The night had settled over the Blackwood territory like a heavy cloak—too quiet, too still, as if the land itself was bracing for an impact. The moon cast a cold silver wash over the forest, illuminating broken roots and scattered dirt from the tremors Kieran Voss had caused during his last strike.
Lucien Blackwood stood at the center of the training grounds, shirt discarded, sweat running down the hard lines of his torso. His fists were wrapped, knuckles split from hours of relentless training. Every punch he threw cracked the reinforced practice pillar, splinters running through the wood.
Sera watched him from the shadow of the trees, arms folded tightly across her chest. Her wolf stirred uneasily beneath her skin—restless, agitated, sensing the storm brewing inside him.
He knew she was there.
He always did.
Lucien struck the pillar one last time, leaving a deep dent before turning. His obsidian eyes locked onto her instantly, intense and unreadable.
"You should be resting," Sera murmured, stepping into the moonlight.
Lucien wiped his jaw with the back of his hand. "I can't rest. Not after what he did."
The memory of Kieran unleashing that unstable hybrid blast still haunted them both. The crater he left behind. The fractures in the ground. The rippling red-black aura burning through the atmosphere.
Sera approached him carefully. Lucien in this state—raw, furious, wounded—was the most unpredictable.
"Kieran almost killed you," she whispered. "And he almost took the seventh fragment."
Lucien exhaled slowly, jaw tightening. "He's getting stronger. And he's losing control at the same time. That combination is…" He shook his head. "We haven't seen the worst yet."
Sera brushed her fingers across the back of his hand. "You're not facing him alone."
He flinched—not from her touch, but from the emotions beneath it.
"Sera…" Lucien's voice dropped to something achingly vulnerable. "Every time he comes after you, something inside me snaps. I can't—" He broke off, frustration twisting through his features. "I can't lose you. Not again."
Her throat tightened.
"Lucien—"
A loud cough broke the moment.
Evelyn Hart stepped out from behind a tree, holding a lantern and giving them both a pointed look.
"Well," she said dryly, "I see we're having another intense, brooding stare-off. Should I come back? Or should I pretend I'm blind?"
Sera groaned softly. "Evie…"
Lucien only dragged a hand through his hair, muttering something about "terrible timing."
Evelyn ignored both, marching forward. "We have a situation. And by situation, I mean your pack is currently in panic mode."
Lucien's alpha energy flared immediately. "What happened?"
Evelyn shook the lantern, the glass chiming. "One of your scouts—Darren—returned from the Northern border. He said the barrier stones flickered. Like something was pushing through."
Lucien's eyes sharpened. "Kieran?"
"Possibly," Evelyn said. "Or one of his hybrid creations."
Sera felt her wolf bristle. "Show us."
---
The Disturbed Border
The three of them hurried through the woods, the trees whispering as if warning them. A faint metallic scent lingered in the air—hybrid energy, thin but recognizable.
Darren waited near the boundary stone circle, pacing nervously. The young pack member straightened the moment Lucien arrived.
"Alpha," he said breathlessly. "It—it happened about an hour ago. The stones glowed red, like something hit them from the other side."
Lucien crouched beside a stone, pressing his palm to its surface. Golden ripples of alpha energy spread outward, illuminating faint cracks.
Sera knelt beside him. "These weren't here before."
"They're new," Darren confirmed. "And the air… it felt wrong. Heavy."
Lucien's brows furrowed. "He's testing our defenses."
Evelyn crossed her arms. "Or he's losing control so badly the hybrid energy is leaking everywhere."
Sera touched the crack on the stone with the tip of her finger. A soft pulse of energy responded—weak, unstable, echoing Kieran's proto-Core corruption.
Her breath hitched. "Lucien… this isn't an attack."
"What do you feel?"
Sera closed her eyes, focusing. Her wolf stirred, ears pricked, tail stiff.
"It feels like—fear."
Lucien stiffened. "Kieran's fear?"
"No," Sera murmured. "Something else. Something created. Something hurting."
Darren swallowed. "So… one of the hybrids escaped him?"
Lucien rose. "Or he released it."
The tension that followed was thick enough to choke on.
Then—
A low growl rumbled from the trees.
Sera snapped her head up. "Something's here."
Lucien stepped in front of her instinctively.
Evelyn muttered, "Oh great, here we go again."
Branches rustled violently.
A shadow darted between the trees.
Darren stumbled back. "Alpha—!"
Lucien lunged forward, shifting halfway, claws extending, fangs sharp.
Sera called her golden energy into her palms.
The creature burst into the clearing—
—but collapsed instantly.
Sera rushed forward, skidding to her knees beside it.
"Oh my God…"
It was a hybrid wolf—but not like the others. This one was smaller, trembling violently, bones shifting under corrupted flesh. Its breathing was ragged, and red-black energy crackled weakly around its body.
Lucien crouched beside her. "It's unstable."
Evelyn's face softened. "It's scared."
The hybrid's glowing eyes flicked up to Sera. They weren't vicious. They weren't feral.
They were pleading.
"Sera…" Lucien warned. "Be careful."
She reached out anyway.
Her golden aura spread gently across the creature's muzzle.
"It's dying," she whispered. "The proto-Core energy is tearing it apart."
The creature whimpered, pressing weakly into her hand.
Sera's chest tightened painfully. This was what Kieran was doing. This was the byproduct of his desperation, his ambition, his unraveling mind.
"It didn't come to attack us," she murmured. "It came for help."
Lucien clenched his jaw. "Sera, don't—"
But it was too late.
A surge of corrupted hybrid energy shot into her palm.
Sera gasped, body seizing.
Lucien grabbed her instantly. "SERA!"
Evelyn screamed, "Take it away from her!"
But Sera held on, golden aura intensifying, pushing back the corruption—not absorbing it, but neutralizing it.
The creature's trembling slowed.
Its breathing steadied.
And slowly… painfully… it lifted its head to nuzzle her hand in gratitude.
Then it went still.
Not dead.
Sleeping.
Healing.
Lucien stared at her as if she'd just stepped off a cliff.
"Sera… what did you do?"
She exhaled shakily. "I did what my wolf told me to do."
Evelyn let out a low whistle. "You just purified Kieran's hybrid construct. That's… new."
Darren whispered, "Alpha… she might be the only one who can stop his proto-Core corruption."
Lucien's expression turned fierce and torn all at once.
"Sera," he said quietly, "this changes everything."
---
A Dangerous Revelation
They carried the creature back to Blackwood Manor, placing it in the secure healing chamber. Sera watched through the glass as Evelyn monitored its vitals and Darren stood guard.
Lucien stood behind Sera, close enough for his warmth to brush her back.
"You connected to that creature," he murmured. "Not by force. Instinctively."
Sera nodded. "My powers… they're evolving."
"Because of the fragments?"
"Because of me," she corrected softly. "Because something inside me is waking up."
Lucien turned her gently to face him. "This makes you a target."
"Kieran was already after me."
"No," Lucien growled. "Now he has a reason to fear you."
Her throat tightened. "Lucien… I don't want you to fear me."
He cupped her jaw, thumb brushing her cheek. "I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid for you."
The sincerity in his voice nearly shattered her.
But before she could speak—
A deafening boom shook the manor.
Lights flickered.
Evelyn burst out of the chamber. "Lucien! Sera! Something's happening!"
The hybrid creature inside the glass chamber convulsed violently—
—and its eyes glowed bright crimson.
Lucien stepped in front of Sera instantly, claws extending.
Evelyn gasped. "It's reacting to something!"
Darren ran into the hall, breathless. "Alpha—we spotted another crimson vortex forming in the east sky! It's Kieran!"
Sera's pulse thundered.
Lucien growled low, primal, protective.
"Kieran Voss is coming," he said.
"And this time," Sera whispered, her golden aura rising like fire,
"He's not here to test us."
"He's here to claim."