Chapter 32 · The Rewrite

"There she is." Marcus's voice cuts through the screaming in my head. "The Gray bloodline. The void wolf. Three bonds at once."

I look down.

There's a black claw coming out of my chest.

It doesn't hurt. That's the part that scares me. Something that size, that *wrong*, reaching through my ribs like they're made of smoke—it should be tearing me apart. But all I feel is cold. Cold and hungry and so angry I could burn the world down.

The claw's wrapped around three hearts.

I can feel them beating against my palm even though it's not my hand doing the holding. Cain's is steady, controlled, the rhythm of someone who's been holding it together too long. Rex's is wild, erratic, fighting every second. Aiden's is slow. Fading. Bleeding out from the silver seal he drove into his own chest.

They're all staring at me.

Marcus laughs. Blood's running down his face from where Rex clawed him open, but he's laughing like he just won the lottery. "You broke the lock, little brother, and now she'll never be free."

Aiden's on his knees, one hand pressed to the seal still buried in his chest. He's smiling.