(At the tumultuous sea... )

Autumn finally turned, very slowly.

The motion was subtle...just a shift of weight, a calm pivot of her shoulders...but the storm seemed to notice.

The wind did not stop.The rain did not vanish.

But they listened.

Thunder rolled farther away, no longer cracking directly overhead, as if even the sky had decided to give her space.

Like even nature knew she needed it.

Autumn stepped forward once, boots sinking into wet earth. She did not place herself as Kieran’s mate or Thorgar’s daughter. She did not stand with Dax. She did not face only one side.

She turned so that everyone could see her.

Both packs.

Every blade, every clenched fist, every snarling jaw held half a breath from violence.

She didn’t raise her voice.

She didn’t bare her teeth.

She simply spoke.

"Neither pack survives Calareth divided."

Her words fell softly, carried by the rain...yet they landed like iron.

A Skarthheim warrior scoffed under his breath, shifting his grip on his spear.

Autumn’s gaze slid to him with terrifying precision.

"Rurik of the Iron Vale Regiment," she said calmly.

The warrior stiffened.

"You have lost three brothers to wars you fought for my father," she continued, unhurried. "Another to starvation last winter. If you draw that spear tonight, you will lose more. Not to the ones on board, but to what waits ahead."

Rurik’s jaw tightened. His knuckles whitened.

Autumn didn’t press him further. She didn’t need to.

She turned slowly again...until her eyes met Dax’s.

His wolf pressed hard beneath his skin, demanding dominance.

Autumn met it without flinching.

"Restraint," she said quietly, "is not weakness, Dax."

Silence stretched.

Rain slid down Autumn’s hair, darkening it against her cloak. Her hands remained open at her sides...empty, unarmed, unafraid.

"The survival of your beloveds," she continued, not looking back yet, "depends on this expedition."

A beat.

"And so does the survival of mine."

The message was unspoken but clear.

Cooperate!!!

Thunder rumbled again...but distant now.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then a Skarthheim elder lowered his staff.

Another warrior eased his stance.

Dax exhaled slowly through his nose, the tension in his shoulders easing by a fraction. Not surrender.

But control. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Autumn didn’t smile.

She simply stood there, rain soaked... when all of a sudden,the ship shuddered.

Not violently at first just a deep, unnatural groan that traveled up through the hull, through the planks, into instinct.

Every head snapped up.

Every spine straightened.

Hands flew to the hilts again. Claws threatened to break skin. Every wolf rose to the surface, alert...on the verge of lethality.

The sea surged and the deck tilted a fraction to port.

Autumn’s eyes did not reach for anyone.

She looked up.

Past the mast.

Past the snapping sails.

Past the curtain of rain.

Her eyes fixed on the horizon.

There...half-veiled by mist and lightning...stood silhouettes along the shoreline.

Still.

Watching.

Tall figures cloaked in those familiar dark robes, unmoving despite the storm. The Council men.

Waiting.

A slow smirk touched Autumn’s lips.

"So," she murmured, almost to herself. "You showed up anyway."

Another violent tremor tore through the ship. Timber shrieked. A crack split along the deck, water surging up through the seams.

Someone shouted, "We are grounding!"

"No," another voice snapped. "We are being pulled!"

Autumn turned sharply now, rain plastering her hair to her face as she addressed them all at once.

But her voice did not rise.

"Abandon ship."

The words sliced clean through the chaos.

"Swim for the shore," she continued, already moving, though slowly, despite the obvious strain in her steps. "From different directions. Do not cluster. Do not follow me."

Dax stared at her. "But..."

She lifted a hand. Certain, if not commanding.

"I will keep them engaged," she said calmly. "With words, if possible. With time, if nothing else..."

Another shudder followed, harder now. A mast snapped with a thunderous crack, collapsing into the sea.

She met Dax’s eyes again, unblinking, absolutely unbothered by the chaos around them.

"Each of you must try to locate Alpha Valor’s secret mine at Calareth," she said. "That is the objective. That is where your mission ends."

A beat.

"I will meet you there..."

Someone cursed. Another protested, "You can barely stand..."

"I am not helpless,you all must know that, " Autumn said quietly.Her eyes flared, the sparkling blue circled her like dancing flames.

And for just a moment, lightning split the sky behind her...casting her in stark white light, rain and cloak whipping around her like wings she could no longer summon.

They felt it at that moment in their bones

Not fear.But faith.

Besides, there was no time to argue.

The ship slammed into something unseen beneath the waves.

A colossal impact this time.

Wood exploded. Metal screamed. The deck lurched violently, throwing bodies into the air as icy seawater surged over the rails.

"NOW!" someone roared.

Wolves leapt.

One by one, then many...diving into the churning black water, vanishing beneath the waves, scattering like shadows in a storm.

Autumn stood her ground as the ship broke apart all around her.

She turned back towards the shore once more.

Towards the waiting silhouettes.

Her smile widened...almost dangerous.

"Let’s talk," she whispered.

And then the sea swallowed the ship whole as Autumn levitated, floating forward, right above the water surface.

"Long time no see, everyone!!!"

"It’s been a while, hasn’t it?!" Autumn watched as Fenric rose above the ground as well, red miasma leaking from all around him. One would think he was on fire if they saw him from afar.

Autumn scoffed. "Borrowed tricks, huh? Devouring what you pretend to protect?!"

"This is protection, sweet girl! Making the best use of such a powerful mineral...just to think that Velor was able to hide this from us for such a long time, boils my blood."

Autumn scoffed again. Louder this time.

It didn’t sit well with Fenric. His eyes narrowed as the red miasma around him swirled up higher towards heaven.