Samuel spent the rest of the day in a state of controlled fury, the scent of pine around him sharp with ozone. The Pack was officially in lockdown, but the damage was done. Fear had replaced apathy.
That evening, Samuel's phone rang. The number was unknown, the sound sharp and grating in the quiet Den.
Samuel answered, putting it on speaker for Esther to hear.
"You are surprisingly slow, wolf," Fortune's cool voice sliced through the speaker. "The Nkpume Ọdịnala is a geological marvel. I prefer art. I have acquired a lovely piece of architecture, the old Ikeazor Hall clock tower. Do you remember the view from the top, Samuel? Very dramatic."
Ikeazor Hall was an abandoned, iconic campus building—high, isolated, and a perfect vantage point for the Shadow.
"What do you want, Fortune?" Samuel's voice was a low growl.
"I want your commitment to the old ways," Fortune purred. "I want the fear. I want the power that comes from a broken oath. I have your friend, Tunde. And I have provided him with the same delightful toxin as his friend Obinna."
Esther gasped. Tunde had been their loyal ally, the one who helped them secure the Casket.
"If you want to save your friend from a messy, agonizing demise, wolf," Fortune continued, his voice dripping with malice, "you will meet me at the top of Ikeazor Hall at midnight. Alone. And you will come as the beast. No human clothes, no silver trinkets, no Keeper. Just the savage thing I know you truly are."
The line clicked dead.
Samuel immediately stood up, his body radiating incandescent heat. "He wants me to fully transform. He wants the chaos of the beast. If I shift, there is no guarantee I can control it, and I risk permanent savagery."
"That is exactly his aim," Esther confirmed, rushing to him. "He wants to destroy you so completely that your soul's connection to the Golden Leaf is severed, destabilizing it and forcing its energy into his grasp."
"I have to go, Esther. I can't let Tunde suffer."
"Then we go, but we go prepared," Esther said, pulling the silver bloom pendant from her neck. She looked Samuel directly in the eye, her expression calm and decisive. "I told you: the new pact is about wielding the beast. Not fighting it."