L

    The moment my eyelids shut, the kitchen around me faded away, and I found myself standing with Nymeris.

    Since her death, I could no longermunicate as effectively as I did when she was here, so each time she had important information to pass to me, I went to her instead.

    And since I cannot shift because of the babies, too, this was a better solution.

    Nymeris''s world was filled with swirling mists and the soft glow of moonlight that seemed toe from everywhere and nowhere at once.

    "What''s wrong?" I asked her as she stood before me

    ''Danger ising L,'' Nymeris said. ''Multiple supernatural signatures are moving with coordinated purpose. They''re not random attackers, this is a nned assault.''

    "How many?" I asked, hoping my racing heart won''t jump out of my chest.

    ''At least seven, possibly more. The same corrupted scent we detected at the crime scene, but stronger now. More focused.''

    "The same creatures that killed those people?"

    ''Yes. And they''re specifically targeting this location. This isn''t a coincidence, L. Someone told them exactly where to find us.''

    If these creatures were the same ones responsible for the killings, and if they were now targeting our temporary safe house, it meant someone had betrayed our location.

    Someone who knew exactly where we were staying.

    "How long do we have?" I asked.

    ''A few minutes at most, though the attack on this house won''t happen right away. They would try to attack humans at a social gathering and put more fear in the hearts of the people to cause confusion in the hearts of the human and make them put their trust in these individuals rather than in their government."

    "Can you identify what they are at least?"

    Nymeris''s form flickered with agitation. "That''s what disturbs me most. The supernatural signature is Lycan, along with other random supernatural creatures, but it hasbeen twisted somehow. Like someone took werewolf essence and perverted it with something else, something that shouldn''t exist in our realm."

    "Something from the Dark One''s magic?"

    "Possibly, but this feels different. Older. More primal. Whatever created these things has been nning this for a very long time."

    "What do we do?"

    "Alert the others immediately. Kyren and the Hollow Kin members are powerful enough to handle these creatures, but they need to know what''sing. The element of surprise is the only advantage these attackers have; take that away, and they be manageable."

    "Will they be able to protect anyone from dying?" I asked.

    "They''ll be at more advantage if they try to evacuate the people before these attacks begin. These creatures want to be visible to humans for the first time. Before now, they were operating in the dark. Now they know you''re here. These creatures were specifically created to breach supernatural defences. The wards will slow them down, not stop them."

    I felt my consciousness returning slowly "Nymeris, is there anything else I need to know?"

    "Be very careful who you trust, L."

    I opened my eyes, returning to where Ramsey, Kyren, and Elias were still standing in the kitchen. They all had concerned expressions as they stared at me.

    "Hey, are you alright?" Ramsey asked me, and he was already by my side.

    "There''s going to be an attack soon," I said breathlessly. "Seven or more creatures with the same corrupted supernatural signature from the crime scene. They''ll be at a social gathering with lots of humans."

    "Your wolf told you this?" he asked.

    I nodded. "She says they know that we live here but will not attack for now."

    Kyren turned to Elias immediately. "Emergency protocol seven. Contact the other council members immediately and have them establish a protective perimeter around the property. After that, send out a scout team immediately. Three squads. One to the edge of the human border. The second to any social gathering being held now and the third to Delia."

    "Delia?" Elias blinked. "The siren. I thought we''re not minding her for now."

    "We need to. L has a hunch that she''s behind this, and we cannot afford to leave any stone unturned. Ask our Shadow Beacons to position themselves to assist in situations where everything bes overwhelming."

    "What about the local human authorities?" Elias asked, already moving, "Shouldn''t we contact them?"

    Elias nodded and headed toward the door, but Kyren called him back.

    "One more thing, activate the enhanced detection arrays around the property. I want to know immediately if any additional threats approach, and I want real-time tracking on anything that moves within a half-mile radius."

    "Understood," Elias said, and disappeared from the kitchen.

    "Thank you so much, L… this information is what we need now to prove to the humans that we''re not behind this attack," Kyren said. "I''ll be off now to monitor things for myself, but I''ll be within the house. Best get rested, we might need you, maybe…"

    He didn''t even wait for me to reply before he walked out of the kitchen.

    "C''mon, baby, let''s get you to the bedroom," Ramsey said quietly.

    He led me quickly through the house and back to our bedroom, closing the door behind us and activating what I assumed were additional protective measures.

    "I want you to rest," he said firmly, guiding me toward the bed. "Let Kyren and the others handle this threat. You''ve done your part by giving us the warning."

    "I wish I could help fight—"

    "You''re pregnant with twins," he interrupted. "Your job right now is to stay safe and protect our children. Let us handle the creatures."

    The exhaustion frommuning with Nymeris was already getting to me, and it didn''t help that my pregnant body was demanding rest.

    "Fine," I said, settling onto the bed. "But if things go badly, youe get me immediately. Don''t try to be heroic if you need backup."

    "I promise," Ramsey said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Just rest. This will all be over soon."

    As soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.

    But instead of the peaceful rest I''d hoped for, I found myself drawn into a dream that felt more like a memory.

    I was back at the warehouse where Xander had taken me when I was 19, when he wanted me to bind myself to him via the blood oath, but this time I wasn''t experiencing it directly. Instead, my spirit seemed to be following myself and Xander as we entered the building, like watching a movie of my own past.

    I observed as dream-L looked around at the multitude of people gathered in the warehouse''s main area, dozens of humans, all drawn by Xander''s promises of power and transformation.

    "Who are these people?" Dream-L asked Xander, though I couldn''t remember this scene, but it felt familiar.

    "Humans who want to be us," L," Xander replied with a cold smile. "They''ll do anything for power, even when they don''t understand what they''re truly asking for. These people believe I''m offering them supernatural abilities, but what I''m really giving them is servitude."

    I watched as my past self followed Xander through the crowd toward the back of the warehouse, where the ritual space had been prepared. But as we approached the area where the standing stones waited under the Gemini moon, I noticed something that hadn''t been there during my experience.

    This time, instead of Xander and me being alone at the ritual site, the standing stones were surrounded by three figures in dark hooded robes. They stood in a perfect triangle around thergest stone tform, their facespletely hidden in shadow.

    Last time, Ferals and Trinax had been hiding in the bushes, waiting for us. Suddenly, the scene shifted, and Xander was no longer there.

    Instead, dream-L was lying on the tform of thergest standing stone, but now the three hooded figures loomed over her like priests preparing a sacrifice.

    This wasn''t how it happened. I was sure of it.

    There were no hooded figures when Xander brought me here. Moreover, I felt connected to the whole scene, as if I were being ced on the stone, yet not me at the same time. One of the hooded figures looked up, and I could feel its eyes on me.

    I wanted to speak, to ask it some questions. How was it able to see me? The others didn''t seem to have noticed my presence.

    One of the figures spoke with a distorted voice.

    "We''ll take back what is ours," the figure said, raising its arms toward the Gemini moon above. "The bloodline must be restored. Now open up and let us take what truly belongs to us."

    The hooded figure used a knife and shed its wrist, spraying Dream-L''s body with blood. She began to writhe. Although she wasn''t screaming or saying anything, I could tell she was in pain.

    The hooded figure suddenly lunged toward dream-L with speed, its hands reaching for her throat. She opened her mouth to scream, and I felt myself screaming along with her as the terror of the moment overwhelmed my sleeping mind.