Page 33 of Fated Wolf's Redemption

I close the distance between us quickly until we’re toe-to-toe. "You left me a damn note,” I growl low. “You knew I’d follow."

"As I recall, I didn’t ask you to."

"You think I care?"

Her jaw clenches. "Lucas…"

I grab her arm, just enough pressure to make her look at me. "You don’t go dark on me again. If you need to run off and play Windrider warrior’s solo mission, you damn well take me with you."

“Kind of defeats the whole concept of a solo mission, don’t you think?” she quips before tilting her head and studying me for a long beat. Then her voice drops. "But you came."

I let her go. "Of course I came."

We stand in the quiet a moment longer, then she turns back toward the estate.

"This is it," she says. "The Cain estate. Or what’s left of it."

We pass through the broken gate together, moving silently over cracked stone. The front of the estate has collapsed, but the east wing remains partially intact, overgrown with vines and rot. Every step we take feels heavier. Like the land itself is warning us back.

I draw my blade. Sophia mirrors me. Guns are fine in their place, but their noisy and knives work better for close fighting. And if a dragon shows up? Well, guns don’t work all that well either.

We enter through a side door; the hinges groaning in protest. Inside, the air is stale, metallic. Debris fills the main hall—shattered glass, remnants of machines, broken tile. But it’s what lies deeper inside that turns my stomach.

The lab.

We find it in the east wing, behind what used to be a bookcase. A hidden room, long and narrow.

Tanks. Empty now, but their walls are coated in slime. Some still hold bones, scraps of fur, claws that never belonged to any species I recognize.

Syringes. Dozens of them. Some labeled. Some not. One marked with the Windrider glyph for the bond.Another marked “hybrid series 3B.”

Sophia crouches near one of the tables, brushing dust from a yellowed folder.

"He was cataloging them," she whispers. "Cross-referencing genetics, matching them to lunar cycles, elemental readings. There’s Windrider script in here… Cain was working with someone who knew our ways."

I grit my teeth. "Your father?"

She looks up sharply. "No. He warned me away from this. Practically ordered me to stay out…”

“Practically?” I quip.

She grins. “He said Cain worked for someone who opened the door."

I nod slowly. "So he’s not just experimenting. He’s implementing.”

“Yes. Someone opened a door during the War of Mists, and it seems Cain wants it wide open again."

She moves to the far wall, where jars line a rusted shelf. Most of the jars are shattered. One remains intact. She lifts it carefully. Inside, suspended in some kind of fluid, is a fetus. Small. Wolf-shaped. But wrong. Too many joints. Double rows of teeth.

Sophia goes still. "They’re breeding them."

I take the jar from her and set it down slowly. "No. They were breeding them. Now they’re releasing them."

Her eyes meet mine, wide. "This is why the land feels off. It’s not just energy. It’s corruption. Like something is leeching the balance from the earth."

I step in closer. Her pulse flutters. She doesn’t step back. "You still think I should’ve stayed behind?"

"No," I admit. "But next time you vanish, I’ll tie you to the damn bed."

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