I blink, thrown by the question. “What?”
“The void creatures,” she says, stepping fully into the room but not closer. “Your familiars. Which one led you to this house?”
My stomach drops. She knows about them. Of course she does.
I glance at Rhett, confused, and he answers before I can. “The fox.” His voice is steady, protective. “He showed us the way.”
Claire’s mouth curves into a faint smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “He’s always been the leader of the two.”
“Three,” Theo corrects quietly from beneath me, his voice rumbling through his chest where I’m pressed against him.
Gray’s wolf form moves forward, ears pricking, a low questioning sound rumbling in his chest.
Her smile falters. “Three?”
“There’s a raven too,” I say, my voice coming out rougher than I intended.
Something shifts in Claire’s expression—haunted, almost afraid. Her hand grips the doorframe like she needs the support.
“I never saw the raven,” she murmurs, more to herself than to us. “Only the fox and the snake.”
The words hang in the air, heavy with meaning I don’t understand yet.
Claire’s eyes find mine again, and I see her struggling with something—maybe the same thing I am. How to bridge years of absence with a single conversation. How to explain the inexplicable.
She glances around at everyone watching her with varying degrees of suspicion and hostility. Thane’s silver eyes track her every movement like prey. Stellan’s expression is carefully blank but his posture screams danger. Even Wes, usually so gentle, has gone completely still. Gray’s wolf form is coiled tight, ready to spring.
“Bree,” Claire says carefully, “maybe we should talk somewhere private.”
The word “no” is out of my mouth before she finishes the sentence.
Everyone goes quiet.
Theo’s arms tighten slightly around my waist—steadying me and I’m grateful for it.
“No,” I repeat, quieter but no less firm. I look around at the guys, drawing strength from their presence. “There’s nothing between us, right?”
I’m asking them, but I’m telling her.
Rhett nods first, jaw tight. Wes’s is softer but just as certain. Theo’s agreement comes as a gentle squeeze around my waist. Jace’s smirkis more reassurance than humor. Thane doesn’t move, but his silver eyes flash with approval. Gray’s wolf form presses closer, a solid warm presence against Theo’s leg where I’m sitting.
Seth just watches, steady and present.
Claire’s expression flickers between guilt and something that might be acceptance. She exhales slowly, like she’s been holding that breath for years, and moves to sit in the chair farthest from me. Not defensive—defeated.
“All right,” she says quietly, folding her hands in her lap. They’re shaking. “I’ll tell you everything.”
The room holds its breath.
“I met him a few months before I left,” Claire says, and her voice cracks on the first word. “Ethos.”
The name detonates like a bomb.
Thane goes completely rigid, his entire body coiling with barely restrained violence. Auren swears under his breath, sharp and vicious. Stellan’s mask finally cracks, fury bleeding through. Gray’s wolf form snarls, lips pulling back from teeth.
Theo’s arms tighten protectively around me, and I feel his chest rise with a sharp breath.
My stomach twists so hard I think I might be sick.
