At last, their mother asked softly, “You promise.Soon.You bring her.”
Kamon nodded, pulling Klarissa close.“We promise.”
They signed off with whispered pledges, kisses pressed to the phone screen like old rituals.Rune shut his eyes for a heartbeat, letting the warmth of it soak into the cracks of his chest.He prayed it would not be the last time.No—hevowedit wouldn’t.He would survive this war, for her, for them, for all of it.
When the call ended, Klarissa turned to both brothers, cupping their faces.“We’ll go together.Soon.”
They kissed her, Rune whispering against her lips, “I love you.”
They headed into the Bat Cave, where everyone was already preparing.Weapons were laid out, armor checked, voices low but steady with determination.Klarissa stepped forward, taking control without hesitation.She talked them through the canisters—how to deploy them, what to watch for—then laid out ammunition coated with anti-toxins, explaining how the compounds would counteract Caruso’s formulas.Finally, she passed out small pill bottles.“One before you leave,” she instructed, her voice crisp but calm.“It will slow absorption of any airborne toxins.It won’t make you invincible, but it will buy us minutes instead of seconds.If needed, bring anyone wounded who is not healing to me, and I will deal with them in the makeshift surgery we set up over in the corner.”
She explained the science clearly, breaking down the reactions, the counteragents, the timing.No detail was spared, but she kept it accessible, ensuring every fighter in the room understood what they carried and why, and that each person had the information on their phones.Rune watched her, struck again by the brilliance in her mind, the way she combined sharp intellect with fierce courage.She wasn’t afraid.Not anymore.
Kamon stepped close, murmuring, “We fight as one.”Rune nodded, the words anchoring him.
Then Rafe barreled through the door, breathless, his eyes wide with alarm.“Comms are down over the city!”he shouted.“It’s started.”
Everyone froze.
Kieran stepped forward, jaw like stone.“Where?”
Rafe’s voice cracked with the answer.“A private high school.A few blocks from here.High percentage of shifter children.”
The room fell silent.Horror coiled in Rune’s chest like barbed wire.
Liam cursed under his breath.“We thought it’d be Pride House.We were arrogant.”
“No,” Rune said, his voice flat and cold.“We underestimated him.”
Outside, sirens wailed.The war had come, not to their stronghold, but to their most vulnerable.And they had no choice but to meet it head-on.
****
Violet shoved smallcomm units into their hands to slide into their ears, the sleek design stamped with the mark of her satellite link.“These won’t cut out, won’t jam, and Caruso’s people can’t break them,” she said sharply.“You’ll hear each other, and you’ll hear Klarissa.No excuses.”
Everyone pressed the devices into their ears.A soft chime confirmed the connection, Klarissa’s calm voice flickering over the line.“Check.Can everyone hear me?”
Affirmatives rolled through the group.Kamon added his own, feeling the strange comfort of her voice wrapping around him even through static.She was their anchor now.
Orders fell into place quickly.The Drakes would remain behind to guard the building, its reinforced walls a fallback point if the city burned.A handful of pack members were sent to secure the Pride House—though few still lingered there, it was bait enough to draw some of Caruso’s men away.The main force, lean and lethal, turned toward the school.
Constant chatter filled Kamon’s ear as they advanced.Klarissa relayed updates, Violet issued tactical adjustments, Ivan muttered about angles of approach.Even Liam cracked jokes meant to cut through the tension.But Kamon felt every step like a drumbeat in his chest.The school loomed ahead, and with it, the truth of war.
Inside, the corridors stank of metal and fear.Bodies lay strewn along the halls—teachers in civilian clothes, some shifter, some human.Kamon forced himself not to look too long.They had already given all they could.
Gunfire snapped them to attention.The Pride surged forward, meeting Caruso’s men in brutal silence.Blades flashed, claws tore, bullets spat from rifles.Kamon’s tiger roared in his blood, every strike meant to clear a path for the vulnerable.
A sudden movement—then a woman burst from around a corner, a man on her heels.Her blouse was torn, lip split, bruise blooming across her cheek.She stumbled toward them, eyes wide with shock.Kamon lifted his rifle and shot the man in the head.He dropped before he could catch the woman.All three of the Hol brother’s stiffened, growls vibrating low in their throats, eyes fixed on her like she was prey.Hunger and something darker.
Kieran moved fast, planting himself in their path.His snarl snapped them back to reason, their heads jerking as if waking from a trance.Kamon saw it, understood what it meant, but there was no time to dwell.
The woman gasped, “Most of the kids—they’re safe.Barricaded in rooms, using methods and skills taught during lockdown drills.But the gym class—” She broke off, tears streaking her face.“They were exposed.Vulnerable.”
Kamon’s voice was steel.“Where?”
“Gymnasium, back wing.”She pointed with a shaking hand.
Jacob asked, grim, “These bodies?”
