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"Because the important part is what happens next."

"That's a very firefighter answer."

I glance at her.

"Emergency responder."

She almost smiles.

"Still annoying."

"Still accurate."

The moment disappears when the thermal monitor chirps. Both of us turn. The screen shows the backyard. Empty. Temperature normal. Then the image distorts. Not static. Distortion.

Like heat rising from pavement. Except there is no heat.

I move immediately.

"Carys, inside."

Her expression hardens.

"No."

"That wasn't a suggestion."

"And I wasn't asking permission."

For a second, we simply stare at each other. There are years between us. Years of things unsaid. Years of anger. Years of wondering. Apparently none of that has changed the fact that we are still exactly the same.

She challenges. I protect. Neither of us knows how to stop. Then the motion sensor near the tree activates. A sharp alarm cuts through the yard. Carys steps back, smartly choosing to shut the door and throw the deadbolt.

I move before thinking. Across the porch. Down the steps. Toward the tree line.

The distortion grows. The air bends. Something is there. Not fully. Not physically. But present.

My wolf surges forward. I let it. Not completely. Just enough. My senses sharpen. Sound expands. The world slows.

I can smell the damp earth. The fallen leaves. The rain trapped in the wooden fence. And something else. Wrong. Ancient. Watching.

The distortion moves. Toward the house. Toward Carys.

No. Absolutely not.

I step forward. The thing reacts. The air around it ripples violently. Like it doesn't understand resistance.

Good. It understands now. I push. Not with my hands. With force. With presence. With the part of me I usually keep buried. The distortion recoils. The trees shake. A wave of cold moves across the yard.

The entity pulls back. Not defeated. Surprised.

I hear the porch door open.

"Carys!"

She steps outside. Of course she does. She never listens.

The moment she appears, the entity shifts. Changes direction. My blood runs cold. It wasn't attacking the house. It was testing the distance. Testing what would make me react.