LOGINDominic’s POV — The Psychic SurgeThe moment it hit me, I thought the earth itself had cracked open beneath my feet.One heartbeat, the world was intact. Manageable. Contained within the walls of the safehouse we’d fortified. My wolves tracked the perimeter, Liza paced like a live wire sparking with panic, and I stood with my hands braced against the map spread across the table, calculating a hundred failed entry points into that godsdamn prison.And then—Samantha’s scream tore through the psychic bond.Not a normal scream.Not even pain.This one was raw power.Terrifying.Unfiltered.Ancient.It slammed into my skull so hard the room staggered sideways. My fingers dug into the wood of the table as the ground vibrated beneath me—no, not the ground. Me. My body convulsed, every muscle locking, fighting not to drop to my knees under the force of it.“Dominic?” Liza’s voice broke beside me, thin and shaking. “Did you feel—”But she didn’t have to finish.Because suddenly
Samantha’s POVThe door slammed behind me with a sound that was too final, too deliberate, reverberating through my chest as if the metal itself had exhaled a sigh meant for me alone. The lock clicked into place with a long, grinding scrape, a sound that lingered in the stale air like the echo of a predator savoring its conquest. Prey doesn’t get exits. Prey doesn’t get mercy. The weight of it settled over my shoulders, tight, suffocating. Every nerve in my body screamed warning, but I forced myself to breathe, shallow and careful, counting the seconds until I could assess the space.Elder Lee was already there. Always there. Standing at the center of the cell, hands clasped behind his back, posture perfect, a picture of control. His smile—razor-sharp and cold—cut across his face like a blade meant to wound without touching skin. Every inch of him radiated a calm that should have been reassuring, if only it weren’t the calm of a storm waiting to strike.“Don’t look so startled,” he
Samantha’s POV“Liza!! LIIZZAAA!!”My scream tore through the dream‑cave like a blade scraping bone. The air tasted of cold stone and old nightmares. My voice echoed back at me—thin, broken, alone.I tried again, my throat raw, panic shredding me from the inside out.“Liza—please! I need you!”For a heartbeat, nothing.Then the shadows shifted—like a held breath finally released.“Samantha! I’m here! Are you hurt? We’ve been trying to reach you.”Her voice hit me like oxygen after drowning—pure, desperate relief. But the next thing she said stole the breath right back out of my lungs.“Sam… they’ve been giving you witch hazel in your tea. If you keep drinking it… your witch will die. Permanently.”My pulse slammed against my ribs.“How do you know that?”“Xena came to me. She showed me your witch—trapped. Caged.”Her voice wavered, tight and trembling, as if she were trying not to shatter.“Sam, Mom thinks the Council ran blood tests on all of you. They took you for a reason. They’re
## **Liza — POV**Waking hit me like a punch to the ribs.The moment my eyes opened, the truth slammed into me: *The Dragon’s Council has my sister.*The fury inside me didn’t simply spark—it detonated.Heat surged through my gut like molten metal, rising, clawing its way up my throat. My fingers trembled. My vision blurred. The room around me dimmed until all I saw was red and the shape of Dominic beside me.Something ancient and violent stirred inside my chest.I tried to breathe, but the air tasted like lightning.Then—I opened my mouth to scream.A blast of blue fire roared out of me, a flame so bright it carved through my mother’s wall like it was paper. The silver candelabra sitting in the next room didn’t just melt it collapsed into a puddle of glowing metal.Dominic whistled low.“Well… that’s new,” he said, laughter tinged with awe and something else—something darker.I clamped a hand over my mouth.“Mom, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I’ve never..”Words tangle
**Liza — POV**We *had* to figure out what those monsters did to Sam’s witch. Nothing about it made sense—witches aren’t supposed to be containable, not like that, not in the suffocating way Sam described. The longer I sat there waiting for Dominic to wake up, the heavier the dread pressed on my chest. Every minute we wasted was another minute she spent trapped in whatever nightmare cage they’d locked her in.Dream‑walking was the only way we could reach each other now—thanks to Samantha’s frantic guidance—but gods, forcing a werewolf into sleep? That was a battle all on its own. My potion knocked me out easily. Dominic, though? Stubborn as all hell. It took forever.So when he finally stirred awake, I didn’t even try to hide my impatience.“About time, old man,” I muttered, though the sting in my voice softened. “Come on. We need to go to my mother. Now. If we’re going to free Sam’s witch, we move fast.”He didn’t rise right away. His voice cracked, raw, already bracing for pain
Flashback Continued: (Six-year-old Samantha)No. No, no, no—please no.The thought slammed into me again and again, each repetition sharper than the last, like teeth grinding straight into my skull. It wasn’t just fear; it was something deeper, heavier, something that wrapped itself around my ribs and squeezed until breathing felt optional. My heart beat too fast, frantic and useless, and my stomach twisted so hard I thought I might collapse right there on the cold stone floor.He can’t mean that. He can’t be serious. He wouldn’t… he wouldn’t do it again.“Prepare the common room for a mandatory meeting,” the Master said, his voice calm, practiced, deadly in its certainty. “Bring the caretaker to the stage.”“Yes… sir.”The response echoed, hollow and obedient, as if spoken by ghosts. The sound barely reached me. Everything felt far away, like I was trapped underwater, screaming while the world moved on without hearing me.Panic surged, fast and black, swallowing every rational







