The retaliation came three nights later.
Alpha Phantom felt it before it happened.
[Shadow Sense: Hostile Intent — Detected.]
The warehouse was quiet. Too quiet.
Rex was mid-sentence when the lights died.
Gunshots followed.
Not wild. Controlled. Professional.
"Down!" Alpha snapped.
He moved as the first bullet tore through where his head had been.
[Shadow Descent: Partial — Activated.]
Darkness bent. Alpha slipped between cover, closing distance.
Two men went down before they knew he'd moved.
A third tried to run.
Alpha caught him.
Pinned him against a crate.
"Who sent you?" Alpha asked.
The man shook, eyes wide. "We just enforce—"
Alpha's fist ended it.
[Blood Tempering Triggered.]
[Efficiency +6%]
The lights flickered back on.
Bodies down. Blood on concrete.
Rex stared. "This is escalation."
Alpha wiped his hands. "No. This is response."
Sirens wailed far away.
Nyx appeared at the door.
"You're bleeding," she said.
Alpha glanced down. A graze. Nothing serious.
"They broke the rule," he said.
Nyx's gaze hardened. "Then they'll keep testing you."
Alpha met her eyes. "Then they'll keep losing."
She hesitated. "You don't know who you're up against."
Alpha leaned closer. "Neither do they."
[Power Base Progress: 26%]
Outside, shadows shifted.
The city had noticed.
And it wasn't amused.