Se connecterBang-bang-BANG. “Thea! Dylan?! Open this door!”Dylan’s eyes opened at the same time mine did. I snuggled in closer. “It's just Niklaus.”Dylan groaned into my shoulder. “Can we pretend we didn’t hear?”Bang-BANG. BANG-BANG. “This is an emergency!”Dylan closed his eyes and muttered, “He sounds fine to me.”I rolled out of bed, pulling on an abandoned pair of pants and one of Dylan’s shirts—long enough to count as a dress—and shuffled to the door.Before I even touched it, Niklaus bellowed, “If you do not open this door right now, I will—”He froze mid-threat. The knocking had barely stopped reverberating when I opened the door. Behind him stood the former ghost-turned-very-real immortal… looking thrilled. Niklaus practically shoved the immortal inside like he was returning a faulty product.“Take him back,” Niklaus snapped.The immortal beamed at me. “Good morning, mommy dearest.”Dylan appeared behind me, shirt half-buttoned, hair a mess, eyes soft and decidedly just-woke-up-next-to
The first thing I felt was Dylan's warmth. His body pressed against mine, solid and slow-breathing, one arm loosely caged around my waist like he’d fallen asleep guarding me even in his dreams. My right leg was thrown carelessly across his hips, hooking him closer in my sleep. My left cheek rested against his chest, and the steady thump-thump underneath my ear might’ve been the most soothing sound I'd ever hear.I didn’t move at first-didn’t breathe too deeply- because I didn’t want to break whatever spell had settled over us during the night. His fingers were curled in the hem of my shirt — not gripping, just holding, as if he’d anchored himself to me on instinct. His pinkie lay on the small of my exposed back like a secret caress.I smiled. It was small and sleepy and entirely involuntary. I shifted just enough to look up at his face.He was already awake. His eyes were open, soft, blue-gold in the morning sunlight, watching me with a tenderness so unguarded it made my chest ache. H
The air was still buzzing with residual fate-magic, death-magic, and the general emotional hangover of watching a magical-immortal 'son' become real and immediately flirt with a centuries-old vampire in a vest.Everyone was still staring at Niklaus and his not-ghost mate as if they’d just watched the world crack open in a soap opera plot twist. Which… was fair.Until Darcy cleared her throat with all the gravitas of someone about to derail the universe. “Okay,” she announced, pushing her scarf back into place with the weary dignity of a woman who had truly seen too much today, “I have a startlingly important question that absolutely cannot wait.”Dylan blinked. “…Seriously?”Darcy threw her hands up. “I need to know! I have color-coded charts. I have a planner. I have trauma! I deserve answers. Can we finally be done with the damn rituals? I'm soooo over this week.”Silence. Even the newly-real immortal paused in his shameless ogling of Niklaus, which amounted to temporarily leaning a
The Gate was still open. The ghost-man hovered in front of it, translucent and flickering like a candle caught between two winds—one pulling forward, one backward.Dylan slammed against the barrier protecting my friends for the tenth time.“Let me out!”The ghost glanced at him. "You can’t stop with what’s coming. You’ll only ruin my dramatic entrance, and, of course, mommy dearest's rightfully deserved revenge arc.”Tonya pinched the bridge of her nose. “He really is Thea’s offspring.”Darcy nodded. “I’ve never been more afraid in my life.”Niklaus still couldn’t breathe. He stood frozen, silver eyes wide as the ghost’s gaze lingered on him like gravity itself was holding him in place, but the moment shattered.Because the forest suddenly screamed a high, keening wail that rippled through the branches, leaves, and roots—like the Grove itself had sensed something wrong inside its borders. It had. More than thirty High Council witches tried to storm into the clearing behind the willow.
For a moment, everything was still. The floor hummed beneath my feet. The dead whispered like they’d gathered around me in a circle made of shadow and memory.Tonya was practically perched on Dakota’s back, fingers white-knuckled around his wrist. They weren’t touching romantically—just holding on to each other like the world might slip away if they didn’t. Darcy stood nearby, eyes shifting between me and the trembling trees. Her scarf which was draped dramatically over one shoulder, was starting to fall. Niklaus leaned against a tree, expression tight, breathing slower than usual, like the spell he took was still burning through his ribs. His eyes kept flicking toward me—calculating, tense.Dylan stood closest. His hands were gripping my waist, and his eyes were glowing wolf-blue.He was breathing like he was trying not to lose himself completely to panic. He and Dakota shared a look—an old, silent, battle-worn understanding. Pack. Family. Fear.Something in me cracked. No—Not cracke
The envoy’s warning was still hanging in the air when the Grove went silent. Utterly silent. Not a peaceful quiet, though. It was a predatory quiet. Dylan’s arms tightened around me, claws brushing my hips as he shifted into a full protective posture. His beast was awake — fully awake — snarling just beneath his skin.Niklaus straightened from the hit he took, cloak torn, chest still scorched, and eyes glowing a bright, cold silver. When he turned his head toward the path, his fangs descended.Tonya closed her hex book slowly with her finger still marking a page. “They’re here.”Dakota nodded, jaw clenched, shoulders squared like an Alpha awaiting war. “All of them.”Darcy swallowed hard. “Then we’re not enough.”I whispered, “The Grove is.”It was. The trees shuddered. Branches bowed. Roots dug deeper. The entire forest shifted — subtly at first, then with more force, then with terrifying purpose. A pulse throbbed beneath my feet, like a giant heart. The Grove wasn’t just alive. It w







