The Alpha's Prickly Porcupine
CYTHmy daughter, alpha's pupthe alpha's captured matethe alpha's unwanted matemy moonlit alpha prince
The casing is completely shattered, its interior magic circuit burned out beyond repair, but a faint, ghostly hum emanates from the largest remaining crystal shard, suggesting there might be just a single vestige of stored audio left trapped within its memory matrix.
I press my thumb against the glowing shard, and the black fluid is neutralized, but the cracked recording stone plays one final, distorted audio file before dying completely—revealing Daryl’s brother, Shane, arguing with Dawn Mercer's scouts winters ago. The scratchy, metallic voice echoing from the dying crystal shatters the quiet night, carrying a conversation that freezes the blood in my veins and turns my stomach to lead.