CURSED LYCAN
Ten years after the blood bond. Twelve years since Sera first met Kael in the Blackthorn Forest.
Everything should've been perfect.
The facilities were down to single digits. Corruption cases had dropped seventy percent. The council had implemented worldwide protections. Humans and lycans were cooperating in ways that would've been impossible a decade ago.
Progress. Real, measurable progress.
So why did Sera wake up at three in the morning with dread clawing at her chest?
She sat up. The bond was silent. Peaceful. Kael slept beside her, breathing steady. No threat. No danger.
But something was wrong. She felt it in her bones.
"Can't sleep?" Kael's voice was rough with sleep. The bond had woken him when her anxiety spiked.
"Bad feeling."
"Specific bad feeling or general unease?"
"Yes."
Kael sat up. After ten years bonded, he knew better than to dismiss her instincts. "Want me to call it in? Have the team run checks?"
