The face forcing its way through the corridor door was Nessa’s.But the smile was not.It spread too slowly across her mouth, too wide, too pleased, as if something else had learned how to wear her skin and was enjoying the fit. Aira’s body went cold with the certainty of it. Kael’s power surged so violently the hallway lights flickered, then dimmed to a trembling red.“Back,” he ordered, and the single word hit the pack like a crack of thunder.Marcus dragged Mira behind him. Rowan grabbed her other side, his usual sarcasm gone completely now. Theron shifted forward instead of back, blade lifted, eyes locked on the widening crack in the corridor door.The shape in the doorway pushed harder.Smoke spilled out around it in thick black ribbons, coiling along the floor like living things.Aira’s seal flared hot beneath her skin. The baby kicked once, hard and sharp, and through the bond she felt not fear but resistance, as if even the child recoiled from what was trying to enter their ho
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