The forest shook.
Not from destruction.
From resistance.
The silver-gold light pouring from Nancy spread through the trees in waves, threading itself between every wolf connected to the bond.
And the more it spread—
the harder the Veil screamed.
Its creatures stumbled violently like puppets with severed strings.
Nancy could feel why.
The Veil understood fear.
Isolation.
Pain.
But this?
This was something else entirely.
Connection without control.
Choice without force.
It couldn't comprehend it.
The First Alpha stepped beside Nancy now, his massive form radiating ancient power. For the first time, the wolves around him no longer looked at him like a king above them.
They looked at him like family beside them.
The difference mattered.
The fracture overhead twisted violently.
Darkness leaked from it in enormous waves now, swallowing pieces of the sky itself.
Nyra's voice suddenly sharpened inside Nancy's head.
It's panicking.
"That's good, right?"
No.
Nancy's stomach dropped instantly.
When ancient things panic—
they destroy everything around them.
As if proving her right—
the Veil moved.
The fracture exploded open.
A massive limb formed from black glass and writhing shadows slammed into the forest hard enough to split the earth apart.
Wolves were thrown backward.
Trees disintegrated instantly.
Kai grabbed Nancy seconds before the shockwave could tear through her completely.
They crashed hard against the ground together.
Pain shot through Kai's chest immediately.
The corruption beneath his skin flickered again.
Nancy's eyes widened.
"No—"
"I'm fine," he lied instantly.
He absolutely was not fine.
The Veil's voice thundered across reality itself now.
IF CONNECTION IS YOUR STRENGTH—
THEN I WILL TEAR IT APART.
Suddenly—
Nancy felt it.
The bond.
Straining.
Every wolf connected to her gasped simultaneously as invisible pressure crushed against their minds.
Fear flooded through the link.
Not theirs.
The Veil's.
It was forcing its emotions into the bond.
Leo dropped to one knee with a snarl.
"It's inside our heads—"
Another wolf screamed somewhere behind them.
Nancy's chest tightened painfully.
The Veil wasn't trying to kill them anymore.
It was trying to make them turn on each other.
Distrust spread fast.
Doubt.
Paranoia.
The kind that destroyed packs from the inside.
One wolf suddenly shoved another.
A growl answered immediately.
The bond flickered.
The Veil laughed.
YES.
Nancy felt panic rising too now.
Not natural panic.
Forced panic.
Manufactured.
And the terrifying part?
It was working.
"Kai—"
He grabbed her face immediately before the fear could fully consume her.
"Nancy. Look at me."
Her breathing shook violently.
"I can't hold it back—"
"Yes, you can."
The silver in his eyes burned brighter despite the pain tearing through him.
"You know what the Veil doesn't understand?"
Another pulse of fear hit the bond.
Several wolves collapsed.
Kai refused to let go of her.
"It thinks connection makes people weak."
Nancy stared at him.
"But real bonds?" he said softly.
"They survive fear."
Something inside her steadied.
Not perfectly.
Not completely.
But enough.
The Guardian bond reacted instantly.
Silver-gold light burst outward from Nancy again—
but this time softer.
Warmer.
Not power fueled by force.
Power fueled by trust.
The wolves felt it immediately.
The panic slowed.
The First Alpha looked at Nancy carefully.
Understanding dawned in his ancient eyes.
The Guardian does not command the bond.
Nancy realized it too.
She wasn't controlling them.
She was reminding them.
They were choosing each other.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The Veil shrieked furiously as the bond stabilized once more.
Impossible.
Nancy slowly stood.
Exhausted.
Terrified.
Shaking.
But standing.
"You keep trying to break us apart," she whispered.
The forest glowed around her.
"But that only works if we stop choosing each other."
Behind her—
every wolf rose again.
Together.
And for the first time—
the Veil looked small.