جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 390

Chapter 381LUMINAI didn't know why. Didn't know how. Didn't know if it was coincidental or if someone—something—had deliberately sent me back.Supernaturals existed. Werewolves, nightwalkers, werewitches, fae. Magic was real. Time manipulation wasn't outside the realm of possibility.But who would do it? And why?Was there a price to pay?That question kept me awake some nights. The nagging fear that this second chance wasn't free. That somewhere, somehow, I'd accumulated a debt that would eventually come due.Had I already paid it? Was all the chaos and danger and near-death experiences the cost of getting to keep my family?Or was there something else? Some future payment hanging over my head like a sword waiting to drop?I'd never told anyone about this.Not Xenois. Not even after everything with Sophia had been resolved, after Riley's parentage was revealed, after the truth came out about the manipulation and lies.I'd had opportunities. Moments when the conversation naturally l

Chapter 383JEROMEI stared at the map spread across my makeshift war table, my hands clenched so tightly my knuckles had gone white. Red markers indicated territories that had withdrawn support from Xenois's coalition. Blue markers showed those still allied with the progressive movement. And black markers—far too many black markers—represented my own forces, scattered and demoralized after the Blackwood rescue disaster.We were losing.Not just the battle for regional control, but the narrative itself. And in supernatural politics, narrative was everything."They're calling us cowards," Marcus—one of my remaining loyal nightwalkers—said from across the room. His voice carried bitter frustration. "Saying we couldn't even hold two elderly prisoners. That we were humiliated by grandparents who made jokes while escaping.""I'm aware," I said tightly.I was very aware. The story of Silvia and Samuel Blackwood's escape had spread through the supernatural community like wildfire. Not the ve

Chapter 385SHAWNI stood outside the massive school complex, staring up at the building that seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction, and seriously considered just portaling back home.Except I couldn't portal. That was Lake's ability. I could only disintegrate things, which wasn't exactly useful for escaping uncomfortable social situations."You're going to be fine," Ollie said beside me, somehow managing to sound confident despite being five years old and facing his own first day back at school after everything that had happened."You don't know that," I muttered."I do know that," Ollie insisted. "Because Grandma said anyone who's mean to you will answer to her, and everyone's terrified of Grandma."That was probably true. The adoption ceremony three days ago had been very public, very official, and very much witnessed by everyone in the pack. Silvia and Samuel had made it clear that I was now officially their son, that I carried the Blackwood name, and that anyone who had

Chapter 387 SHAWN"We're interested in you," she corrected. "There's a difference."The hallways were starting to clear as students moved toward their first classes. I looked at my destroyed locker, then at these four teenagers who'd apparently been hiding their supernatural nature while operating in plain sight."So what now?" I asked."Now you come to lunch with us," Izzy said. "We sit in the science building courtyard—it's quieter than the main cafeteria and we can actually talk without being overheard. You can meet the rest of our group.""There are more of you?""Eight total," Alex said. "Various supernatural beings living quietly in the territory. We call ourselves the Underground—very dramatic, we know, but we were fourteen when we picked the name and it seemed cool at the time.""I don't want to intrude—" I started."You're not intruding," Chase interrupted. "You're a werewitch who's just been publicly adopted by the most prominent family in the territory. You're also clearly

Chapter 389SHAWN"Carefully," Nathan said. "My parents run a human martial arts studio. We live in human neighborhoods, interact primarily with humans. I attend this school under scholarship provisions for talented human students. Nobody questions it because I present as completely normal.""Same with my family," Daniela added. "My mom is a witch but we never advertise it. She runs an apothecary that humans think sells herbal remedies and essential oils. They don't know she's actually brewing potions and mixing magical ingredients.""My situation is more complicated," Luna said. "My vampire grandfather is actually somewhat prominent in nightwalker communities. But he pretends I don't exist to protect me from vampire politics. In exchange, my family lives quietly and doesn't draw attention to our bloodline.""We all have variations on the same theme," Chase summarized. "Supernatural beings living in pack territory without official recognition. It's safer than leaving, but it requires