Page 121 of The Hyena’s Guardian

Understanding arrived with horrifying clarity. The King had never expected to escape through force alone. The broken chains, corrupted wolves, and mountain itself were not the true plan. He had spent centuries waiting for his bloodline to weaken enough to become a doorway.

He intended to walk out through Theron.

The truth left Theron hollow. The grinding chains, movement beneath the bridges, and voices of the Valker agents faded beneath the weight of it. Escape had only ever been part of the King’s plan. He had spent centuries preparing to inherit a body strong enough to survive beyond the mountain.

Theron’s body.

Matt tightened his grip on Theron’s arm. “Talk to me.”

Theron forced himself into the present. The chamber returned beneath the pulsing red light, and the King was watching him. Waiting.

Black mineral shifted around the figure rising from the throne. His body remained mostly human beneath the fractures spreading through his skin, but nothing about the presence within it felt mortal.

The First King stood, and every corrupted wolf in the chamber lowered itself in submission.

Matt stared across the bridge. “Well, that’s deeply upsetting.”

Under other circumstances, the humor might have grounded Theron. This time it worsened the fear because the King noticed it too.

The ancient wolf turned toward Matt.

Rage slammed through the mountain and into Theron’s skull. It was not his own. It belonged to the King.

The bridges trembled as black mineral spread through the stone around the throne.

Then the King spoke aloud. “You interfere.”

The voice vibrated through Theron’s bones.

Matt’s expression hardened. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

“Matt.”

Too late.

The King assessed him like a predator finally identifying what had disrupted the hunt.

Several remaining chains snapped at once. The throne platform dropped toward the abyss while cracks split across the surrounding bridges. One Valker agent lost his footing and nearly disappeared over the edge before Vale caught his harness.

“We place the final stabilizers now, or this chamber comes down with us,” Vale snapped.

Baptiste moved toward a pack beside one of the support pillars. “Three placements. One beneath the western bridge support. One beneath the eastern anchor. The final charge goes into the heart seal beneath the throne.”

Matt glanced toward the abyss. “And I assume the nightmare king isn’t going to politely let us do that.”

“No,” Theron said.

The King regarded them with cold certainty. “You still believe you can stop this.”

His voice pressed harder against Theron’s mind, searching for weakness. Beneath the fear, another realization formed. The King was no longer certain of the outcome, and that mattered.

Matt stepped closer, and the pressure weakened. Theron already knew the bond interrupted the King’s influence. What he understood now was how dangerous that made Matt.

Matt had become something the King did not understand, and uncertainty was the first thing he tried to crush. Without realizing it, Matt had become the greatest threat to his plan.

If Theron understood that, the King eventually would too.

The ancient figure stepped away from the throne, and the chamber shook.