Malachai was seriously pissed.

The early morning mist still clung to the Convergence Point, the sun barely cresting the eastern horizon. He sat on a smooth rock near the stream, listening to the distant waterfall while the other three argued for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour. His eyes drifted to the water, watching it flow past without purpose and effort. That's what he wanted to be doing right now. Flowing, drifting and maybe sleeping.

Instead, he was stuck here listening to grown men bicker like children.

"Malachai!" A sharp voice cut through his thoughts and he sighed before dragging his attention back to the present.

Gerald Stormborn stood glaring at him, those red eyes glowing with barely contained fury. The youngest of them all paced like a caged animal, his crimson hair wild around his face. He wore simple leather and fur, practical fighting gear that showed off the claw marks running from his right shoulder down to his left abdomen. Scars from battles Malachai didn't care to know about.

Malachai wondered where he got the energy to be so loud and angry all the time. It was really exhausting just watching him.

"Calm yourself, Gerald," said another voice, cold as winter ice.

Ugh, Blackwood.

Joefrey Blackwood didn't pace. He stood perfectly still in his dark armor, arms crossed, silver streaking through his black hair despite being barely past his twenties. The man looked like he'd been carved from stone and left out in the cold. His ice blue eyes held no warmth as he watched Gerald's tantrum with obvious disdain.

This was the one who somehow thought he was in charge, though he didn't remember anyone voting him in that position. 

What a self pompous prick.

"Perhaps you could contribute something useful to this discussion instead of daydreaming?" Joefrey's gaze shifted to Malachai.

Before Malachai could respond, the fourth Alpha leaning casually against a tree and examining his nails scoffed with apparent disinterest. Nikolai Vale looked like he belonged at a royal court rather than a war council. Golden hair perfectly styled even at this ungodly hour, green eyes sharp despite his relaxed posture. He wore expensive clothing that somehow stayed clean despite the wilderness around them.

Of all the Alphas here, Nikolai was the only one who truly made Malachai uncomfortable. There was something too calculating behind that easy smile.

Malachai stretched lazily. "I'm waiting for you all to cool off before we actually have a conversation. Right now, no one is making sense or coming to any real conclusion."

Gerald's face went red and he took a step forward, fists clenched. But to Malachai's genuine surprise, the young Alpha bit back whatever he was about to say. His jaw worked, veins visible in his neck, but he stayed silent.

Malachai felt a sudden urge to provoke him further. But he supposed he should actually contribute something useful first.

"My scouts have been tracking the shadow wolves," Malachai said, his tone still lazy despite the serious subject. "They're strong. Invulnerable, it seems, but I don't believe there's no weakness. Everything has a weakness."

Joefrey nodded once, sharp and precise like a military commander acknowledging a report. "Agreed. We just haven't found it yet."

Gerald grunted his acknowledgment, still pacing, still radiating that barely controlled energy.

"I thought as much," Nikolai added smoothly, pushing off from the tree with fluid grace.

Malachai continued, "But here's what concerns me. My people bring reports that these creatures are beginning to coordinate. They're attacking as groups now, not the usual mindless charges we first saw. There's intelligence behind it."

Gerald stopped pacing. "Intelligence? They're mindless beasts, Malachai. Some kind of disease turning wolves mad. There's no way they have the capacity to plan coordinated attacks." He ran a hand through his wild hair, frustration evident in every movement.

Nikolai's easy smile turned cold. "Perhaps if you spent less time swinging your sword and more time actually observing, you'd notice the patterns forming. But then again, expecting strategic thinking from you might be too much to ask."

Malachai felt a smile tug at his lips. He couldn't help it. The subtle insult was refreshing after an hour of pointless arguing.

He laughed.

Joefrey's expression shifted to one of tired frustration, the kind of look a man gets when he knows exactly what's about to happen and can't stop it. "Don't..."

"What did you just say to me?" Gerald's voice dropped dangerously quiet. His eyes began to glow gold, his wolf rising close to the surface. Every muscle in his body tensed like he was about to spring.

Malachai leaned forward, unable to resist. "Come now, Nikolai isn't a coward. If he had something to say, I'm sure he'd be brave enough to repeat it. Wouldn't you, Vale?"

To his absolute delight, Nikolai did exactly that. He crossed his arms, green eyes glittering with amusement. "I said that strategic thinking might be beyond Gerald's capabilities. His approach to most problems seems to be 'hit it until it stops moving.'"

Gerald moved forward, closing the distance between them in three strides.

"Gerald, no!" Joefrey stepped between them, one hand on the younger Alpha's chest. The silver in his hair caught the early morning light as he physically held Gerald back. He shot a glare over his shoulder at Malachai. "Damn it, Duskbane! Stop instigating!"

Malachai took a moment to observe the scene he'd helped create. The four greatest Alphas in the known territories, all gathered at the Convergence Point because of strange new attacks by beasts they'd come to call shadow wolves. This was supposed to be a unified front against a common enemy.

Instead, they were moments away from tearing each other apart.

Honestly, Malachai had provoked them on purpose. He wanted to see each Alpha's temperament, to gauge if he could actually work with these men. But right now? He was disappointed.

"Malachai!" Joefrey barked, still restraining Gerald who was now actively trying to get past him. "Help me hold him back!"

Malachai looked genuinely shocked that Joefrey would think he'd do something like that. He'd started this mess specifically to observe them and it was also fun, so why in the name of the moon goddess would he stop it now?

He watched as Gerald broke free from Joefrey's grip, shoving the older Alpha aside. Gerald charged toward Nikolai, who had gone very still, his hand moving toward the blade at his hip.

Then everything went blank.

The Convergence Point vanished. The stream, the rocks, the trees, the early morning mist, all of it disappeared into nothing. Malachai found himself floating in darkness, but not the darkness of night. This was something else. An endless expanse that reminded him of looking up at the night sky, except the stars surrounded them on all sides. Above, below, everywhere. Like they'd been pulled into the heavens themselves.

"What in the..." Gerald's voice came from somewhere nearby, all fury replaced by confusion.

Malachai heard Joefrey curse, his usually controlled voice edged with something that might have been fear.

Even Nikolai sounded unsettled. "Where are we?"

Then a voice echoed through the void, warm and ancient and impossibly vast. "My children."

All four Alphas spun around, searching for the source. That's when they saw her and knew who she was immediately without introduction.

The Moon Goddess.

She appeared as pure light given form, radiant and beautiful and terrifying all at once. Her presence filled the endless space, and Malachai felt his wolf instinctively want to bow. Even he, with all his strategic detachment, felt the weight of divine power pressing down on them.

"Moon Goddess," Joefrey said, and for once he sounded uncertain. His rigid military bearing faltered in the face of something he couldn't command or control.

She looked at each of them in turn, her expression both loving and sad. "Four Alphas who stand alone," she began, her voice resonating through their very bones. "You gather here to face a threat you do not understand. The shadow rises, and you believe you can fight it separately, each in your own way."

"We're trying to work together," Gerald said, though his voice lacked its usual fire. He crossed his arms defensively, looking young and uncertain in a way Malachai had never seen before.

"Are you?" The Moon Goddess tilted her head. "I see four rivals forced into proximity by fear. I see pride and suspicion and anger."

None of them could argue with that.

Nikolai shifted his weight, green eyes calculating even now. "What do you want from us?"

"You cannot win this war alone," she continued, ignoring his question. "The shadow you face is ancient and patient. It will exploit every weakness, every division between you. You need something that will bind you together. Something stronger than alliance or treaty."

Malachai felt a sense of dread building in his chest.

"One woman who will unite you," the Moon Goddess said, and Malachai's dread turned to horror. "She comes to you now, broken but not defeated. Save her, and she will save you all. Only together, bound as one, can you stand against what is coming."

"A woman?" Nikolai said carefully, his diplomatic mask firmly in place. "You're sending us a woman to unite four Alphas?"

"I am not sending her. She comes of her own choice, though she does not know it yet." The Moon Goddess's form began to fade. "She floats toward you even now. Save her. Trust her and let her unite you, or all will be lost to shadow."

"Wait," Joefrey called out, stepping forward with one hand raised. "We need more information. What woman? How is she supposed to..."

But the Moon Goddess was gone.

The endless starry void collapsed back into reality. Malachai found himself sitting on the same rock by the stream, blinking in the sudden brightness of early morning daylight. The mist had burned off during their vision, leaving everything sharp and clear.

For a moment, none of them moved. They just stared at each other, processing what had just happened.

"Did we all..." Gerald started, his voice unusually quiet.

"Yes," Joefrey said flatly, straightening his armor with sharp, precise movements. "We all saw that."

Malachai ran a hand through his dark hair. "A woman. The Moon Goddess wants us to be united by a woman."

"That's absurd," Nikolai said, but his voice lacked its usual confidence. He'd lost his relaxed posture, standing tense and alert now. "How could one woman possibly unite four Alphas? We can barely stand being in the same space for an hour."

"The Moon Goddess doesn't make jokes," Joefrey said. His jaw was tight, a muscle ticking in his cheek. "If she says this woman will unite us..."

"Then we're doomed," Gerald finished, pacing again, more agitated than before. "Because I don't need some woman telling me what to do."

Malachai was inclined to agree. The last thing he needed was more complications. More people demanding his attention and energy. He just wanted to go back to his territory and ....sleep.

"Look," Nikolai said suddenly, pointing at the stream with a hand that wasn't quite steady.

They all turned to look.

There, floating toward them in the current, was a body. A woman in a torn gown, the fabric ripped at the knees and soaked through. Her dark hair spread around her in the water like seaweed. She drifted face up, unconscious or dead, they couldn't tell from this distance.

But they all knew.

Without a doubt, without question, they knew.

This was the woman from the prophecy.

The woman the Moon Goddess said would unite them.

And as Malachai looked at his fellow Alphas' expressions, he saw his own feelings reflected back at him.

None of them wanted her.