Legends said some Alphas were too strong to stay dead.
But Kael Varos had always believed the strongest wolves chose when to die.
Until he met one who didn't.
---
Morrak the Undying
The name came from a deserter's lips.
A wounded scout stumbled into Varok's Rise, half-mad and frothing at the mouth. His eyes were fogged like frozen glass, and silver blood trickled from his ears.
He collapsed at the council gate, repeating one name over and over:
> "Morrak… Morrak… Morrak…"
Kael arrived seconds too late.
The scout died screaming.
The snow around his body turned black.
Sylah knelt beside him, fingers trembling. "His veins… they're full of rot."
Lina stepped beside her. "That's not rot."
She looked to Kael.
> "That's Revenant blood."
---
The Hunt Begins
Kael wasted no time. He rallied a warband and left that night.
Lina, Sylah, and Drayk rode with him, joined by twenty elite Moonborn warriors—each armed with moonforged steel, fire-dusted armor, and silver rune spears.
They followed the trail east toward the Deadlow Fen, where Morrak had last been seen by a fleeing survivor.
Stories followed them:
A wolf ten feet tall, with eyes of molten gold.
A howl that made alphas weep and betas kill themselves.
An army of dead wolves sewn together with black fire.
Most called it madness.
Kael called it inevitable.
---
The Revenant Host
The Deadlow Fen was a festering marsh of sunken bones and whispering trees.
As Kael's pack moved through the sludge, the air grew heavy. Breath turned to steam. Magic stung the skin.
Then they saw it:
> A figure walking through the fen, naked but for chains.
Moonborn tattoos across his chest.
Eyes glowing.
And behind him—dozens of wolves, broken, stitched, and burning.
Kael stepped forward.
"You're Morrak."
The creature stopped.
Smiled.
Then it spoke in a voice that shook Kael's bones:
> "I was Morrak.
Then I died.
Then I woke.
And now… I remember who made me."
Kael raised his blade. "And who was that?"
Morrak grinned wider.
> "You."
---
The Unkillable Fight
The fight began before the first howl ended.
Kael lunged.
Sylah struck from the flank.
Drayk split three undead wolves in half.
But Morrak was a storm.
Every blow he received, he absorbed. He laughed as Kael's flame singed his ribs. His claws shredded armor like paper. He tore through Moonborn warriors like they were straw.
Then Kael stabbed him—through the heart.
And Morrak fell.
A silence fell over the battlefield.
Until…
> He stood again.
Still grinning.
Still whole.
Sylah screamed, "He can't be killed!"
Lina's eyes darted across his body. "There's no anchor here. No ritual circle. No sigil."
Kael's voice was hoarse. "Then what is keeping him alive?!"
And then—
He remembered the scroll.
The blood anchor.
---
The Hidden Host
Kael activated his Flameborn vision.
He looked beyond flesh.
And he saw it.
A red thread—connecting Morrak to someone back at camp.
Kael cursed under his breath.
> "He's tethered."
Sylah's eyes widened. "To what?"
Kael turned.
"To someone we brought with us."
---
The Betrayal Within
Kael sprinted back to camp, his flame roaring to life.
The warriors guarding the rear were unconscious—no blood, just… asleep.
He searched tents, sniffing the air.
Until he found a lone warrior, standing still, humming.
A boy.
Barely seventeen.
Eyes wide and empty.
He turned to Kael.
"Father Morrak says hello."
And then he exploded into black fire.
---
Sacrifice of the Anchor
Back at the fen, Morrak screamed and fell, his body writhing. The tether burned away.
Kael returned, fury in his eyes.
He raised the Fang of Varok and whispered, "Stay dead this time."
He plunged the blade into Morrak's skull.
> This time… the Revenant didn't rise.
---
The Aftershock
The surviving pack mourned.
Seventeen warriors lost.
A dozen wounded.
And one truth confirmed:
> The Revenants were tethering themselves to Moonborn hosts.
Not through magic.
But through
bloodline corruption.
Sylah sat beside the fire that night, hands clenched.
"If they can hide in us," she whispered, "then nowhere is safe."
Kael looked into the fire.
His reflection… smiled back at him.
But he wasn't smiling.