A field leader with a wolf under his skin. A rebel who doesn't trust badges. A city that learned how to turn fear into obedience.When an Aegis raid exposes "wellness" facilities running illegal cognition drills, Alejandro Herrera-a were-human trained to control both his instincts and his conscience-uncovers proof that the city's peace is enforced through quiet coercion. Shutting it down should be simple. It isn't.To save lives before the evidence disappears, Alejandro makes an uneasy alliance with Karina Volkov, a were-human advocate labeled a radical for refusing to stay compliant. Their rescues ignite a slow-burn war of evidence, extraction runs, and courtroom brinkmanship as corporate interests race to erase the truth.Backed by his tightly bonded team-Sparrow, Benny, and Noah-Alejandro is forced to choose between the order that trained him and the people it's willing to sacrifice.Fractured Control blends urban fantasy and near-future thriller into a story of divided loyalties, found family, and what it costs to do the right thing when the rules themselves become weapons.Perfect for readers who love character-driven action, moral gray zones, and alliances forged under pressure. Michael Oldfield writes character-driven urban fantasy and near-future thrillers where paperwork matters, empathy is a superpower, and the wolves have lawyers. He is proudly over-caffeinated and moonlights as the family IT department, which is why he knows thirty-seven ways to fix a printer and zero ways to water a plant on time. Off the page, he ping-pongs between casual gaming, game design experiments, and "quick" scripts that somehow become software. Domestic life features three cats who unionized over their feeding schedule and a rambunctious four-year-old who treats pants as a suggestion. When worldbuilding for the next book, he promises himself he won't invent a new calendar system-then immediately invents a new calendar system. Fractured Control is his debut novel and the opening of the Threshold Protocol universe.
