The drive back to the Obsidian packhouse was a silent affair, but the air inside Caspian’s SUV hummed with an electric anticipation. Seraphina watched the sprawling territory of the pack roll by her window. The paved roads, the state-of-the-art security fences, the massive, modern packhouse looming

By nightfall, the packhouse felt less like a fortress and more like a sinking ship. The perimeter lights were completely dead, plunged into darkness after the regional power grid operators abruptly severed their contracts. Emergency generators hummed loudly in the basement, providing only dim, flick

The Obsidian Pack's annual Spring Gala was supposed to be a triumphant celebration of Kaelen's rising empire. Instead, it had become a desperate, sweating, panicked attempt to secure emergency investors.

The grand ballroom of the packhouse was decorated in lavish gold and black, with crystal chand