Chapter 3: The News

I was standing in the torn-open living room of my parents’ house, blood dripping from my bloodied hands, as unconscious wolves lay all around me. David had left — he'd bolted the moment I'd willed the ancient sigils into being, dragging a wounded Sophie with him. The look of astonishment on his face had been nearly worth all the other things.

“Well,” my father said, adjusting his tie as he took in the destruction, “I guess that answers the question of whether your powers have awakened.”

"James." Mom’s warning tone was sharper than I had ever heard it. She stepped carefully through the wreckage to touch my shoulder. "Sweetheart, you're shaking."

I was. The energy that had coursed through me was now gone, replaced with fatigue. My legs gave way, and before I could hit the ground, I was caught by solid arms.

"I've got you."

The voice tingled in my veins — unlike the raw power I’d just wielded. This was warmer, familiar in a way that made my heart stutter. I gazed upwards into eyes I had not seen in seven years.

"Maxwell?"

He smiled, and suddenly I was back to being twelve years old, watching my best friend crawl through my window after yet another midnight escapade. But the boy I remembered had become something else entirely — something stronger, something dangerous, with eyes so deep they held secrets I was only just learning to comprehend.

“Your timing’s always impeccable, Hayes.” My father’s dry voice broke in on the moment. “Even though you could have aided in the fight.”

“And deny Lena the opportunity to throw her husband out another window?” There was an edge to Maxwell’s smile now. “The Council needed to witness her prowess. They were watching."

"The Council?" I attempted to step back, but my legs wouldn't cooperate. Maxwell’s arm around my waist tightened.

“The real Council,” he said. "Not David’s puppet organization. “We’ve been waiting, guarding you from afar until the time was right.

"Ready for what?"

“Maybe we should have this conversation inside,” Mom interrupted, pointing to the brewing storm. “Before the neighbors see the knocked-out werewolves on our lawn.”

Maxwell guided me to the kitchen while my parents handled the “cleanup.” I didn’t have it in me to ask what that logged data meant. He positioned me in a chair but didn’t step away, his presence strangely reassuring as the adrenaline wore off.

“The news is already airing the story,” he said softly, gesturing to the kitchen television. “They are controlling the narrative.”

Sure enough, there was David’s face, pristine and composed as always: “—and in breaking news, tycoon of industry David Blackwood has announced his impending mating ceremony to Sophie Collins, calling it a ‘union of two ancient bloodlines.’ The ceremony that’s normally only permitted for true mates in the werewolf community— “

The TV exploded.

“Sorry,” I mumbled as glass tinkled the floor. “Trying to work on this control thing.”

"Don't apologize." Maxwell's voice held a growl. “He should be happy that’s all you ruined.”

"How long have you known?" I turned to face him. "About what I am? What David is?"

"Since we were kids." His eyes locked with mine, steady, unwavering. “I was ordered to guard you when your grandmother passed away. To see, and wait, for your powers to arise.”

"Assigned by whom?"

"By me." Dad came back, with Mom right behind him. They both appeared grimmer than ever. “Maxwell is from a line of Guardians that predate even us. "When we needed to contain your power, his family helped provide you a shield.

"Shield me from what?"

“From those who would use you.” Maxwell’s hand reached for mine under the table. That same jolt of electric warmth shot through me at his touch. “The Blackwoods aren’t the only ones who have hunted the Weber line. There are darker things out there, ancient powers that have an interest in what flows in your veins.”

“Now they’ll be wanting what’s in my womb.” One hand pressed against my stomach. "A child of both bloodlines."

"Yes." His grip on my fingers tightened. “But they’re going to have to go through me first.”

There was something in the tone of his voice that made me look up sharply. There was possession in his eyes, protection, and something else — something that made that strange energy beneath my skin purr in recognition.

"Max." My voice shook. "What aren't you telling me?"

His answer was lost as every light in the house went dark. The wind howled against the windows, and in the darkness I could hear the wolves howling — dozens of them, their voices raising in an ancient song.

“The mating ceremony,” my father spat. "They're starting it early. They're using it to assemble their forces.”

"There's more." Mom’s voice was strained with fear. "Look."

We could see on the hills around the city fires being lit by the window. Seven fires, in a perfect circle miles wide.

“The seven seals,” Maxwell breathed. “They’re trying to break them. The power of the ceremony to —“

He trailed off as I bent at the waist, pain tearing through my abdomen. The baby. Something was wrong.

"Lena!" At least two voices shouted for the knife, but only Maxwell’s touch soothed, his palm pressing to my belly as threads of gilded light streamed from his fingertips.

“The child knows the ritual,” he said dourly. “It’s responding to the power they’re raising. We're out of time."

"Out of time for what?"

He looked back at me and for the first time, I knew what I had been seeing in them. What that electrical current between us actually meant. Why my magic stilled at his caress.

“To finalize our own mating bond,” he said quietly. “The one you formed the day we met, before they bound up your power and made you forget. The truth about why David picked you—to steal a Guardian’s true mate and use our fractured bond to power his ritual.”

The truth shocked me as though a physical blow. Someone else — memories washed over me: Maxwell and me as teenagers, how we’d been drawn to each other, how pained I was when he’d suddenly disappeared. The way David had appear right after that, coming for me specifically.

"You're my—"

"Yes." His forehead touching mine as the power swelled between us, primal and ancient. “And now we face a choice to make. We have made the bond, and - the strength of the bond - we can not let them go..."

"Or?"

"Or we watch the world burn." His thumb brushed my cheek. “‘But no matter what you decide, I am not going this time.' I’ve been watching you from afar for the last seven years. Never again."

More wolves howled. The flames on the mountains got taller. And in the darkness of my parents’ kitchen, as it felt like Maxwell’s heartbeat was matching up with mine, I felt the baby kick — strong and confident, embracing his presence in a way it never had with David.

I made my choice.

“Show me,” I breathed against his lips.

“Just my mind,fill me with all the things I forgot.

His kiss was a bolt of lightning and the world shattered into gold.