Page 24 of The Midnight Death Match

It explains nothing.

I glance at Harek then back to her. “You said you fought beside my mother. You know I’m not her. In fact, I hardly know anything about her.”

“She raised you.”

“Doesn’t matter, considering she didn’t tell me any of her supernatural secrets.”

“That’s irrelevant,” Serel replies softly. “You’re what she never had time to become.”

The words land with unexpected weight.

I shift my stance, unsure how to respond, but the words come anyway. “If you’ve come to flatter me, you’ve wasted your energy.”

She laughs, dry and harsh. “I don’t flatter. I warn.”

“Then start warning.”

Harek’s eyes narrow, voice quiet. “This is about the totems, isn’t it?”

Serel’s expression sharpens. “Yes, and it’s worse than you think. The border towns are falling quiet.”

“Quiet how?”

She stares at me with eyes that feel so hollow I could get sucked in and lost in the vortex.

Bumps rise on my arms.

Finally she pulls her attention from me. “There are twisted echoes of the hunter’s crest carved into trees and buildings. They’re a calling mark.”

I lean forward slightly. “What does that mean?”

“They fracture bloodlines.”

Realization hits me like a rock. “I’ve seen those.”

Her silence is answer enough. But she speaks before either Harek or me. “The pack is stretched thinner than my family. They’re holding territory near the southern ridge, but something’s prowling past the border. Something smarter than last time.”

“What is it?” I ask

Harek steps forward. “And what does it want?”

Serel looks directly at me. “You.”

My knees turn to rubber.

“More precisely, your bloodline,” she clarifies.

Harek mutters under his breath.

“And my siblings?”

“They’re still safe, but for how long? That depends on whether this thing spreading through the forests is seeking power or vengeance. Their human father won’t be able to keep them safe.”

“But Leif has awakened his werewolf.”

“He’s gone rogue. We can’t trust him.”

“And my parents?” Harek intervenes.

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