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The air in Beacon Hills had changed.
Alex could feel it in the wind—like the whole town was holding its breath. It wasn't just instinct. The birds were silent. The shadows were longer. Something ancient had stepped into the world again.
And it was watching.
He left Deaton's clinic with the folder under his arm. Every photo in it felt like a countdown. The figure with silver eyes hadn't aged a day across decades. That meant one thing—they weren't human anymore.
As he reached the edge of town, he felt the sensation again.
A chill—not cold, exactly, but wrong. Like the world's temperature had dropped around only him. It prickled down his spine, and his mark burned in warning.
He turned a corner—and froze.
There, standing across the street beneath a flickering streetlight, was a figure dressed in gray. No face visible under the hood. But Alex saw the eyes. Even in the dark, they shone.
Silver.
His body moved before his mind did—claws out, stance low.
The figure didn't flinch.
Alex stepped closer, but the figure only tilted its head.
"I remember you," Alex said quietly. "You're the one who killed me."
A soft voice answered—neither male nor female. "You broke the code. The law bound by blood and vow."
"I died protecting my pack."
"You died because you lost control."
Alex's fingers flexed. "Then why am I back?"
The figure didn't move. "Something brought you. Something old. Something angry. We felt the tremor the moment you returned."
Alex narrowed his eyes. "You're afraid."
"We don't fear," the voice said. "We correct."
Then they were gone.
No sound. No scent. One blink—and empty air.
Alex stood there for a long time, breath heaving. The pavement beneath him had cracked where he'd gripped it with clawed feet.
Later that night, he returned to Derek's loft.
"They're here," Alex said. "One of them. Argentum."
Derek was already gearing up. "I felt it. Others are starting to sense it too."
Alex looked at him. "You trust me yet?"
Derek glanced over, then handed him a blade carved with runes. "Not completely. But I trust that whatever brought you back… didn't do it without purpose."
Alex took the blade, the runes glowing softly in his hand. "Then let's find out what that purpose is."
Because now it was clear—the game had changed.
Argentum had returned.
But so had he.
And this time, Alex Mercer wasn't going to die.
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Chapter 11: The Gathering Storm next?