เข้าสู่ระบบThe van stopped at a small hotel. The driver turned around, and Kai saw her clearly for the first time. Young, pretty, with golden eyes like a fox."You're not human," Derek said, reaching for his knife."How rude." She smiled. When she did, Kai saw her shadow on the wall. It had nine tails. "I'm Yuki. I'm a kitsune. A fox spirit. And I'm your help in Tokyo.""Jess didn't say her friend was a fox," Jeremy said."Jess knows better than to tell wolf secrets to wolves who might not understand." Yuki got out of the van. "Come. Let me show you how different Tokyo is."They followed her into the hotel. The owner was an old man. But in the mirror behind him, Kai saw he was really a giant turtle."What is this place?" Tamara asked."Tokyo," Yuki said simply. "Where spirits and humans live together. No hiding. No fear. Just life.""That's impossible," Derek said."Is it?" Yuki pointed out the window. A man walked his dog, but the dog had two heads. Nobody stared. A woman floated above the gro
The war room was a mess of maps and papers. Japan. Iceland. Brazil. Red pins marked places they'd been. Blue pins marked possible seal locations. Black pins marked bad guy activity."Fourth seal is in Tokyo, Japan," Jess said, looking up from her laptop. Dark circles ringed her eyes. She hadn't slept all night. "Fifth is Iceland. Sixth is in the Amazon. The seventh... I don't know yet.""How sure are you?" Kai asked."Very sure. The magic patterns match. Tokyo is next."Derek studied the reports. "Smith knows too. His messages talk about Tokyo. He's already sending people there.""When?" Tamara asked."Could be there already. Could be on his way. We don't know."Lilith spoke up from her corner. She'd been reading the old books. "If he gets a seal first..."Everyone turned to her."He can use it," she continued. "Break the barrier faster. If he ruins even one seal with his bad magic, the Moon King could cross over right away."The room went quiet. They couldn't let Smith get any seal.
The sun was just coming up when they attacked.Kai heard the howl first. It wasn't from one of his wolves. The sound was wrong, full of hate. He jumped out of bed and ran to the window. Forty Purists in hybrid form were charging across the field toward the pack house."Attack!" Kai roared. "Everyone up! We're under attack!"The pack house exploded into action. Sixty wolves poured out of rooms and hallways. Some were still in human form, others shifting as they ran. Derek was already at the front door, shouting orders."Defensive positions! Groups of three! Don't let them reach the house!"The two forces crashed together in the front yard. It was nothing like their practice fights or the DSC fights. This was real wolf against wolf war.Magic crackled through the air. A young wolf named Tommy screamed as silver light burned through his chest. He fell and didn't get up. Rosa, the pack's mother figure who had raised half these wolves, threw herself at Tommy's killer. Her claws found his
The next evening brought a rare quiet moment to the pack house. No alarms. No attacks. Just the sound of normal life."Please pass the potatoes," Jeremy said at dinner.Sofia handed him the bowl, their fingers brushing. She blushed. Jeremy pretended not to notice.The dining room was full. Kai sat at the head of the table. Tamara sat beside him. Derek sat across from them. Rosa, Marcus, Sofia, Jeremy, and Jess filled the other seats. Even some of the patrol wolves had joined them."So," Jess asked nervously, "is it always this intense? The whole supernatural world thing?""Pretty much," Jeremy said. "But you get used to it.""The key is finding normal moments," Rosa added, passing bread around. "Like this. Family dinner. Even when the world's ending, you need to eat."Jess smiled slightly. Her first real smile since arriving. "My mom used to say something like that. 'Even in crisis, people need soup.'""Smart woman," Rosa said gently.After dinner, people scattered. Marcus returned to
The morning after Jess arrived, Kai locked himself in his office with a phone."We need to unite against common threats," he said for the third time that morning.The voice on the other end belonged to Alpha Catherine of the Vermont Pack. Unlike the others, she listened."The DSC has weapons that can stop all magic," Kai explained. "This affects every pack. Every supernatural being.""I heard about your trouble with them," Catherine said. "And about the girl you're protecting. That took courage.""Will you stand with us?"There was a pause. Then: "Yes. The Vermont Pack stands with the Northern Pack. My fighters are yours if you need them."One ally. Kai felt a small weight lift.The next call went differently."Stay out of our territory," Alpha Rodrigo of Texas growled. "Your war isn't ours. You brought this on yourself by exposing our kind.""The DSC won't stop with us," Kai tried."Then we'll deal with them our way. Without you."The line went dead.Kai rubbed his temples. Then dial
"Turn left NOW!" Jeremy's voice crackled through Derek's earpiece.Derek grabbed Tamara's arm and pulled her into an alley. Two seconds later, a black SUV rolled past where they'd been standing."Good catch, kid," Derek whispered. "But after this block, we're going dark. Too risky to keep comms open near the museum.""But how will you—""We'll manage. Just get us through these cameras."Jeremy guided them three more blocks. Then Derek pulled out his earpiece."From here, we're on our own," he told Tamara. They were truly alone now. No pack backup. No help coming. Just them in a city crawling with DSC agents.Every street had cameras. Every corner had danger. DSC agents moved in coordinated patterns. Like a net closing.Then they saw her.Jess was running down Fifth Avenue. Her coat was torn. Blood on her face. Three DSC agents chased her on foot. More in vehicles."There!" Tamara pointed.Jess ducked into the museum. The agents followed."The roof," Derek said. He'd been a Hunter onc







