. It was here, deep in the belly of the volcano, that Simon stood, arms outstretched, while three Master Smiths worked around him.
They were fitting him with the armor he had requested. It wasn't standard dragon-scale plate; that would melt when he summoned the Ocean, or shatter when he expanded with the Wolf's muscle mass. This was a masterpiece of metallurgy, commissioned by King Marcus himself.
"Star-metal," Peace explained, leaning against a workbench covered in soot. She was watching the fitting with a critical eye, munching on a crystallized sulfur stick like it was candy. "Mined from meteorites that fall into the crater. It adapts to thermal fluctuations. It won't freeze in the trench, and it won't melt in the core."
The smiths fastened the breastplate. It was a dark, iridescent grey, rippled like water but hard as diamond. Over the heart, they had left an open triangular setting.
"For the mark," the lead smith grunted, tapping the fresh sigil on Simon's chest—the triangle of Gold, Blue, and Teal with the swirling White center. "We cannot cover the source of your power, my Prince. The armor must breathe."
Simon flexed his shoulders. The metal moved with him, silent and fluid. He felt weightless, yet invincible.
"It fits," Simon said, his voice resonating with that strange, new harmonic quality. Since waking from the pool, he hadn't just healed; he had evolved. He could feel the magma bubbling three miles down. He could feel the humidity in the air pumped by the ventilation systems. He could feel the heartbeat of the wolf guard standing outside the door.
"It better fit," Peace grunted. "My father melted down his favorite throne to provide the binding agents. He seems to think you're worth the investment."
"He knows a good bet when he sees one," Joanna's voice drifted in.
The mermaid princess leaned in the doorway, looking distinctly uncomfortable in the heat, despite the hydration collar humming furiously around her neck. She was holding a scroll case made of waterproof leather.
"The map of the Abyssal Ley Lines," Joanna said, tossing it to Simon. He caught it, his reflexes faster than thought. "If we are going to fight the Void, we need to know how it travels. The ocean currents mimic the energy flows of the dimensions. If there is a back door to the Void King's realm, it will be at a convergence point."
Simon unrolled the map on a workbench. It was complex, shifting as he looked at it.
"Here," Simon pointed to a spot in the Atlantic, roughly equidistant from the Lagoon, the Dragon Nest, and the Moonlight Territory. "The Bermuda Triangle."
Joanna rolled her eyes. "Humans call it that. We call it the Maw. It's a natural weak point in reality. It's where the First War ended."
"And where the Final War will begin," Simon murmured. He looked at the three women. Peace, fierce and burning. Joanna, cool and lethal. And Evelyn...
"Where is Evelyn?" Simon asked, scanning the room.
"She's with the King," Peace said, her expression softening slightly. "Convincing him to lend us the Sky-Barge. Apparently, your 'Star' has a silver tongue. She told my father that 'Dragons look better when they are saving the world than when they are hoarding it.' I thought he was going to eat her, but he just laughed."
The departure from the Dragon Nest was a spectacle that would be written about in the histories of all four kingdoms.
The Sky-Barge was a massive vessel, a floating fortress of iron and wood kept aloft by four tethered wind-dragons and a core of anti-gravity magma-stone. It was large enough to carry a hundred warriors.
King Marcus stood on the obsidian launch pad, flanked by his elite Fire-Guard.
"You take my daughter," Marcus rumbled, looking at Simon. "You take my ship. And you take the honor of my kingdom."
"I will return them all multiplied," Simon promised, clasping the King's forearm.
"Just return them," Marcus said gruffly. He looked at Peace. "Do not let the fire go out, daughter."
"Never, father," Peace vowed, bowing her head.
As the barge lifted off, ascending through the crater's smoke and into the clear, cold air of the upper atmosphere, Simon stood at the prow. He looked down at the shrinking volcano, then ahead to the horizon.
The journey back to the Moonlight Pack would take hours by jet, but the Sky-Barge moved on currents of magic. They would be home by sunset.
"Home," Simon whispered. The word felt heavy. He wasn't returning as a son anymore. He was returning as a Commander.
Evelyn walked up beside him, wrapping her shawl tighter against the wind. "You're worried about Michael."
"I'm worried about everyone," Simon admitted. "We've been gone for weeks. The Void attacked us here. It attacked the Lagoon. It stands to reason..."
"That it attacked the Moonlight Pack," Evelyn finished. She reached out and touched his hand. The new armor was cold, but Simon's skin was warm. "Your father is the strongest Alpha in the north, Simon. And my father... well, David is stubborn. They won't fall easily."
"I know," Simon said. He looked at her violet eyes. "Evelyn, when we land... I need you to do something for me. Something dangerous."
"Name it," she said without hesitation.
"I need you to scan everyone," Simon said, his voice dropping low. "The Void doesn't just attack from the outside. It corrupts from within. It uses vessels. I need to know if anyone in the alliance has been... touched."
Evelyn's eyes widened. "You think there's a spy?"
"I think the Eye sees everything," Simon said grimly. "And I don't believe for a second that it let us escape the Trench and the Mountain without planting a seed."
---
The sun was dipping below the tree line when the Sky-Barge descended over the Moonlight territory. The sight of the massive, floating ship caused a panic on the ground until Simon projected his voice—amplified by his Alpha authority—across the valley.
"STAND DOWN! IT IS SIMON PETER!"
The ship touched down in the Great Valley, crushing the grass where Simon had once trained. The ramp lowered.
Alpha Michael and Luna Stella were there to meet them, along with Alpha David and Luna Roseline. They looked haggard. Michael's arm was in a sling. David had a bandage wrapped around his head. The Pack House behind them showed signs of battle—scorch marks on the timber, shattered windows boarded up.
"Dad!" Simon shouted, sprinting down the ramp.
Michael met him halfway, pulling him into a one-armed hug that nearly cracked Simon's ribs. "You're alive. By the Goddess, you're alive."
"We saw the fire in the sky," Stella sobbed, grabbing Simon's face. "We felt the earth shake three days ago. We thought..."
"I'm here," Simon reassured her. He pulled back, looking at his father's arm. "What happened?"
"Shadows," Michael spat. "Three nights ago. They came out of the forest like a tide. Not wolves. Things made of smoke and teeth. We held them off, but we lost twelve warriors. The Starlight Pack lost ten."
Simon's jaw tightened. "They coordinated the attacks. Ignis, the Lagoon, and here. All at once."
He stepped back, turning to gesture to the ramp. "But we brought reinforcements."
Peace marched down the ramp, flanked by a dozen Dragon Fire-Guards in red armor. Joanna followed, her Royal Lagoon Guards moving with their fluid grace, tridents humming.
The sight of Dragons and Merfolk standing on Moonlight soil was unprecedented. The wolves stared in open-mouthed shock.
"Alpha Michael," Peace said, giving a curt nod. "King Marcus sends his regards. And his flamethrowers."
"And King Luke sends the tide," Joanna added.
Michael looked at the gathered forces. He looked at his son, standing in armor made of stars, flanked by the heirs of the Fire and the Sea.
"You did it," Michael whispered. "You actually united them."
"Not yet," Simon said. "This is just the gathering. Now comes the hard part."
The War Council that night was held in the Great Hall of the Pack House. The long table had been extended to accommodate the new generals.
The tension in the room was palpable. The Dragons thought the Wolves were primitive. The Merfolk thought the Dragons were brutes. The Wolves thought everyone smelled weird.
Simon stood at the head of the table. He didn't sit.
"We have three armies," Simon began, his voice commanding the room's silence. "But three armies fighting separately will lose. The Void adapts. If we hit it with fire, it retreats to the cold. If we hit it with water, it evaporates. If we hit it with physical force, it turns to smoke."
"So how do we kill it?" Alpha David asked, leaning forward.
"We don't switch tactics," Simon said. "We combine them."
He raised his hand. "Evelyn."
Evelyn stood up. She placed her hand palm-up on the table. A ball of Starlight formed.
"Peace," Simon commanded.
Peace sighed, but she placed her hand next to Evelyn's. A sphere of Fire manifested.
"Joanna."
Joanna placed her hand down. A globule of Water hovered.
"This is what we have been doing," Simon explained. "Separate elements."
He placed his own hand over the center.
"This is what we need to do."
He channeled the Tribrid power—the White Energy. It flowed from his hand, grabbing the three elements. It pulled them together, twisting them, compressing them.
*Hummmmm.*
The sound was piercing. The Fire, Water, and Light merged. They didn't cancel each other out. They became a single, spinning singularity of Prismatic Energy. It looked like a miniature supernova contained in a bubble.
"This," Simon said, "is the frequency of Creation. It is the only thing that destroys the frequency of the Void. But I cannot generate enough of it alone to cover an army. I need every mage, every breath-weapon, and every Starlight user to synchronize."
"Synchronize?" Peace scoffed. "You want Dragons to breathe fire in rhythm with Merfolk casting bubbles? That's impossible. Our magics are opposed."
"Then we make them compatible," Simon said. "We use the Soul-Link. Not just between us four. We expand it."
"Expand the pack link to non-wolves?" Michael asked, horrified. "Simon, that could drive everyone insane."
"Or it could save us," Simon argued. "I will act as the hub. I will filter the connection. The Dragons lend their strength to the Wolves. The Merfolk lend their adaptability to the Dragons. The Starlight binds it all together."
The room was silent. It was a radical, dangerous plan. It violated every law of magical segregation that had existed for a thousand years.
"I'm in," Peace said suddenly. She looked at Simon. "I felt what happened in the volcano. When you combined the powers... it felt right. It felt like we were finally awake."
"The Lagoon concurs," Joanna said. "The tides are stronger when they move together."
Michael looked at David. The two old Alphas exchanged a look.
"If the boy can hold the mental strain," David said slowly, "then the Starlight Pack will join the link."
"Then it is decided," Simon said. He extinguished the prismatic ball. "Tomorrow, we begin the integration drills. But tonight... we rest."
---
As the meeting dispersed, Simon caught Evelyn's eye. She gave him a subtle nod.
She had finished her scan.
Simon waited until the room had cleared, leaving only his mates and his parents.
"Evelyn," Simon said. "Report."
Evelyn took a deep breath. She looked pale. "I scanned everyone in the room. The Dragons are clean. Their fire burns out corruption naturally. The Merfolk are clean—the salt protects them."
"And the Wolves?" Michael asked, sensing the bad news.
"Most are clean," Evelyn said. Her voice trembled. "But... I found a void-seed."
"Who?" Simon demanded, his eyes flashing gold.
"It was faint," Evelyn whispered. "Hidden deep. But it was there. It felt like... dry leaves and cold wind."
She looked at Alpha David.
"It's in the Starlight Pack," Evelyn said. "It's Beta Mark."
David froze. "Mark? Impossible. He is my second. He has served me for twenty years."
"He was attacked in the woods," Simon reminded him. "During the joint training. I drained him to save him from the heat stroke, but before that... he was alone in the woods for hours."
"The Void touched him then," Joanna realized. "It didn't kill him. It hollowed him out. It made him a sleeper agent."
"Where is he now?" Simon asked, his voice deadly calm.
"He asked to be excused from the meeting early," David said, his face draining of color. "He said he needed to check the perimeter sensors."
"The perimeter sensors," Simon repeated. He looked at the map on the table. "The sensors that control the magical wards around the valley."
*BOOM.*
A massive explosion shook the Pack House. Dust rained down from the ceiling.
"He blew the wards," Peace yelled, grabbing her whip.
Simon didn't wait. He shifted.
Not into a wolf. Into the White-scaled, winged, semi-draconic form of the ascended Tribrid.
He crashed through the double doors of the Great Hall, sprinting into the night.
Outside, the magical dome that protected the Moonlight Valley was flickering. And standing at the edge of the forest, holding a detonator and a jagged crystal of Void-glass, was Beta Mark.
Behind him, the darkness of the forest began to writhe.
"It is too late, Prince!" Mark screamed, his eyes glowing a sickly violet. "The Eye is open! The Gates are down!"
From the shadows of the trees, a thousand yellow eyes opened.
The Void Army hadn't just been waiting for an invasion. They had been waiting for an invitation.
"DEFEND THE VALLEY!" Simon roared, his voice amplifying across the mental link, waking every warrior in a ten-mile radius.
The Convergence of Crowns was over. The Betrayal had begun. And the Battle for Moonlight Valley would decide if the Alliance died in its cradle.