I step forward, but Kai’s hand tightens around mine. Standing next to me, his shadow falls over my shoulder as a shield. A guard moves to intercept him, but he stops him with a firm hand to the chest, a warning.
Leaning in, his eyes lock on mine. His voice drops low, meant only for my ears. “Whatever happens in there,” Kai says, a flicker of something dark flashing behind his eyes, “don’t let his words get to you. That’s how he wins.” Beneath the steel in his voice, I hear one of his shattered pieces.
I rest a hand on his forearm, steadying him as much as myself. “Don’t worry,” I whisper. “I won’t let him.”
We stay there for a beat, transfixed in that one moment before he finally lets me go. But I carry the warmth of his touch with me as I walk through the door ready to face whatever waits on the other side.
Some sayGeneral Brackwell and his son look alike. The same strong jaw, the same commanding posture, but they’re wrong. Where Kai carries fire, Brackwell holds ice. I see past the polished uniform, and that smile stretched just wide enough to pass for warmth.
It's a mask.
Crafted with surgical precision. Except for his eyes, they give him away. They might be the same colour, but where Kai shines with a soul, his areempty.The kind of emptiness that doesn’t come from pain, but from feeling nothing at all. It’s a strategic move to blend in with people as one of us. Since only a monster can hurt its own blood and still sleep soundly at night. Only something inhuman could break Kai the way he did and pretend it was for the greater good.
“Miss Rey.”
The name feels wrong in his mouth. Twisted, a mockery dressed in civility. He says it with that quiet smugness, reminding me that I don’t belong here, not in his opinion. The itch to reclaim what is rightfully mine is almost unbearable. The restraint to not blurt out who I really am is honestly greater than I expected, making my teeth grind.
But he sees it, that small flicker of defiance. And the General smiles like he’s already won. The interrogation hasn’t even begun, and I’m already failing Kai’s advice.
“Miss Rey,” he repeats, voice clipped and clinical now. “Please report the events of the attack.”
I stand tall, forcing the tremor out of my limbs as I recount the mission. “The demon's activity began just after midnight.The first wave hit the eastern perimeter. The Bloodhowl Unit engaged immediately, and we held the line, neutralizing the breach within forty-five minutes. Backup arrived halfway through the assault.”
He doesn’t write any of it down, only stares silently.
“There were, unfortunately, a few civilian casualties.” My voice catches slightly, and I hate that it does. But I still see it, every time I blink, the streets gutted open as a butchery. Sabrina’s boutique… gone. The walls collapsed, windows shattered; it wasn’t just a store, it was hers.Her legacy, her laugh, the only thing she had left from her family, that and her contagious optimism. Sabrina made it out with a few scratches but no infections. I checked myself.
“Kai took command. Wyll and I took the high ground. We laid down cover.” Still… nothing. The General simply leans back in his chair. His eyes drag over me as if I were dirt tracked across his spotless hickory floor.
“Well,” He finally says, with a smirk that makes my skin crawl, “you certainly remember your lines well. But then again, street rats always learn how to spin a good story when their survival depends on it.”
I clench my fists, nails digging into my palms.
Say nothing.
The General leans in, smiling now, “and how lucky,” he adds. Voice thick with smug disbelief, “That your little unit just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Whatkeenintuition you must all have.”
“It was Sergeant Blake’s order,” I say evenly. “For the nearest unit to respond to the alarm.”
“Of course it was.” His tone drips with disdain. “Because you would never step out of line, would you? For glory? To get favours?” The General rises, deliberately slow.
“Not everyone acts based on greed.”
He laughs a fake sound as he circles the desk, a vulture stalking a prey that dared to fight back. But there’s something in the way he looks at me now. A bit longer than necessary, his brow twitches.
“You look…” he mutters, more to himself than to me. “There’s something about you.”
The scene is so familiar, a wave of déjà vu washes over me.
“You look… Just like your mother,”Kai’s dad says, an accusation, not a compliment. Normally, I wouldn’t question a comment like that, but it leaves me uneasy. The General stands in the doorway of Dad’s study, his son beside him. But Kai won’t even meet my eyes; his fists are clenched at his sides. He’s soaked, though I don’t remember any rain while I was outside.
“Thanks,” I say, reluctantly.
If I’m rude, Dad will give me a lecture, and one a day is already too many. The General’s piercing gaze holds me in place, and a cold wind crawls down my spine. He’s nothing like his wife, Willow, whom I adore.Sometimes, when everyone has time to play tag, she lets me ride on her back when she’s in her lycan form. We race through the woods, playing until we're breathless with laughter.
The General grunts low and dismissively. Before turning away, he glances down at his son. "Don't disappoint me.”His boots echo down the hall as he walks off.
As soon as he’s gone, I turn to Kai.
