When Jaepped out of the city hall, the bustling street greeted her and the loud honking of dozens of passing cars. To this day, the sheer volume of people living in Houstad boggled her mind. Life surrounded her from every side, not the kind that waited in crevices to prey on unsuspeg travelers. Mothers walked their cubs in parks or met their ughing little ones as they hurried off buses to get home after school. Future soulmates pyed ball or whispered intima cafes. It was nothing like the Wastes.

  A trio of cubs raced dowairs of a store, rag to a bus, and a mutant girl had tripped on her kentacles. Jaepped to catch her before the girl’s head smashed against the pavement, but another colossal b outpaced her.

  Eled caught the girl on her palm and joked to the terrifying cub, elig a chuckle out of her. Gently, the warlord pced the girl o her friends: an Orais boy, already as tall as a grown man, his body covered with short brown fur and boasting impressive biceps, and a Normie girl who was a beanpole pared to the boy. Their cheers and pleas for an autograph brought a smile to Janine’s lips.

  Marco would have been happy here.

  It was a miracle. Cubs of different ins ughed, studied, and, yes, the suspicious timing of the girl’s fall didn’t elude her, cheated together. No one was afraid because of their appearance. Marco would have fit in well, even if she still didn’t uand how the teachers prevehe Orais cubs from murdering anyone by act. Abyss, Houstad even had special schools that nurtured and helped mismatched cubs find happiness and purpose.

  Could we be wrong? Janine wondered. Her wounds healed, and she was ba her prime. Fighting had made her who she was. But the picture of males and females being equal, the absence of domination matches, and the ck of the o prove superiority over and ain tugged at her heartstrings. What if there was another way for the Wolf Tribe…

  Foolish. She reprimanded herself, fog on what was important. The Orais boy was incredibly gentle as he patted his friends, pulling out a pencil for Eled to write in their diaries. Cubs raised in peace were hardly suited for the horrors of war, and that was okay. Proper even. They deserved to be happy; otherwise, what was all this for? But that happiness came at a price. This stability around them, this wondrous paradise… Should everyone be like the locals, the state will grow weak.

  If they permit it to happen, there will be mere ruins littering the nds and chilly winds howling on the empty streets. The world was not safe, far from it. Janine and every wolfkin had to tio serve, watering the fertile soil of their nation with their blood until every er of their world was united and peace was established.

  “What news of our sisters?” asked Predaig, rising from a bench before the city hall.

  “Servitude for a while,” Janine answered.

  “I found an awesome bar nearby!” Martyshkina boomed, pg an elbow on Janine’s shoulder. “Say, how about we taste some of the beverage they pass for booze around here?”

  “We o pick up Alpha, and our soldiers went missing,” Janine briefly expihe situation.

  “Eled do it,” Martyshkina poio the warlord, who was giving the Normie girl a piggyback ride. “Anything to keep her away from the cubs before we end up being silly on the news.”

  “Too te for that,” Predaig said in a raspy voice, pointing to the crew of reporters. Martyshkina groaned in frustration.

  Janine wao refuse, but remembered the mayor’s words.

  It’s as if you don’t want to live in a world you helped create.

  What was the harm in seeing something other than war? Ravager herself demahat they know Houstad, and she could do nothing to help in the search for Keon.

  “You know what? Let’s go. Predaig, please keep Eled out of trouble. The task of esc Alpha out of jail falls to you. Ashbringer is in charge of searg for our missing troops. After we are done.” Janine eyed an ice cream shop. “I have a promise to uphold.”

  “Want to get sick again?”

  “Shut it, Marty.”

  ****

  Brood Lord spread his arms, patiently waiting for his servants to mount the battlepte onto his body. Overpping ptes covered his inhuman, sinuous legs. Wires went into sockets, and a jolt of strength brought a smile to his lips. The initial phase of the raid was the most dangerous, requiring his diretervention. He would have to be the first to step through a portal, to set things in motion.

  The thrill of uainty was exhirating. Will everything go as pnned? He maneuvered the pieces on the board to his liking, but any pn could easily fall apart. Behind him, his troops were gearing for battle, ready to sughter in his he twin assassins tossed their knives up and down, rexed. Drozna tensed, pag bad forth, a having to miss the a. There was no danger of betrayal from them. One cked the desire, the other the brains.

  But there were others, those he had entrusted to lead his portion of the Horde in the ing assault. The ambitious rabble, impatient for any sign of weakhat would allow them to usurp him.

  “The Horde values strength,” Brood Lord said, lig a sve who was strapping his pistol to his belt. The woman became so submissive after he ate the sed of her five children. “Are you strong, Phaser?”

  “Valuable,” screeched the thin man, waving his cws in the air aing up the portals.

  “Valuable.” Brood Lord moved his humanoid hand, testing the gau’s fingers. “Do you remember that bullet of the Old World we found in the ruins? So unique, elongated, richly encrusted with unknowals, and shining like the m sun. When Mad Hatter gifted it to Iron Lord, he melted it down to learn more about the alloys involved in its creation. That was the limit of its preciouso him. Many Purebloods sought to kill me for the in of my birth, and I forced them to bow.” He gestured to where his Brood and the soldiers stood. “ you do the same?”

  “No,” the mutant answered cautiously. “What’s this about, Brood Lord?”

  A pincer closed around his neck, and Phaser froze, blinking nervously.

  “Khan. Brood Lord Khan,” Brood Lord reminded him. “By my force, I have earhat rank. Just cheg to see if we are on the same wave, my friend. I know of your visit to dear Mungke. If I disappear, the Purebloods won’t tolerate you. Not as equal. Even Dirtybloods may ensve you, and you know that they break you into submission. Everyone breaks.” He stroked the sve’s cheek, regretting that she no longer served him poison. It was good for his stomach. “You lead a pleasurable existehanks to my might. No Brood Lord, no rank, h, nothing, but servitude.” He let go of Phaser ahe sves work.

  The cables of his geor joihe assembled pte, and it added its rumble to the din of the lesser models. The sves attached a scabbard to his belt and filled his amotion pockets. Brood Lord inhaled recycled air, receiving updates projected onto his retina by his heavily modified version of a battle helmet. His little helper was busy sending to him the exact positions of his chosen prey and the sacrificial mbs. Brood Lord deed offers of adrenaliimunts, trusting his own abilities to reach the state of supreme exhiration where his perception would be heightened enough to slow even falling pebbles to a crawl.

  His host prepared. Soon.

  ****

  “This is exactly my kind of pce!” Martyshkina ughed, nding herself on a chair.

  It had been almost a month sihe Wolf Tribe had arrived in Houstad. But it was only now that Janine uood what a byrinth this pce was. Her shoulders scratched the edges of the stone walls as they navigated their way through the narrow alleys that flowed into one another and another into three more. Hundreds of advertisements fshed on the masonry, and the homeless sged through the trash, looking for metal s. Her every instinct called for a jump—to plunge her cws into the walls and reach the rooftops from where she could survey her surroundings.

  Her friehem to a small street bar, half-empty at this hour. A weling and familiar darkness greeted them inside, clouds of smoke hid them from the patrons, and low, unhurried, wordless music leasing to her ears. Judging by the bartender’s warm greeting and the sts outside, this was not Marty’s first visit.

  Tentatively, Janine ordered an e juice, sniffing the gss several times before finally tasting it with her tongue. Her eyes widened in delight and Janine gulped dowire thing. It felt good! The taste was delicious and pleasant, as the addition of sugar took away the sourness. The warlord snapped her fingers and ordered more juice, mixing it with ac.

  “Care to expin what is b you?” Martyshkina hiccuped, emptying the first bottle. “Or should I beat it out of ya?”

  “That obvious?” Janine ughed. “Marty, I am engaging in a little politics. I want to make a proposition at the Gathering and was w if you…”

  “Lemme stop yht here. Sorry, Jani, ’t support you here.” Hungrily, Martyshkina snatched a pte of fish from the bartender’s hands.

  “But why? You haven’t even listeo what I want to ge…”

  “Because it is arrogant,” Martyshkina replied. “Jani, the tribe is divided between civilian and military life for a reason. The shamans are the ones who help new mothers with lifegiving. They are the ones managing food, and it is only thanks to their cleverhat we have survived the famines. A, despite all this, they willingly serve us in times of war, risking their lives to preserve ours.” Martyshkina put the gss away and folded her paws. “We, who spend our lives otlefield, who lead our cubs…” She closed her eyes. “We are the tools of death. They are the instruments of life. Both are needed, but her should encroa the territory of the other. If we try to lead vilges as we lead packs, it may be tempting to cut our losses, so to speak, and force everyoo to our vision. But what if we are wrong? Gatherings, more than one warlord, the shamans created such a system to avoid tyranny, to let our people speak their minds.”

  “Then yn their wishes by refusing to listen to the opposing point of view and blindly voting for the shamans’ side every time,” Janine insisted.

  “Well, perhaps I am a hypocrite. Or perhaps I don’t trust myself enough to decide how the tribe should live! But that’s not what’s b you, is it?” Martyshkina roared and smmed her paw against the table, rog the drinks. Janine quickly waved her paw to the patrons to show them that everything was fine. “Jani, I saw your hesitation in the fight against the bull. I had spoken to Bertruda…”

  “You did what?!”

  “Don’t look at me like that, sister.” Martyshkina pressed her forehead against Janine’s, log eyes with her. “I po break her for hurting you, but she was kind of sad, and her description of a battle threw me off. The Janine I know never held ba battle, sequences be damned.”

  “The Janine you knew grew up.”

  “Bullshit! You nearly broke my back when we were cubs over that boy…”

  “Wait, what the fuck, Marty?” The bartender asked.

  “Shut up! It hase!” They cried in unison, still looking at each other. Martyshkina tinued. “Jani, I am sorry. I am sorry for being so ed with my own problems...”

  “Don’t be,” Jaerrupted her. “Don’t you ever dare to downpy the importance of what has happened in your life. I should have…”

  “You did.” Martyshkina grinned, still sober. “Eled, Zta, Predaig, even Anissa that oime…”

  “That obvious, huh?” Janine said dejectedly. “I’ve… Subtlety is not my thing, but I couldn’t… I was worried, okay, Marty?!”

  “Jani, I’m not mad! It was sweet!” Martyshkina hugged her. “Thank you! Thank you for g. But that is over now. I am not yet ba my sane mind, but I feel better. Tell me holy what’s b you before I answer out of you! If I am still your sister in blood and friendship, trust me!”

  Janine sighed, emptying anss of ac. It’s true, in the past, they always shared everything with Marty. Boys, fights, sorrows, victories, treats, secrets… Whe hurt, the other treated her wounds. When one suffered defeat, the other would poun the victor. Janine filled the gss again, rolled the liquid inside and decided not to add juice. The two substances were better separated.

  “It’s about Terrific,” Janine admitted, taking another shot.

  “About that bitch? What about her?” Martyshkina asked bitterly, making Janine smile.

  “She is… Terrific wasn’t a bitch!” Janine looked weakly at Marty. “Well, she wasn’t a bite. Remember when I was weak is and then I could take you in battle? That’s because Terrific stood by me and pushed me to excellence. Under her care, my body had healed; she nursed me from a near grave to my peak.” Ja aside the gss, reliving the past. “The warlord was a bad person.”

  “You mean a monster,” Martyshkina said. “She broke our ribs and limbs to torture those little ones.”

  “Should I call the police?” the bartender asked.

  “No errific is long dead,” Jaold him. “Marty, she had a hard life. Terrific was one of the first geion, a person who stood by Ravager at the dawn of our tribe. A she was different. Her cws were so tiny, they barely left her fingers.” Janine raised her own paw. At the end of each fiip, every Wolfkin had wrinkled skin that was loose and baggy. Cws protruded from these pces. Ja out a few millimeters of her own cws and showed them to Marty. “Here. This is all she could do with them—not enough to reach for a jugur or anything vital.

  “And she was weak too, not like other warlords who grow naturally. Marty, she trained—actually trained all day long, carrying tremendous weights on her fingers, iing steroids, and fighting everything she could. She challeher warlords over and over, even Alpha, and always ended up losing. At the end, it was the shamans who promoted her to warlord after the tribe grew big enough. you imagihis shame? To obtain the long-desired rank, not through strength, but through pity-victory. It was eating her alive, probably causio sh out in the way she did. But she cared for us. She helped with your transfer. She honed my skills, turning me from a useless wreck…”

  “Useless? You think I’d waste my time on a useless person? Jani, a wreck would not have the guts to stand up to the warlord when she was about to off me. A useless person would not have persuaded me to team up and share food with the es,” Martyshkina said calmly. “Call yourself useless ever again, and I am dragging you to my therapist. Let’s see you cry your heart out during a session.”

  “Well…” Jaumbled and patted her friend. “I am quite rge, stop a lot of bullets, at least.” They burst out ughing and refilled their gsses. The rebuke helped push back the poisonous self-pity. So what if her biological mother tossed her aside? Who cared? Janine had friends, sisters, family. “Thanks. I hat. Marty, Terrific was… is like a mother to me. Cruel, ever-angry bitch threatening my friends, but still part of my family. That is why I feel like a traitor after murdering her.”

  “Okay, I am calling the police, dies,” the bartender warned, and a few ers hurried to leave the establishment.

  “Go ahead. The MP has already iigated me and cleared me of any guilt.” Janine waved a gss at him and tinued. “It happened when Terrific captured the svers’ cubs. You know how she was; she had pns to slowly skin them alive to force the bastards into panid swoop in, saving the hostages. And I couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t fail again. Those cubs were what, under eight years old? There was no fault on them. I…” Janine licked her lips. “I challenged her. I will never fet the look of utter betrayal on her snout. Terrifited either you or me to succeed her, but only after her death.”

  Marty chuckled, “Well, she suck di that one. We have several warlords who have lost and recimed their ranks. Ain’t nothing weird about that. Abyss, Ygrite lost her rank five times and jokes about it!”

  “That may be true, but they earheir inal rank by right,” Janine argued, fighting the urge to grin. “Terrific did not. For her, losing a rank was the end—proof that she was unworthy of being one of the first geion. And when we fought, she refused to quit. And when we fought, she refused to give up. Marty, if you had only seen her fight, you would’ve forever respected her stubborn refusal to lose! She was weaker than me, but her ferocity is forever etched in my soul. But in the end, there could be only one victor. As I held her by the neck, pinned on the ground, she dug her fingers into my side and tore at my ribs. It enraged me; that stupid refusal to admit reality pissed me off; the fear for the cubs’ lives drove my paws, and I snapped her neck. I’ve been dreaming about that moment ever since, w how I could’ve resolved it differently and saved my mom.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.” Martyshkina pced a paw on her shoulder. “Boo-hoo, the prideful bitch refused to go down and tried to kill you. Should you have coddled her into submission?”

  “Maybe!” Janine snapped. “Maybe it’s what I should have done! Eaew warlord must be better tha. Soldiers who died under my and, civilians I failed to protect... Imagine how many lives would have been saved if I had reined in Terrific?”

  “Janine…”

  “Good, bad, it doesn’t matter, Marty. We have to grab them both by the ears and drag them, drag them into the future. This is the only way the tribe grow.”

  Martyshkina said nothing to it. She simply poured more drinks into their gsses, and the two friends toasted in memory of those who were no longer in this world.

  ****

  Brood Lord smiled, opening his helmet. A leader had to set an example, and he walked bravely to the crag line in the air. It spread to his left and right, f a V-shape and opening a gateway onto the road. His front legs carried the khan through the portal, into the realm of honking horns, where white-furred mutants pyed on the sidewalks, escorted by the rger, bck-furred mutants. Light danced in the hundreds of windows, people of many races chatting, oblivious to the plete upheaval of their way of life that was about to occur.

  There were eyes on him. Brood Lord had expected it, the arrogant sword saint standing at the crossroads not far ahead, surrounded by his white-ights. The man came here for an iion, carrying only his on. His whelps were the ones who posed a dahey reached for their ranged ons, notig his oversized handgun.

  It was too te. The mole’s reports were correct, and Brood Lord quickly aimed and fired at the car driving toward him, liquidating the driver’s head and shearing off the head of Maxim Puchkov, beheading the local police as he returo the station. Pieces into pces. Fear was a universal tool for quering nations, but there was so much more to this art. Brood Lord wisely aught his subjects everything he knew, letting them act against him based on the inplete ideas of his modus operandi. Pretend to be stupid in order to survive and thrive.

  The projectile left a wide gap in the car a ongoing, hitting a family in the car, and the ensuing screams were music to his ears. And they were about to grow so much louder.

  “Hello, wonderful pce,” sang the khan.

  tless portals opened all around the city.