Chapter 284

[ 1,411 words ]

~Samantha~

I was maybe three seconds away from face-planting into my pillow when my bedroom window opened.

Not creaked open. Not slowly slid. Just opened, like someone had decided locks and basic home security were optional.

My hand was halfway to the knife I kept in my nightstand when Killian climbed through.

“I could have killed you, what the fuck, Killian?!” I was on my feet, knife out, heart hammering.

“It’s me.” He held up his hands. “Don’t stab me.”

“Give me one good reason why not.” I didn’t lower the knife. “Normal people use doors, Killian. And maybe, I don’t know, call first or text?”

“Couldn’t risk it.” He looked awful. Pale. Shadows under his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. His clothes were dirty, torn in places, and when he moved I caught a whiff of something that smelled like rotting meat mixed with sulfur.

Shadow corruption.

“What happened to you?” I put the knife down but didn’t relax.

He leaned against my dresser like standing was taking effort. “I’ve been tracking Olivia’s father. Following leads on the shadow power.”

My brain screeched to a halt. “Olivia’s father is dead. Has been for months.”

“His body’s dead. His network isn’t.” Killian pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his jacket. “He left behind connections. People still working his agenda. And I found something.”

He handed me the paper.

I unfolded it carefully. It was a map. Hand-drawn. Locations marked with X’s all over the territory.

“What am I looking at?”

“Shadow power concentration points.” His voice was rough. “Places where the corruption is strongest. Where it’s been deliberately planted and maintained.”

I studied the map closer. Some of the X’s were near the border. Others deeper in pack territory. One was uncomfortably close to the manor.

“How did you get this?”

“From one of his former contacts. They’re still active, Sam. Still spreading shadow corruption. Still following whatever plan he had in motion before he died.”

“Why didn’t you bring this to Dominic?” I looked up at him. “Why sneak into my room in the middle of the night?”

“Because I don’t know who to trust anymore.” He met my eyes and I saw genuine fear there. “Olivia’s father had spies everywhere. People we thought were loyal. I don’t know how deep his network goes or who’s been compromised.”

“But you trust me.”

“You’re the only one I’m certain isn’t involved.” He straightened up with visible effort. “Your royal blood would’ve rejected any shadow corruption if someone tried to plant it. You’re clean.”

The logic tracked. Didn’t mean I had to like it.

“So what do you want from me?”

“Help.” Simple. Direct. “I need someone to investigate these locations with me. Someone who can sense shadow corruption and purify it. Someone who has a vested interest in stopping whatever Black Moon’s planning.”

I looked at the map again. At all those X’s marking places that could be poisoning our territory right now.

“This could be a trap. You know that, right? You show up here looking half-dead, telling me about secret shadow locations, expecting me to just follow you into potential ambushes.”

“I know how it looks.” He didn’t flinch. “But I also know the blood moon is tomorrow. And if these concentration points are part of Black Moon’s plan, we’re running out of time to stop them.”

Tomorrow. One day left.

I studied Killian’s face, looking for tells. Signs he was lying or hiding something worse.

All I saw was exhaustion and desperation.

“Fine.” I folded the map. “But we do this smart. We check one location. Together. If it’s legitimate, we keep going. If it’s a trap, I’m out and you can explain yourself to Dominic.”

“Fair enough.” Relief crossed his features. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We haven’t survived this stupid mission.” I grabbed my jacket. “Give me five minutes to get dressed properly and tell Dominic where I’m going.”

A howl cut through the night.

Not a normal wolf howl. This one was higher. Panicked.

I was out my door and down the hall before Killian could move, knife still in hand, heading straight for the twins’ room.

I burst through their door and found Devon and Diana sitting up in bed, wide awake. Purple was pacing between them, agitated, his fur standing on end.

“What’s wrong?” I was checking them over, looking for injuries, threats, anything.

“Purple won’t settle down.” Diana’s voice was small. Scared. “He keeps growling at the window.”

I looked at the window. Nothing there. Just darkness and trees.

But Purple was staring at it like something was about to crash through.

“When did this start?”

“A few minutes ago.” Devon had his hand on Purple’s back, trying to calm him. “He was fine and then he just started freaking out.”

Killian appeared in the doorway, breathing hard from running. “What happened?”

“Purple’s sensing something.” I moved to the window, looking out. Still nothing visible.

But the air felt like how it felt near Black Moon’s residence.

“Shadow residue.” Killian was beside me now, his nose wrinkling. “From the old residence. It must’ve clung to us and now Purple’s picking it up.”

That made sense. Purple was sensitive to shadow corruption. We’d learned that when he’d gone crazy during the last shadow attack.

“It’s okay, Purple.” Diana pulled out a small whistle from under her pillow. “We can fix it.”

“Where did you get that?” I stared at the whistle. It was carved from bone, covered in tiny symbols that looked familiar.

“We made it.” Devon pulled out an identical one. “With our purification power. Maggie showed us how to carve the symbols.”

Before I could stop them, both twins brought the whistles to their lips and blew.

No sound came out. At least, none I could hear.

But Purple’s reaction was immediate. His fur smoothed down. His pacing stopped. He sat between the twins and leaned against them, calm.

“See?” Diana smiled. “It works.”

The air in the room felt different too. Cleaner. Like someone had opened a window and let fresh air sweep through.

“You made purification whistles.” I didn’t know whether to be impressed or concerned. “When?”

“This week.” Devon shrugged. “We wanted to help protect the house. So we made these and put them under our pillows. Just in case.”

“Just in case of what, exactly?”

“Bad auras.” Diana said it so casually. “Like what Purple’s sensing now.”

Right. Because that was a normal thing for seven-year-olds to worry about.

“Wait.” I looked at them. “If Purple’s sensing shadow residue from earlier, that means it’s strong enough to travel all the way here from the old residence.”

Which meant those X’s on the map weren’t just markers. They were active threat points making the shadow corruption stronger.

My phone buzzed.

Text from Reynold: The twins just contacted me through the pack link. Said a bad aura is approaching the manor. I’m sending extra guards. What’s going on?

I looked at Devon and Diana. “You called Reynold?”

“Purple was really scared.” Diana’s voice was defensive. “We had to tell someone. You and Dad were busy.”

“We wanted to make sure everyone was safe,” Devon added.

These kids. My brilliant, terrifying, way-too-smart-for-their-age kids.

I texted Reynold back: False alarm. Shadow residue from an earlier investigation. Purple was just being sensitive. Stand down the extra guards.

His response came quick: Are you sure? The twins seemed certain something was wrong.

I’m sure. We’re handling it.

I put my phone away and looked at Killian. “We need to check those locations. Tonight. If the shadow corruption is spreading this far, we’re running out of time.”

“Agreed.” He glanced at the twins. “But maybe we should tell Dominic first?”

“Tell Dad what?” Diana asked.

“Nothing.” I kissed both their foreheads. “You two did good tonight. The whistles, calling Reynold, calming Purple.”

“Are you leaving again?” Devon’s eyes were worried.

“Just for a little while. And Uncle Killian’s coming with me. We’ll be safe.” I hoped that wasn’t a lie.

“Take these.” Diana held out her whistle. “In case you need it.”

“I can’t take your protection whistle.”

“We have two.” Devon showed me his. “We can share. You need it more than we do if you’re going near bad auras.”

I took the whistle, throat tight. “Thank you. Both of you. Now go back to sleep. It’s late.”

“Okay.” They snuggled back under their covers, Purple between them.

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