Page 62 of The Midnight Death Match

“If you truly want to protect them, you must do something different. Unexpected. Running won’t save them, and dyingwon’t free them. Breaking what binds you and remaking it is the only way.” His voice lowers like a secret sliding into my ear. “And I’ll help you… if you choose to stop fearing what you are.”

A dangerous pulse rises in my blood. My wolf stirs beneath his words, recognizing a different kind of power laced through his voice. Part of me wants to recoil. Another part wants to hear more.

Lys watches me closely, as if reading every unspoken thought. Then, just as gently, he steps back into the dark, his voice fading as he leaves me once more. “When you’re ready, Eira, you’ll know where to find me.”

I’m not sure how long I sit here after Lys slips away. Long enough for the stars to shift and the cold to numb the edge of everything gnawing inside me.

When I finally rise and begin walking, the camp’s distant lights flicker like a distant pulse beyond the shattered archways. My steps are slow and careful, as I hope to stay unseen as I circle back.

But when I hear voices ahead, I stop just short of the main corridor and duck behind a half-crushed column.

Harek. And Einar. Talking aboutme.

Harek’s tone reveals his frustration. “She’s pulling further away every day. I don’t know how to reach her anymore.”

Einar, always sure of himself, speaks in his familiar low, steady timbre. “She believes she has to bear it alone.”

There’s a pause, heavy between them.

Harek’s voice dips. “You feel it too, don’t you? The way she’s preparing for something.”

“Yes.” My father’s reply is sharp with unspoken weight. “I see it in her eyes.”

Another pause.

“Iwon’tlet her face it alone,” Harek says, fiercely quiet.

“Nor will I.” But there’s something different Einar’s tone. Not devotion, but acceptance.

The hair at the back of my neck prickles. Stumbling back, my breath shallows. I shouldn’t be listening, and I don’t want to hear any more. Because I know what that kind of resolve sounds like.

And I know exactly where it leads. My father is thinking about sacrificing himself.

I can’t let that happen.

Now I have more to think about. Just as I’m about to retreat, a sharp crack of the outer ward makes the entire camp freeze. I’m still half-hidden in the shadows, but the moment the alarm pulses, instinct kicks hard beneath my ribs.

Rebels spring into motion. Einar and Harek wheel toward the gates.

A young scout bolts down the corridor toward them. His breathless warning breaks through the thick air. “They’re here. The messengers made it through.”

Einar steps forward. “Who?”

“The wolf faction. Harek’s family pack sent word.” His voice drops, rife with urgency. “They’ve taken your parents.”

The words hit like a blade drawn across open skin. His parents are my second parents. More family to me than Gunnar ever has been.

Harek staggers half a step before his shoulders harden. “Where are they?”

“They’re demanding Eira,” the scout continues, glancing nervously toward where I stand now, fully visible. “They say the hybrid must surrender or more blood will spill.”

The camp falls painfully quiet.

My chest burns.

Einar’s gaze lands on me.

Harek’s tension is palpable, pulling tighter.

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