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Ivy's still in the vent when her phone buzzes.
She doesn't move. Doesn't breathe. Below her, Rena's already gone, the basement door swinging shut with a soft click that sounds too final. The phone buzzes again. Third time. Whoever it is, they're not going away.
She pulls it out. Unknown number. She swipes.
"Ivy Gray." The voice is cold, clipped. She knows it before he even finishes her name. Uncle Marcus. Head of the eastern hunters since her father died. "We know where you are."
Her stomach drops.
"I don't know what you're—"
"Moonclaim Bio. Fourth-floor lab. You've been there three days." He doesn't wait for her to deny it. "Your cousin saw you on the waterfront last week. Ran your photo through the network. Took us a while to confirm, but here we are."
She presses her forehead against the cool metal of the vent shaft. Her fake ID was supposed to be bulletproof. Six months of running, and they found her in three days.
"I'm not coming back," she says.
Marcus laughs. It's not a happy sound. "You don't have a choice. Your father's seat is still empty. The council wants you home."
"My father's dead because of the council."
"Your father's dead because he tried to protect a wolf." Marcus's voice goes sharp. "Same mistake you're making right now. We're coming for you tonight. Be outside at eleven or we come in."
The line goes dead.
Ivy stares at the phone. Her hands are shaking. She should move. Should get out of this vent, grab her stuff, disappear before eleven. But her legs won't work. All she can think about is the last thing her father said to her, two days before he died. He'd shoved a thumb drive into her hand in the garage, his face pale and wrong.
"Don't open it unless something happens to me."
Something happened.
She's kept the drive in her pocket for ten years. Never had the guts to plug it in. Didn't want to know what he thought was worth dying over.
She pulls it out now. The plastic is warm from her body heat. There's a laptop in the lab. Leon's usually gone by nine. She has time.
Maybe.
She climbs out of the vent in the women's bathroom, drops to the tile, and listens. The building is quiet. Just the hum of the HVAC and the distant buzz of the security lights. She heads back to the lab, pulls the laptop from the drawer, and plugs in the drive before she can change her mind.
One file. Audio recording. Dated the day before he died.
She clicks play.
Her father's voice fills the tiny lab. Rough. Tired. He sounds older than she remembers.
"Ivy. If you're hearing this, I'm already gone. And if Marcus is the one who told you, don't trust him." A pause. Paper rustling. "The massacre ten years ago. The wolves. Everyone thinks I led it. I didn't. I tried to stop it. The council wanted a war. I said no. They framed me, killed the wolves anyway, and when I found proof, they came for me too."
Ivy's chest goes tight. She knew. She knew he didn't do it. Everyone said he went rogue, that he slaughtered the wolf king's family for sport, but she knew.
"The man who actually led it is still out there. Still in power. And Ivy—" His voice cracks. "He's working with someone inside the wolves now. Someone high up. They're building something. I don't know what. But the hunter who killed the wolf king? He's protected. And the wolf who helped him? Same deal."
The recording cuts off.
Ivy sits there. The laptop screen goes dark.
Someone inside the wolves.
She thinks about Rena. About that text. The basement map going somewhere.
The lab door slams open.
Silver's standing there. Her father's old partner. He's got the same hunter's mark on his neck, the same dead eyes. And he's got a knife.
"Eleven's too long," he says. "Marcus said bring you now."
Ivy's on her feet. The desk is between them. Not much of a barrier. Silver's fast. Always was.
"I'm not going."
"Not your call." He steps forward. The knife is short, serrated. Hunters don't carry guns. Too loud. Too easy to trace. "You can walk or I can drag you. Either way, you're coming home."
She grabs the laptop. It's heavy. Solid. She throws it at his head.
He dodges, comes in low, and she's already moving. Out the door. Down the hall. She can hear him behind her, boots hitting the tile in a steady rhythm. He's not even running. Doesn't need to. He knows she's got nowhere to go.
She hits the stairwell, takes the steps three at a time, and bursts out onto the third-floor hallway.
Leon's standing there.
He's still in his suit. Shirt sleeves rolled up. He looks at her, then past her at Silver coming through the stairwell door.
"Friend of yours?" Leon asks.
Ivy doesn't answer. Silver stops. Looks at Leon. Smiles.
"The wolf king's kid." Silver flips the knife once. Catches it. "Heard you were running some kind of science project here. Trying to cut the beast out of yourself. That true?"
Leon doesn't move. "Leave."
"Can't. Need the girl."
"She stays."
Silver laughs. "You don't even know what she is. Look at her neck, wolf. Really look."
Leon's eyes flick to Ivy. To the birthmark just above her collarbone. She sees the moment he puts it together. The moment he realizes Silver's a hunter too.
"She's one of us," Silver says. "And you're one of them. So step aside or I put you down."
Leon moves.
It's fast. Faster than Ivy's ever seen a human move. But Silver's faster. The knife comes up, catches Leon across the shoulder, and blood hits the wall in a thin red spray. Leon doesn't stop. He slams Silver into the doorframe, and the knife clatters to the floor.
Silver's still smiling. "You're stronger when you let it out. Why don't you shift? Show her what you really are."
Leon's breathing hard. His eyes are gold. Not brown. Gold. The wolf is right there, pushing at his skin. Ivy can see it. Can smell it. The serum's wearing off.
"Your call, Ivy." Silver's voice is calm. Too calm. "Run with me or don't. But if you stay with him, you're a traitor. Just like your father."
Her father.
Who tried to stop the massacre. Who was framed. Who died because he found proof.
She looks at Leon. At the blood on his shoulder. At the gold bleeding into his eyes.
She thinks about Rena. About the text. About her father's last words on that recording.
*The killer is inside Moonclaim.*
Silver holds out his hand. "Come on. Let's go home."
Ivy steps forward.
And grabs Leon's hand instead.
Silver's face goes flat. "Bad choice."
Leon pulls her behind him. His shoulders are tight. The wound is already closing. Too fast. Way too fast for the serum to still be working.
"Get out," Leon says.
Silver picks up his knife. "Marcus is going to hear about this. And when he does, he's coming for both of you." He backs toward the stairwell. "You just signed her death warrant, wolf."
The door slams.
Ivy's still holding Leon's hand. She can feel his pulse. It's too fast. The bond hums between them, warm and insistent and wrong.
"Why'd you do that?" Leon asks. He's not looking at her.
Ivy swallows. Her mouth is dry. "My father left a recording. He said the man who killed your family is still out there. Still protected."
Leon turns. His eyes are still gold. "What else did he say?"
Ivy meets his gaze. Her voice is steady. Barely. "He said the killer is inside Moonclaim."