The Crash

*99%...*

The system hung. The final firewall—the Alpha Prime authorization—loomed like a black wall in Kian’s mind.

The Enforcers were regrouping. They prepared for a final, coordinated lunge that would tear Lyra apart.

Kian didn't have the Alpha Prime code. He didn't have the authority.

But he had something else. He had a backdoor he’d been building since he was twelve years old, since the first time someone called him a runt.

"Admin Override," Kian whispered. "Password: *Chaos*."

He slammed the Enter key.

*100%. Upload Complete.*

The effect was instantaneous.

The servers flashed from angry crimson to a brilliant, blinding green. A shockwave of magical energy exploded from the console.

It wasn't a physical blast, but a metaphysical one. The Enforcers, linked to the Registry by their blood oaths, grabbed their heads and screamed. The sudden rewriting of the Pack’s reality scrambled their senses, dropping them to their knees, stunned and disoriented.

On Lyra’s neck, the faint, magical brand of the rival Alpha—the mark of her betrothal—flared hot and then dissolved into smoke.

In its place, a new mark formed. It wasn't a brand of ownership. It was a binary code tattoo, glowing soft blue, wrapping around her throat like a collar of light.

*Kian.*

The system recognized them. Mates.

Lyra shifted back. She collapsed on the metal grating, naked and shivering, covered in blood and cooling fluid.

Kian ripped the cable from his neck and fell to his knees beside her. He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"We did it," he choked out, wiping blood from her face. "You're free. You're mine."

Lyra looked up at him, her amber eyes hazy but triumphant. She touched his face. "We are trouble."

The Enforcers were beginning to stir. The stun wouldn't last forever.

"We have to go," Kian said. "The roof."

He hauled Lyra to her feet. She leaned heavily on him, her leg dragging slightly. Together, the Runt and the Princess, they limped toward the service stairwell as the alarms finally began to blare.

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