CHAPTER 51

The rain continued to pound the courtyard.Caius stood in the center of Reed Manor's grounds looking as though he'd just sentenced himself to death.Across from him, Grayson looked ready to tear the entire world apart."You buried Noah."The words came out dangerously soft.Caius nodded once."Yes."Savannah shook her head immediately."No."Her voice cracked."No, that's impossible."She stepped forward."You've never been here.""I know.""You never met Noah.""I know.""Then how could you possibly have buried my son?"Caius looked devastated."Because I was there."Silence.Nobody breathed.Dominic stepped in front of Savannah instinctively."Start talking."Caius looked toward Grayson."I'd rather explain this inside.""No."Grayson's silver eyes burned."You explain it now."Thunder rolled across the valley.Caius

CHAPTER 52

Grayson stood frozen at the head of the war table, staring at the childish handwriting scrawled across the parchment.“Daddy come.”Two words.That was all.Two tiny words written in uneven letters. Yet they carried enough force to bring an Alpha to his knees. Savannah felt the blood drain from her face."No."Another louder scream. "No."Her voice cracked the second time.She crossed the room so quickly that her chair toppled behind her. Grayson didn't react when she took the parchment from his hands. But his entire body had gone rigid.Savannah stared.The handwriting.The crooked way the Y slanted too far left.The oversized D.The tiny moon was sketched beside the words. Her knees nearly gave out."Oh God."Vanessa caught her before she hit the floor. Savannah's fingers trembled violently."I taught him that."Silence swallowed the roo

CHAPTER 53

The wooden wolf sat in the center of the war room long after everyone else had left.Small. Worn smooth by tiny hands. A toy carved from cedar. A toy Savannah had buried with her son.And carved into its stomach were words that refused to leave anyone's mind.“HE CALLS ANOTHER MAN FATHER.”The message had done exactly what it was intended to do. It had shattered them completely. Grayson stood alone in the dark war room staring at the toy. He hadn't moved in nearly an hour.He couldn't.Because all he could think about was a little boy he had never known. A little boy who had grown up without him. A little boy who might still be alive. And according to whoever sent the message… That little boy had called someone else father.The door opened quietly. Grayson didn't turn."You should rest."Dominic.Grayson recognized the voice immediately."Not tired."Dominic walked farther

CHAPTER 54

The camp had been erected quickly along the northern edge of the Ashen Pass. Fires burned low. Sentinels stood watch in rotating shifts. Horses remained restless, snorting nervously whenever the wind shifted.The valley itself felt wrong. Savannah couldn't explain it any better than that.Wrong. The mist never fully lifted. The silence never felt natural.And every few minutes, someone would swear they had seen movement among the ancient stone markers. Nobody laughed anymore. Not after the children.Savannah sat beside the fire wrapped in a heavy cloak, staring into the flames. Grayson sat across from her. Neither spoke. They hadn't spoken much since entering the Pass.The place demanded silence.Or perhaps fear did.A log shifted in the fire.Crack.Savannah jumped.Grayson noticed immediately."You should try sleeping."She shook her head."I won't.""You're exhausted.""So are you."

CHAPTER 55

The twelve hooded figures remained kneeling in the mist, skeletal hands pressed against the ancient earth.The howl still echoed through the valley. And Grayson stood at the center of it all. Mason recovered first."Defensive positions!"Weapons came up instantly.Nothing happened.The Mourning Guard neither moved nor acknowledged the wolves surrounding them. Their attention remained fixed entirely on Grayson. Savannah stepped closer to him."Grayson."He didn't answer. Something inside him felt strange. Not dangerous, somehow familiar.Like hearing a voice he should recognize but couldn't quite remember. The lead guardian spoke again."Blood of Ardyn."Its voice sounded like stone grinding against stone."You have returned."Mason stepped forward."Who are you?"The hood turned toward him."We are the Mourning Guard.""We have waited."Lucas looked terrified."The stories said you died.""We did."No emotion.No hesitation."We continue still."Damon muttered, "I officially hate this

CHAPTER 56

"NOAH!"Grayson's roar ripped across the Ashen Pass. Before anyone could stop him, he lunged into the wall of mist where the child and the hooded figure had disappeared."Grayson!" Mason shouted.Too late already. The fog swallowed him whole. Savannah ran after him without thinking."Grayson!"A hand caught her wrist.⁶Dominic."Don't!"She fought him."Let me go!""You can't see where you're running!""I don't care!""I do."His grip tightened just enough to stop her without hurting her."We lose you too, and Noah loses both of you."The words hit hard enough to cut through the panic.Savannah stopped struggling. Her chest rose and fell violently. The mist ahead had already hidden Grayson completely.Nothing remained except silence.Then…A howl echoed somewhere deep inside the valley. Not the same ancient howl they had heard before.This one sounded... wounded.Mason drew his sword."Hugh!"The Sentinel commander stepped forward."Sir.""Three-man teams.""No one goes alone.""If G