MasukEvelyne's POV “Welcome home, my daughter.” The voice came from beneath the staircase. It was soft. Gentle. And painfully familiar. For a moment, I forgot the people standing around me. I forgot the machine, the warnings flashing across the walls, and the woman who had spent centuries stealing what never belonged to her. I heard only that voice. My mother's voice. I hadn't heard it since I was a little girl. I remembered her hands brushing my hair before bedtime. I remembered the scent of lavender on her dresses and the silver pendant she always wore. I remembered asking her why the old family portraits had been locked away. She had smiled and told me that some stories were too old to be useful. I had believed her. Now, standing inside the original covenant chamber, I understood how much she had hidden. “Mama?” I whispered. Dominic moved closer. “Evelyne?” I couldn't answer. The staircase glowed brighter. At its bottom, a figure appeared. A woman stood in the darkne
Serena’s POV “Your mother should have stayed dead.” For one terrible second, I couldn't breathe. Seraphine stood directly in front of me, close enough that I could see the darkness moving beneath her skin. Her eyes were no longer merely black. They looked like two empty holes cut into the world, swallowing every trace of light around them. My wolf, Rose, snarled inside my head. She's not human. I knew that. I had known it the moment she stepped out of the chamber beneath the machine. But there was something worse than her unnatural appearance. She knew my mother. And she hated her. “Where is she?” I demanded. Seraphine tilted her head. “Still asking questions. Just like Mara.” “Where is my mother?” A faint smile touched her lips. “Your mother is a woman who should have understood when her story was over.” My hands curled into fists. Golden light flickered beneath my skin. “Don't speak about her.” “Or what?” Seraphine whispered. “Will you destroy me, little Counter
Serena’s POV I was beginning to understand something. The covenant wasn't simply a machine. It was responding to everyone in the chamber. It recognized our bloodlines. It recognized our choices. And somehow, it was listening. I looked at Seraphine. "Why are you taking my power?" She turned toward me. "Because you carry the Counter-Pattern." "That's not an answer." "It is the only answer you need." "No." I forced myself to stand straighter, even though Dominic was supporting most of my weight. "My mother spent her life trying to create a cure. She believed it could save people. She never wanted to turn it into a weapon." Seraphine's eyes narrowed. "Mara Hart was a clever woman." "You knew her?" "I knew her work." "Did you know my father?" Her gaze shifted toward the opening. "Better than you might imagine." I swallowed. "Then tell me where he is." Seraphine looked at the machine. "He is exactly where he chose to be." I stared at her.
Serena’s POV THE FIRST KEEPER HAS RETURNED. The words glowed across the enormous screen. For several seconds, nobody moved. Mira stood at the entrance, her face drained of colour. Amelia was beside her, staring at the circular structure with silver eyes. Evelyne still had both hands pressed against the outer ring, struggling to keep the silver barrier from collapsing. And Dominic... Dominic was holding me as if he believed the entire world might disappear if he loosened his grip. I looked toward the opening beneath the machine. Something was there. I couldn't see its face, but I could feel its presence. It wasn't like Varek. Varek had carried a coldness that made my wolf recoil. This presence felt different. Older. It felt like standing in front of an ancient forest that had existed long before the first pack was born. "Who is the First Keeper?" Amelia asked. Nobody answered. She looked at Mira. "Why is everyone looking so frightened?" Mira slowly app
Serena’s POV"My little girl."I had heard those words before.Not in person. Not from a man standing in front of me.I had heard them through an old recording, distorted by years of silence and broken equipment. I had listened to that voice in the darkness of the ruined laboratory, holding a photograph of two people I barely remembered.My parents.For months, I had imagined what it would feel like to hear my father's voice again.I had imagined running toward him. I had imagined asking why he had left. I had imagined crying in his arms and finally feeling that some part of my life had returned to me.But I had never imagined hearing him from beneath a machine that was draining the life out of my body."Papa?"My voice barely came out.The darkness beneath the circular structure shifted."Serena, listen to me."I struggled to lift my head."Where are you?""Don't come closer."My eyes filled with tears."Papa, is that really you?"A pause.Then the voice softened."Yes, sweetheart. I
Dominic’s POV I looked at Mira's photograph. She appeared younger, perhaps twenty-five, standing beside the same circular structure. A date was written beneath it. Thirty years earlier. I turned toward Alaric. "What happened?" He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he walked to a console and pressed a button. The screen changed. A second photograph appeared. Mira was lying on a metal table. Her wrists were restrained. Blood covered the floor beneath her. Evelyne gasped. "No." Alaric's voice was quiet. "The first activation failed. The First Blood survived, but the covenant was damaged. The Alliance learned that the three bloodlines could be forced together, but they could not control the result." I stared at him. "Why was Mira restrained?" "Because the Alliance wanted to repeat the experiment." "And you helped them?" "I helped them until I understood what they intended to do." I stepped closer. "How many people died?" Alaric looked awa







