The room went still.
Lunara's amulet began to glow.
At first it was faint—just a soft pulse under her coat.
Then the light sharpened, silver-blue, spilling between her fingers as she clutched it.
A whisper slipped into the air, layered and urgent, like voices calling through water.
Help us. Now.
Everyone froze.
Lunara's ears twitched.
Her breath hitched.
"That's… that's my family," she said, voice shaking.
Her tail lashed behind her, wagging hard and uncontrolled, all aggression and panic tangled together.
"They need me. I—I have to go back. I have to."
Cassian flinched like he'd been struck.
"Oh—Kash," he swore, rushing to the computer. "No, no, no—someone hacked us."
His fingers flew across the keys, trying firewalls, overrides, anything. "I'm blocking it—I'm blocking—"
The screen flickered.
Cassian went pale. "Too late."
The lights dimmed.
The monitor blinked once—and a recorded video began to play.
A man filled the screen.
Mira's father.
Hair combed neatly back, suit perfectly pressed, posture calm and poised.
He stood in a sleek lab, cold white lights reflecting off rows of advanced scientific equipment behind him.
He smiled—not wide, not warm. Calculated.
"Good evening," he said, his words smooth, precise, every word carefully placed. "You've caused me quite a bit of inconvenience."
Lunara stepped back, eyes wide.
"I am looking for the Fifteenth Wolf," he continued. "If you fail to find her…"
His smile sharpened. "You will be in very serious trouble."
The screen shifted.
Images flashed—wolves bound in energy restraints, familiar faces bruised, weak, barely moving.
"They are alive," he said calmly. "For now. But time is… running out."
Eliot's breath caught.
He shrank in on himself, fingers trembling as he pushed his glasses up, eyes glassy and fragile like the world had suddenly become too heavy.
Theo's face crumpled.
He looked away, lips pressed tight, sadness cutting deep and quiet.
"This isn't fair," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.
Leon stepped forward.
Something changed in the room.
He didn't shout.
He didn't move fast.
He just stood—solid, unyielding, placing himself instinctively between Lunara and the screen. A force. A shield.
Rex said nothing.
For once, there was no joke.
No smile.
Just clenched fists and a hard stare, jaw tight as stone.
Cassian swallowed, eyes locked on the screen.
The man gave one last smirk. "You know what to do."
The video cut to black.
Silence crashed down on the room.
Lunara's amulet dimmed, the whisper fading—but the fear stayed.
She hugged herself, shaking.
"They're really in danger," she said helplessly. "All because of me."
Leon turned, voice low and absolute. "No. Because of him."
Theo looked up. Rex nodded once.
Eliot swallowed, fear still written all over him—but beneath it, something else was forming.
Resolve.
Outside, the night pressed closer to the windows.
And whatever game had just begun—
—they were already in it.
The silence after the video was heavy, crushing.
Eliot broke it.
"Mira will help us."
Everyone turned.
"I'm going to her," he said, voice shaking but determined. "No one will stop me."
Cassian exhaled slowly, already exhausted, lifting the computer onto his lap.
"I'll… I'll figure out how to bring my system back. Undo whatever he did." His fingers moved, but his eyes flicked to Eliot—worried.
Lunara sat on the edge of the bed, hands pressed to her chest, breathing uneven, tail twitching weakly.
She didn't look up.
"No."
Theo's voice cracked through the room.
Eliot turned. "Theo—"
"Eliot," he said, voice soft but urgent. "Mira is bad. You know she is. She lied to you. She led us straight into this."
Eliot shook his head immediately.
"No. She didn't." His hands were clenched, knuckles white. "She warned me. I just didn't understand it in time."
Theo's voice cracked. "You're defending her."
"I'm defending the truth," Eliot snapped, then flinched at his own tone. "She's not the monster you all think she is."
"That's exactly what makes her dangerous," Theo said, eyes shining. "She makes you believe she isn't."
Eliot turned away from him, breathing fast. "You don't get it."
Leon spoke then, low and controlled. "We do get it."
Eliot looked up.
Leon was standing a little too close now—not threatening, not gentle either.
Just there. Solid.
Blocking the path without meaning to.
"She already hurt you," Leon said. "And you're still running toward her."
Eliot laughed once, sharp and broken. "Funny. You stopped the bodyguards. You stood in front of all of us. But now you're scared?"
Leon's jaw tightened. "I'm not scared."
"Yes, you are," Eliot shot back. "You're scared I'll go without you."
For a second, Leon said nothing.
His eyes searched Eliot's face like he was trying to read something written too small, too fast.
"This isn't bravery," Leon said quietly. "It's you sacrificing yourself again."
Eliot stepped closer instead of backing down. "And this isn't protection. It's control."
That hit.
Theo inhaled sharply.
"Please," he said, voice breaking. "We can figure this out together. Don't do this alone."
Rex hovered near Lunara, rubbing her back as she sat on the bed, hands pressed to her chest, eyes unfocused.
He didn't joke. He didn't interrupt.
Leon reached out suddenly and grabbed Eliot's sleeve—not hard, but firm enough to stop him.
"Don't go," Leon said. Just that. No speech. No orders.
Eliot looked down at the hand on his arm.
Then up at Leon's face—steady, conflicted, almost pleading beneath the calm.
Slowly, Eliot pulled free.
"If you won't help me," he said, voice quiet now, almost tired, "then you're really not my friends."
Theo made a sound like his heart had cracked.
Leon didn't move.
Eliot exhaled once, long and shaky, then turned and walked out.
The door closed behind him.
No one followed.
And the space Eliot left behind felt louder than any scream.
--
Eliot walked home alone.
By the time he pushed the front door open, his nose was red, eyes swollen and burning.
His glasses sat crooked on his face, one arm bent slightly out of place.
His uniform—usually neat, pressed, perfect—was wrinkled, like he'd folded in on himself somewhere and cried until it stopped meaning anything.
"Eliot?"
Maris looked up immediately.
She didn't wait for an answer.
One look at his face and she was already pulling him inside, guiding him to the couch.
She handed him a glass of water and crouched in front of him, eyes sharp but gentle.
"What happened?"
Eliot's hands shook as he held the glass.
"Are you… are you reading the news?" he asked suddenly.
Maris blinked. ''Yes. The greatest—richest—scientist is looking for the Fifteenth Wolf."
Her mouth tightened. "People are saying bodies have been found. I don't understand why the government allows someone like that to exist."
Eliot nodded faintly.
Then Maris tilted her head.
"Hey." Her voice softened but firmed at the same time. "You just changed the topic."
She reached up and gently straightened his glasses. "Tell me what happened."
That did it.
Eliot wiped at his eyes with his sleeve, breath hitching.
"I… I fought with my friends," he said quietly. "I think they don't like me anymore."
Maris listened without interrupting.
"I panicked," he went on, words spilling now. "I didn't know what to say or what to do, and I said things wrong. I didn't mean them, but they came out anyway."
His voice cracked. "I just wanted to fix everything."
Maris nodded slowly, understanding settling in her expression.
Then she smiled—small, warm, steady.
"That happens," she said gently. "Especially when you care."
Eliot looked at her, unsure.
"If you really like them," Maris continued, brushing his hair back like she used to when he was younger, "then you need to apologize. Not because you're weak—but because you're honest."
Her eyes softened. "And because I don't like seeing you like this."
She pulled him into a hug.
Eliot leaned into it, shoulders shaking just once before he finally let go.
For the first time that night, his breathing slowed.
And somewhere deep down, beneath the fear and guilt, he knew she was right.