INICIAR SESIÓNAfter their quiet dinner, Liliana looked up at her mother with steady eyes. “Mommy, can I go see the berserkers now?”
Shaina hesitated. Her hands tightened around her teacup. The thought of her small daughter walking near those dangerous, rampaging wolves made her stomach twist with worry. But she remembered, Liliana was no ordinary child. She carried the power of a soothing Luna and something far greater.Shaina finally nodded. “Alright… but I’m coming with you.”Neval and the otLiliana left the south gate at a steady run and dropped into the tree line without looking back.The first bodies appeared only a few dozen meters beyond the southern approach they had used when entering Hardtooth. She caught the thick, rotten scent before she saw them, two shapes half-hidden under low branches, clothes stiff with dried fluids. The faces and much of the flesh were already gone to the disease, only the size of the garments and a small embroidered cuff told her one had been a woman and the other a child. She did not linger. A measured pour of fuel, a struck flare, and the remains became a brief, contained blaze that left nothing but blackened earth and the sharp smell of burned cloth.She moved on.The trail of the fleeing cut through the forest that leaned toward Clawlinger territory, the closest border for anyone desperate enough to run. Liliana followed the scent of advanced rot rather than footprints. Every few hundred meters the fo
The helicopter turned away from the still-smoking basin of Hollow Pit Marsh only after both of them were certain nothing below still moved.Clementine kept the craft low and steady on the flight back. The air that came through the vents carried the distant reek of burned pitch and scorched flesh, but the sour under-note of the living disease was gone. When the sealed gates of Hardtooth came into view again, the square looked smaller than it had that morning, quieter, waiting.They landed in the same open ground. Residents who were strong enough to stand watched from doorways and the edges of the square, faces marked by exhaustion and the first fragile signs of recovery. Liliana and Clementine stepped down together and, without needing to discuss it, moved toward a quieter corner where the wind did not carry every word across the open space.“Recovery comes next,” Liliana said. “Supplies, clean water, medicine, another full batch of Antitoxin, clothes, and enoug
The helicopter leveled out over the northwestern edge of Hardtooth territory, the rotors beating a steady rhythm against the cooler air that rose from the low ground ahead.Below them the Hollow Pit Marsh stretched in a wide, uneven basin of black water, dead reeds, and twisted trees. Even from altitude the place looked wrong, patches of pale, unnatural movement flickered between the trunks, and a faint sour smell of stagnant water and sickness drifted up through the open side door.Clementine kept the craft in a slow sideways drift, watching the wind indicators and the way the tops of the trees leaned. “Wind’s running west to east,” he called over the headset. “If we start on the far side and work back, the fire will carry itself.”Liliana had already moved into the rear compartment. She braced one knee against a secured fuel drum, unscrewed the first cap, and felt the sharp chemical bite of gasoline rise around her. The liquid sloshed heavily as the heli
The sound of rotors reached the square before the helicopter itself came into view, a deep rhythmic thump that grew louder until it pressed against the ears.A private craft dropped out of the pale afternoon sky and settled into the open ground near the center of the territory. The downdraft kicked up a swirling cloud of dust and the engines began to wind down into a lower, throbbing idle.Liliana was already walking toward it when the side door opened. Warm air from the cabin mixed with the cooler outdoor breeze as Clementine stepped out alone, no mask, no sealed suit, nothing but ordinary clothes that still carried the faint scent of the aircraft’s interior.She stopped short and stared at him. “You’re being careless. You didn’t even wear protective gear.”Clementine’s mouth curved slightly. “You’re not wearing any either.”The reply left her without an immediate answer. Before she could find one he closed the remaining distance and pulled her in
On the other end of the line the shouting finally ran out.Clementine’s heavy breathing filled the silence that followed, rough and uneven, as if he had used up every spare breath trying to reach her through sheer volume. Liliana waited until the sound steadied before she spoke.“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “There wasn’t time to explain. In situations like this every hour matters. Of all people, you should understand that better than anyone.”A long pause answered her first. When Clementine’s voice returned it was lower, stripped of the earlier roar and left raw underneath.“It’s exactly because I understand, that I was afraid of your safety.” He drew another breath. “I know what this disease is. I was there the first time. I watched our people work without sleep trying to find a cure. I remember how the Antitoxin was made" Clementine let out a long sigh from the speaker and continued."In this life I helped you set the whole process up again and brought i
The first volley of rifle fire cracked across the square.Liliana dropped low on the car roof and shouted over the noise. “Get down! Take cover now!”Residents scattered toward doorways, overturned carts, and the nearest walls. Bullets sparked off metal and tore chips from stone. Liliana half-shifted in a rush of silver-gold energy, claws lengthening, senses sharpening, strength flooding her limbs, while keeping her full Lycan form locked away. She launched from the vehicle as the second wave of shots came.She hit the ground running. One warrior swung his rifle toward her; she twisted aside, the bullet passing close enough to burn the air by her cheek, then closed the distance and ripped the weapon from his hands. The next man tried to fire at point-blank range. She knocked the barrel upward so the shot went into the sky, drove her clawed hand into his throat, and moved on before his body finished falling.“Hand over the vials!” another warrior shoute
Since Liliana was born, Shaina and Matthias had become very busy with pack duties and business. But they always made sure to set aside time for their family. They ate dinner together most nights. They read stories to Liliana before bed. And on quiet mornings, the three of them would walk in the
The weeks after their bonding turned into months of pure heat. Matthias and Shaina could not keep their hands off each other. Whenever Matthias finished his work early and came home to the mansion, Shaina would never leave their shared bedroom. She waited for him there, already wet and ready.The
For a week, the Redborne mansion buzzed with celebration. Shaina settled into her new life as Luna of the Redborne pack. Servants bowed when she passed. Her days filled with learning the layout of the grand house and planning small projects with the funds Matthias had given her.Matthias stayed bu
"Matthias, I accept the bond between us." Shaina stepped forward, helping the kneeling Redborne Lycan to his feet. Shaina was the sought-after Luna from the Silvershade Pack, home to the most dominant Omega bloodline. "Shaina, you will never regret choosing me," Matthias said, gripping her hands







