The dinner hall at Thunder Heart had been expanded since its original construction, yet that night it still felt too small.
Not because of numbers, but because of what weighed the air down. Food was served, wine was poured. Very little was eaten.
Colt sat at the head of the central table, posture relaxed but alert, one arm resting along the back of Stacy's chair where she sat to his right. Edward and Hazel sat across from them, gazes distant of those whose minds never truly left a battlefield. Around them, the Alphas spoke in low voices-or not at all. Forks scraped against plates. Cups were lifted and set down again, untouched.
Once again, Alpha Teagan was the first to break. "This pack trains children," he said flatly, staring at the untouched venison before him. "Wolves and Fae. Together." The words were not loud, but they cut. A few heads lifted. A few jaws tightened.
"Yes," Colt replied evenly. "We do."
Cairo's lips curled. "That's reckless."
Alpha Alex's eyes flicked sharply toward him. "Or progressive."
Teagan snorted. "Or an invitation to chaos."
Stacy turned her head slowly, eyes steady. "You speak of chaos as though it's theoretical. The Unseelie attacked our lands. Imprisoned Alphas. Experimented on children." Her voice never rose. "The chaos is already here."
Asher leaned back in his chair, studying Colt with open curiosity. "I heard rumors," he said. "Didn't believe them."
"Which part?" Colt asked mildly.
"That there are no titles in your training halls."
That earned reactions. A few Alphas stiffened. One laughed outright.
"That's absurd," Alpha Teagan said. "Hierarchy is the backbone of pack stability."
Colt met his gaze. "Hierarchy governs leadership. Not learning."
Teagan frowned. "Omegas exist for a reason."
Stacy's fingers tightened on the table.
Edward spoke before Colt could. "So do scapegoats," he said calmly.
Silence rippled.
"You let Omegas fight beside warriors?" Alpha Owen pressed. "Beside fae?"
"Yes," Colt said. "I let people train beside people."
That earned him a sharp look from more than one Alpha. "Disgusting," Muttered Alpha Cairo, not bothering to lower his voice. "Mixing bloodlines. Weakening instincts."
Across the table, Alpha Griffin slammed his cup down. "That's rich, coming from someone whose pack hasn't fought an actual war in three generations."
Cairo bristled. "Watch your tongue."
"Or what?" he shot back. "You'll insult me from your chair?"
Colt raised a hand-not sharply, not aggressively. Just enough. The room quieted. "You don't have to like it," he said. "But you will respect my territory." A few Alphas exchanged looks.
Owen tilted his head. "And the children?"
Colt's jaw tightened-not in anger, but resolve. "They asked to train."
"You let them choose?" Teagan asked.
"Yes."
"And if they die?" Teagan demanded.
Stacy's gaze hardened. "Then they die fighting for themselves. Not locked in cells. Not drained. Not erased. Then they die fighting for the ones they love for the loyalty to their pack."
Edward's voice was quiet but lethal. "Which is more than can be said for the methods some of you tolerated."
The rest of the meal passed in brittle silence. When the last plates were cleared and the fire burned low, Colt rose. "You're all welcome to leave at first light," he said. "or-" he paused, letting the word settle. "Stay." Several Alphas looked up sharply. "Stay." Colt repeated. "Tour the training grounds. Watch the next generation learn."
Teagan scoffed. "And what? Gawk at your experiment?"
Colt met his eyes without flinching. "Witness the future." Some Alphas looked intrigued. Others looked offended. Owen smiled "I'll stay."
Alex nodded. "Me too."
Teagan hesitated-then inclined his head once. "I want to see this...equality."
Cairo snorted. "I'll watch. So I know exactly how wrong you are."
Colt nodded. "That's all I ask."
The Training Grounds
Morning at Thunder Heart came cold and bright. The training complex sat beyond the the main pack grounds, nestled next to the forest. It was a state of the art facility. The main training floor stretched wide and open, lit by skylights that washed the space in clean white light. Platforms were set into the ground like islands, each one alive with date-numbers pulsing faintly along their edges as the trainee moved. Every lift, every jump, every landing was measured, not to judge, but to understand.
A young runner exploded down the turf lane, sensors along the walls flaring as her stride lengthened. A coach watched silently, tablet in hand, waiting until she finished before saying anything. When he finally spoke, it wasn't to correct her effort-only efficiency.
"Again," he said. "This time use your fae speed." And she smiled before turning back to the start. She took off again, her body became a blur, almost an illusion.
"Good," the trainer said when she reached the finish line "50 meters in 3 seconds."
Beyond the floor, glass walls revealed the motion lab. Inside, a trainee moved slowly, almost reverently, as cameras tracked every joint and rotation as he shifted. His previous shift replayed on a screen beside him- bones rendered in clean white lines, stress points glowing red. The system had flagged a problem before pain ever had. Tomorrow's program would change because of it. No one argued. Data didn't lie.
The combat wing smelled of sweat and magic, the floor scarred with use. Groups trained together-wolves in human form sparring with fae wielding magic infused weapons. Smaller bodies darted between larger ones, slipping under swings, redirecting force. No on barked orders by rank. No one deferred automatically.
"Form two!" a young fae called out-not loudly, but confidently.
Teagan's nostrils flared. "Who's in charge?"
Colt gestured toward the field. "Whoever's teaching."
"That one?" Cairo demanded, pointing to a slight girl with ash-blond hair and runes crawling up her arms.
"That's Nessa," Colt said. "Rune specialist."
"She's barely grown."
"And she's my mate," Niall said coldly "She's a little more than 600 years old, and those are our children." pointing at two fae children near Nessa.
They moved closer. A sparring circle opened- two fighters stepping in. One wolf. One fae. No titles announced.
"Begin," Niall said from the sidelines, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
The wolf attacked first-fast powerful, a blur of muscle and instinct. The fae didn't retreat, she angled. Redirecting the wolf's momentum with a rune flaring briefly under her palm, spun, and swept his legs out from under him. Before he hit the ground, she was already moving-blade at his throat. "Yield," she said.
The wolf grinned from the ground. "Damn it". Applause broke out- not mocking or patronizing, just appreciative.
Teagan stared. "That wolf should have overpowered her."
"Yes," Colt agreed. "If he'd relied on strength alone."
Another bout began-this time two on two. A fae shadow-dancer paired with a broad shouldered Omega wolf. They moved like they'd trained together for years-covering blind spots, switching leads seamlessly.
Cairo growled. "Omegas don't lead."
The Omega heard him. So did everyone else. The wolf didn't stop moving. Didn't look over. He simply adjusted his stance and took point- his fae partner falling in behind him without hesitation. They dismantled their opponents in under thirty seconds. Silence fell."
"That Omega," Owen said slowly, "commands."
"He earned it," Colt replied.
They moved through the complex, watching drills that blended magic and muscle, strategy and instinct. Wolves learning to read fae spell signatures. Fae learning to anticipate shifts and lunges. Edward watched with intensity that bordered on reverence. "This," he said quietly, "is how you survive what's coming."
The training grounds fell quieter the moment Stacy stepped forward. Not silent-never silent here- but the kind of quiet that came when attention sharpened. When instinct recognized something other. Stacy rolled her shoulders once, loosening tension,pale moonlight already threading faintly through her veins. She wore the same simple training gear as everyone else. No symbol of rank. Just a wolf who had nearly died once already and refused to be weak again.
Across the circle, Charlie flexed his hands and grinned. "You sure about this little sis?" he asked, half teasing, half serious.
Stacy smiled. Not sweetly. "Let's get it done with."
Niall's voice cut clean through the air. "First bout, Stacy and Charlie. No holding back." A ripple went through the watching Alphas. The object of Stacy in combat was controversial. She was a Luna, not meant to fight but to show grace and represent the pack with diplomacy and grace. Stacy, however, was still an Alpha by blood, an Alpha meant to fight for their pack.
It was Charlie who moved first-fast, confident, a blur of muscle and momentum. He fought like a seasoned warrior, all pressure and relentless advance, forcing Stacy back step by step.
She didn't rush.
She felt.
Her wolf rose beneath her skin- not snarling, not dominant, but steady. Grounded. Graceful. When Charlie lunged again, she shifted sideways instead of retreating, hand snapping out. Moonlight flare, blinding and precise. The ground beneath Charlie's feet hardened unnaturally, silver lines spreading like frost across stone. His momentum betrayed him, his foot slipped-Stacy was already there. She pivoted, shoulder into his chest, redirected his weight, and sent him sprawling. Before he could recover, moonlight wrapped briefly around his wrists, and she pressed him flat. Her hand hovered over his heart.
"Yield"
Charlie blinked, and laughed breathlessly "I yield."
Applause broke out-sharp and immediate. The sense of pride that Stacy was their Luna was more than evident by the cheers and whistles from the Thunder Heart trainees. Some Alphas shifted in their seats.
Stacy stepped back and offered Charlie a hand, hauling him up with a grin that softened the sharpness of what she'd just done.
Then Olivia stepped forward. The temperature changed. No light this time. The shadows themselves leaned inward, listening. Isaac cracked his neck, eyes narrowing. "You and me, shadow girl?"
Olivia's smile was slow. Dangerous. "Do try to keep up."
Niall didn't bother calling the start. Isaac attacked-and missed. Because Olivia wasn't where she'd been a heartbeat before. Shadow peeled off her like silk, folding around her form, swallowing her outline. Isaac spun, striking where instinct screamed she should be. She reappeared behind him, elbow slamming into his spine, shadow reinforcing the blow with unnatural weight. Isaac staggered, growling, swinging blindly.
Olivia flowed.
She didn't block, she redirected, letting attacks pass through the edges of her shadow like smoke, striking tendons, joints, pressure points. Every movement was efficient. Lethal if she'd chosen it to be.
Isaac lunged again, faster this time, catching her arm. For a split second, several Alphas leaned forward.
Olivia's eyes went black.
Shadow surged. It wrapped Isaac's arm, yanked him forward and dropped him hard onto his back as she stepped on his chest. Her blade, formed entirely of shadow, hovered at his throat. "Yield," she said softly.
Isaac swallowed. "Yield."
The field erupted in cheers. Before anyone could breathe, Charlie and Isaac exchanged a look. Then Charlie grinned. "Together?". Isaac smirked. "Together."
Across the circle, Stacy and Olivia met eyes. No words, no signal, just recognition. Niall's voice was sharp. "Two on two!"
Charlie and Isaac attacked simultaneously, one pressure, one flank, coordinated enough to overwhelm most pairs. They should have.
Stacy and Olivia moved as one. Stacy advanced, moonlight blooming outward, reinforcing the ground, steadying movement, creating zones of impossible balance. Olivia slipped through those zones like water through stone, shadows bending around Stacy's light without resistance.
Charlie charged Stacy again, harder this time. She met him head on. Moonlight wrapped her fists as she struck, each blow calculated, forcing Charlie backward into the exact place Olivia wanted him. Shadow surged up from the ground, binding his legs just long enough for Stacy to slam him down.
Isaac went for Olivia's blindside. He never reached her. Stacy's hand hit the ground, moon magic surging outward in a concussive wave that knocked Isaac off balance-just enough. Olivia was already there. Shadow snapped tight, dropping him beside Charlie.
They stood over them-moonlight and shadow intertwined, not competing, not clashing. They were balanced. The watching Alphas didn't speak. Some looked shaken, some looked terrified.
For the first time, no one doubted what would happen if the Unseelie tried to take them by force.