Chapter 18 · Bloodhounds at the Border

The howl cut through the night like a blade through skin.

Lyra's head snapped up. That wasn't a wolf. The pitch was wrong, twisted, like someone had recorded a hunting cry and played it backward through broken glass. Kade was already on his feet, shoulder still bandaged from where he'd taken the shadow creature's claws for her two hours ago.

"Border alarm." His voice was flat. "Southeast perimeter."

She grabbed her medical pack. Her hands were steady but her pulse hammered against her ribs. The Council had her blood. Two days they'd had it. Maybe they'd already run it. Maybe this was—

"Move." Kade was at the door. His wolf was riding just under his skin, eyes flickering amber in the dim light. "Stay behind me."

"Your shoulder—"

"Lyra."

She moved.

The border clearing was chaos. Wolves circled in formation, growls rumbling through the pack link she couldn't hear. Silas stood at the center, sword drawn, shouting orders she couldn't parse over the sound of her own heartbeat.

Then she smelled them.

Blood and rot and something chemical, something that made her vampire side recoil and sharpen at the same time. Her vision sharpened. The night got brighter. No.