ANMELDENSimone Velariz stood motionless behind the counter long after the bell had stilled and the last echo of boots on gravel had faded into the night. He lifted the coffee cup with the slow reverence of someone who had learned to savor small, mortal things, because eternity had taught him how quickly even the bitterest tastes could vanish.The steam curled upward like a sigh. He let the heat linger on his tongue, rolling it across the roof of his mouth, drawing out the moment. Memories, he had discovered, tasted better when you gave them time to burn.He was Veilborn. Not wolf, not fae, not human but something older, something that had slipped between the cracks of creation when the world was still deciding what rules it would follow. Centuries ago he had walked out of the veil’s silvered halls, leaving behind the endless politics of beings who measured time in epochs rather than heartbeats. To his own kind he was a rogue, a defector who had chosen dust and diesel over starlight and silenc
The man wiped his hands on the rag one last time and set it aside, then he turned from the counter and walked toward them.The diner seemed to quiet around him, not silence exactly, but a subtle pulling back, like the room itself knew better than to listen too closely. His steps were unhurried. Confident. He stopped at the edge of their booth and looked down at them, eyes lingering on Max just long enough to confirm something for himself.“You’ve got about three minutes,” he said calmly, voice low. “After that, the kid outside gets bored and decides making a point is worth the mess.”Kael’s muscles tensed. “We can handle—”“No,” the man cut in, not unkindly. “You can’t. Not here, not with her.”His gaze sharpened. Kael felt it then, pressure, not dominance like an alpha’s, but weight. Old and precise.“There’s a back exit,” the man went on. “Leads to an alley, then a service road. No eyes, no pack. You’ll be gone before they realize you didn’t leave through the front.”Kael’s relief w
The train hissed to a stop at last, metal screaming softly as it settled into the platform. After endless hours packed into the carriage, Kael guided Max out with a protective hand at her back, his eyes already scanning the unfamiliar station. The town was wrong in the way only new places were, too open, too quiet, and carrying scents he didn’t recognize. Kael didn’t like it but he doesn't resent it either. It would take a few more days to find them now.He led Max straight to the small, fluorescent-lit restroom block at the edge of the station. The door creaked when he pushed it open for her.“Change here,” he murmured, his voice tight as he unzipped the backpack. He handed her a bundle of clothes they’d picked up, clean denim and a thick oversized hoodie. “Everything. New clothes. New scent layer. Leave the old ones in the trash bin inside, deep, under the paper towels. We need to bury the smell of the train and our scents.”Maxine took the bundle, her fingers brushing his. She loo
Ginny’s fury rolled through the empty house like choking smoke. She stopped just inside the doorway, taking in the chaos with widening, disbelieving eyes. They had assumed Max had failed to call, because she was still buried under chores, too slow, and too overwhelmed to keep up.But this? This wasn’t forgetfulness. This was rebellion. The house smelled exactly as it had when they left, the faint sourness of old takeout lingering in the air, dust sitting heavy on untouched surfaces. And beneath it all, thick and metallic, was blood.Ginny flicked on the living room light with a sharp slap. The copper scent intensified. A dark pool still glistened on the floor, not fully dried. The overturned coffee table lay where it had crashed. A smeared handprint streaked the wall fingers dragged downward, proof of Max trying to pull herself up. And the kitchen knife rested near the rug, blade blackened and crusted. Everything frozen in the aftermath. Exactly as they’d left it. For a long, terrible
KAELI wanted to find every person who’d ever mocked her for that stutter and tear their world apart. My wolf, Blade, was pacing behind my ribs, snarling at the memory of her saying her mother called her voice a "nuisance."I kept my ears tuned to the woods. We were safe for the night, but tomorrow, we’d have to put miles between us and everyone we know."I'm curious about something," I said, tearing off a piece of bread as I watched her. "I get why you don't talk now but why do you pretend to be a boy too?"She gripped the pen, and scribbled some words down the held it up:NO ONE LOOKS TWICE. NO ONE… TOUCHES. IT'S SAFE.The implication hit me like a physical blow to the gut. I swallowed the snarl rising in my throat, my pulse thrumming with a protective fury I could barely contain.“From now on, you don’t have to pretend anymore,” I said, my voice dropping to a low, steady rumble. “Not for safety. Not around me.”Her eyes flicked up, wary, exhausted, but searching for the lie
KAEL“I… I h-have… to… go b-back…” she said, her voice, barely a whisper, each word dragged out like it cost her something precious. “G-Ginny w-would… would b-be… mad if… if I d-didn’t.”The name hit me like a fist to the sternum. I couldn’t help it when my voice came out sharper than I meant, almost a shout. “Okay, who the hell is Ginny?”She flinched, but then impossibly, a tiny huff escaped her, something perilously close to a laugh. It was gone in an instant, swallowed by fear, but it lit something warm and fierce in my chest all the same.“M-mother,” she said, eyes dropping to her trembling hands. “Sh-she’s… my m-mom. And… and M-Mary is… my s-sister. I… I h-have to b-be… home… b-before… before they r-return.”The words mother and sister felt obscene in her mouth, like she was naming weapons instead of family.Blade surged forward in my mind, a guttural snarl echoing through my bones. They dare call themselves that?I pulled in a slow, measured breath, forcing the rage back down b







