The stone walls of the Crescent Moon prison were damp and cold, but Darius no longer noticed the chill. His mind had become sharp again. The pain was still there, yes but it was now a fire that warmed him, not one that burned him down.

In the last few days, everything has changed. The guards still thought he was mad, still whispered that he had lost his mind. But inside the cells, something different was happening.

Darius had started speaking to the other prisoners. Not loudly. Not with wild stories. He started simple.

“I remember when the Alpha cared about us,” he said one night, lying on the cold...