Chapter 28 · The Oath Breaks

"All Silver Oath units, this is Executive Command."

The voice coming through the comms wasn't Marcus's.

Rena's claws retracted halfway. Gold bled out of her eyes as static crackled across every headset in the clearing. Cain pushed himself up on one elbow—chest still raw where she'd torn the silver out—and even he went still.

"Target Cain Darko is to be extracted alive within the next sixty seconds," the voice continued. Cold. Clinical. Like it was reading a grocery list instead of holding a gun to someone's head. "Or we initiate Protocol Nightfall on the surrounding wolf population. Confirmation code: Red-Seven-Alpha."

Hayes's hand jerked toward his radio. "Sir, we're not—"

"Sixty seconds. Starting now."

Marcus didn't move. His gun was still half-raised, pointed somewhere between Rena and the ground. His face had gone completely blank.

That was worse than anger. Rena had seen him blank before—right before he put a bullet in something that used to be human.

"Marcus." Her voice came out rough. Still half-wolf. "What the hell is Protocol Nightfall?"

He didn't answer.

Ella did. She was standing at the edge of the clearing now, phone still in her hand, face white. "It's an aerial strike package. Silver-laced incendiaries.