Lyra lunged forward as Kai's body turned to smoke. "No!" Her hands passed through him—through shadow and mist where solid flesh should be. The machines went wild. Alarms shrieked. The heart monitor flatlined into one endless scream. Marcus grabbed medical tools, trying something, anything. "Kai! Stay with us!" But the boy kept fading. His small fingers disappeared first, then his arms, creeping up toward his chest like he was being erased from existence. Those black eyes locked onto Lyra's face. "It hurts, Mama. They're pulling so hard." "Who?" Lyra's voice cracked. "Who's pulling you?" "The ones in the dark. They say I belong with them." His voice echoed weirdly, like ten people speaking at once. "They say I was never supposed to stay this long." Lyra's heart broke. She reached for him again, desperate, and this time something different happened. Her own hands turned to shadow. Black smoke poured from her fingers, matching the darkness consuming her son. The two shadows touched—and suddenly she could feel him. Not strong, but present. Real. "Kai," she whispered. "Listen to my voice. Follow it back." "I can't. I'm too tired." "Yes, you can." She pushed every ounce of will into her words. "You're better than whatever's calling you. You're MY kid. You belong HERE." The shadow flickered. Hesitated. "That's it, baby. Come back. Come back to Mama." Slowly, painfully, Kai's form hardened. First his chest, then his shoulders, his face. Color returned to his skin—pale but human. His eyes switched from pure black to their normal warm brown. He gasped, sucking air like he'd been drowning. The machines beeped properly again. His heartbeat showed on the monitor—fast but steady. Lyra caught him as he fell forward, pulling his small body against her chest. He was shaking. So was she. "I've got you," she breathed into his hair. "I've got you." Marcus slumped against the wall, exhaling hard. "What the hell was that?" Before Lyra could answer, the door burst open. Two nurses rushed in, followed by a doctor with steel-gray hair and sharp eyes. "What's happening? The monitors—" He stopped, seeing Kai awake and breathing. Confusion crossed his face. "But he was coding. The alarms—" "False alarm." Lyra's voice was pure ice. She moved Kai slightly, blocking the doctor's view of his face. "Equipment malfunction." "That's not—" The doctor stepped closer. "Ma'am, I need to check the patient. He was showing extremely unusual symptoms." "He's fine now." "The blood samples we took showed—" "You took blood?" Marcus cut in, his bulk filling the entry. His eyes flashed amber—a wolf's warning. "Nobody authorized that." The doctor bristled. "This child is seriously ill. We have protocols—" "Your protocols don't apply here." Lyra stood, still holding Kai. Her shadows stirred along the walls, barely noticeable but definitely there. "We're leaving." "You can't just—" "Watch me." She moved toward the door. The doctor tried to block her way. Marcus growled—actually growled, the sound vibrating through the room. The doctor went pale and stepped away. They walked out. The passageway was chaos. Nurses scrambled to understand what happened. Security was being called. But Lyra didn't stop moving. She carried Kai past all of them, Marcus clearing a way with nothing but his presence. In the lift, Kai stirred against her shoulder. "Mama? Did I do something bad?" "No, baby. You didn't do anything wrong." "The shadows are getting louder. They talk all the time now." Lyra's grip tightened. "What do they say?" "That I should let go. That being human hurts too much. That the dark is easier." His voice was so small, so scared. "Is that true?" She wanted to lie. Wanted to promise everything would be okay. But Kai deserved better than pretty words. "Being human is hard," she allowed. "But it's also beautiful. And you belong in this world, with people who love you. The evil can't have you." "What if I can't fight it anymore?" "Then I'll fight for both of us." The elevator dinged. Ground floor. They stepped out into early morning chaos. Security guards moved toward them. Marcus caught, buying time. Lyra ran for the exit, Kai clutched tight. Her car waited illegally parked outside. She buckled Kai into the back seat, her hands still shaking. Marcus slid into the passenger side. "Where to?" Lyra gripped the steering wheel, looking straight ahead. Every urge screamed to run—take Kai far away, hide him where nobody could find them, protect him from everything. But she couldn't run from this. The curse was inside him, killing him from within. Running wouldn't save him. There was only one choice left. One place that might have information. The place she swore she'd never return to. "We're going home," she said quietly. Marcus's head snapped toward her. "Home? Lyra, no. You can't mean—" "Blackwood territory." "They'll kill you on sight!" "Maybe. But they have something I need." She started the engine. "The Vault of Echoes. Ronan's father sealed it twenty years ago. Inside is the Moonshadow Stone." "That's a myth—" "It's real. And it's the only thing strong enough to stabilize Kai's curse." She pulled into traffic, hands steady now despite everything. "I'm going to steal it." "Ronan won't let you near that room. Hell, he won't let you near pack lands." "Ronan doesn't get a choice." Marcus studied her profile. "You're really doing this. Going back to the man who rejected you. The pack that cast you out." "For Kai?" Lyra's voice was steel wrapped in dark. "I'd walk through fire. And Ronan Blackwood is going to help me whether he wants to or not." In the back seat, Kai had fallen into uncomfortable sleep. Dark veins still showed beneath his skin. His breathing was shallow. They had days at most. Maybe hours. The city blurred past as Lyra drove, her mind already planning. She'd need a cover story. A way to get close without triggering instant violence. The pack would feel her the moment she crossed the border—wolfless or not, she'd been marked as exile. Forbidden to return. But desperate times called for desperate means. Her phone buzzed. She looked at the screen. Unknown number. A text message: HEARD YOU MIGHT BE COMING HOME. I CAN HELP. - S Lyra's blood ran cold. S? Silas Grant—the pack's lawyer, the man who knew everyone's secrets. How did he know she was even thinking this? Another message appeared, new number: DON'T TRUST SILAS. MEET ME AT THE NORTHERN BORDER. MIDNIGHT. COME ALONE. - J J? Who the hell was J? Marcus leaned over, reading the texts. "Someone's watching you." "Someone's always watching." Lyra deleted both texts. "Doesn't change what I have to do." She merged onto the highway going north. Toward the mountains. Toward Blackwood area. Toward the past she'd tried to forget. The miles stretched ahead like a countdown. Each one bringing her closer to the place that destroyed her. Closer to Ronan. Closer to answers—or death. Kai whimpered in his sleep, small hands clutching at nothing. "Hold on, baby," Lyra whispered. "Just hold on a little longer." THREE HOURS LATER They stopped at a rest place just outside Blackwood territory. Lyra needed to think. To plot. To prepare for what came next. Marcus got coffee while Lyra sat in the car with sleeping Kai. She pulled out her laptop and opened an encrypted folder—five years of information she'd gathered on the Blackwood Pack. Guard rounds. Security rules. Territory maps. And pictures of Ronan. Her finger hovered over one image—him in military dress uniform, getting some commendation. He looked older than she remembered. Harder. The childish features she'd once loved were gone, replaced by sharp angles and cold eyes. Did he ever think about her? About the baby he'd rejected without knowing? Did he regret it? Did it matter? Lyra closed the laptop and looked at Kai in the rearview mirror. Black veins pumped beneath his skin, spreading further than this morning. The shadows were winning. Time was running out. She pulled out her phone and made a call. It rang three times before a smooth, cultured voice replied. "Lyra Reed. I was wondering when you'd call." "Silas." She kept her voice neutral. "I need a meeting with the Alpha." "Do you now? And what makes you think he'd meet with an outcast omega?" "Because I have information he needs. About danger to the pack." A pause. She could almost hear Silas calculating, planning. "What kind of threats?" "The kind that require a security review. I'm willing to offer my skills." "Your services." Silas chuckled. "My dear, you're the most wanted fugitive in three regions. Ronan would sooner kill you than hire you." "Then tell him I'm coming anyway. With or without permission." Her voice hardened. "I'll be at the house tomorrow at noon. Under the name Morgan Steele, security expert. He can meet me properly, or I can cause a scene. His choice." "Bold. Stupid, but bold." Another pause. "I'll arrange it. But Lyra? Don't expect kindness. The pack has changed. Ronan has changed. The boy who married you is gone." "Good. I didn't come back for the boy. I came back for what he can give me." She ended the call. Marcus returned with coffee, eyes raised. "You just poked the bear." "I'm going in tomorrow. Posing as a security consultant Silas suggested." She took the coffee, letting the heat warm her cold hands. "It'll get me in the door. Close enough to learn where the vault is." "And when they recognize you?" "They won't. It's been five years. I look different. Move different. AM different." She looked at Kai. "I'm not the broken girl they threw away. I'm the Shadow Wolf. And I'm going to take what I need." Marcus shook his head but smiled grimly. "This is insane." "Probably." "Could get us all killed." "Definitely." "I'm in." Lyra looked at him—this man who'd been her friend, her partner, her support for five years. "You don't have to—" "Kid, I've followed you into worse. At least this time we're stealing from dogs instead of vampires." He clinked his coffee cup against hers. "To insane plans and probably dying." "To saving my son." They drank. In the back seat, Kai's eyes opened—black again, just for a moment. He looked at Lyra through the rearview mirror and smiled. Not his child's smile. Something older. Knowing. "Almost there, Mama," he whispered in that ancient voice. "Almost home." Then his eyes closed and he was just a sleeping five-year-old again. Lyra's hands tightened on the coffee cup until it cracked. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she'd walk back into the place that destroyed her. And this time, she wasn't going without what she came for. Even if she had to burn it all down to get it.