******HARPER
Chris's voice echoed in my ear, firm and frantic. "Harper! Sophie—she's not far. She's being held near the East tower. If you go now, you can make it."
My heart nearly stopped. I didn't hesitate. My feet hit the ground hard as I ran like my life depended on it—because someone else's did. Sophie. I was coming.
Gunshots rang out behind me. My instincts flared and I ducked into a narrow corridor between old buildings, but I could hear them—footsteps. Heavy, angry, multiplying. The mayor's guards had noticed. They were chasing.
"Chris!" I gasped as I leapt over a crate, nearly tripping.
"Just keep moving. Left turn in three—two—"
"Got it!" I shouted and skidded around the corner.
That's when they caught up. Five, no—six of them. They circled, guns drawn, lips curled in smug confidence.
But they weren't expecting her.
With a blur of silver hair and a war cry, Luna jumped down from a nearby ledge and landed hard. "Move!" she snarled, flipping over one of the men and slamming his head into the ground. Chaos exploded.
I didn't waste the opening. I raced for the warehouse doors while Luna fought like a storm behind me—swift, precise, and merciless.
"Go, Harper!" she shouted. "Get Sophie!"
"Thank you!" I called back, breathless.
I kicked open the rusted door. Inside was dim—rows of crates, broken metal rails, and far back, tied to a pole, a small figure with a gag over her mouth.
"Sophie!"
Her tear-soaked eyes widened. She tried to scream, but the gag muted her. I rushed forward, my heart thundering.
Then the world stopped.
A cold, mocking voice behind me.
"You just don't give up, do you?"
I turned slowly.
The mayor's daughter.
She stepped forward, her boots crunching glass on the floor, that infamous bracelet of hers glinting in the weak light. Her hair was tied back, her eyes emotionless as stone.
"This ends now," she said.
"Yeah," I growled, stepping in front of Sophie. "It does."
She struck first—her fist flew and caught my jaw, hard enough to send me sprawling. I staggered to my feet, wiped the blood from my lip, and charged.
It wasn't elegant. It was raw fury.
We exchanged blows—me with desperation, her with precision. She was trained. She wasn't just a politician's daughter. She was a killer.
"You killed Maisie!" I yelled, grappling with her.
She pushed me back. "She was weak."
I saw red. My next punches were wild, fueled by grief, rage, and love.
But she blocked everything. Until—
"Harper," Chris whispered in my mind. "Her right side. She's guarding it—she's injured."
I adjusted. I feinted left, then struck her ribs on the right—once, twice. She gasped, finally off balance. I kicked her back and she fell.
I straddled her, hand clenched tight around my knife, ready to end this. My hand trembled.
"Maisie didn't deserve to die," I said, voice cracking.
The mayor's daughter laughed, blood on her teeth. "And yet, she did. Just like you're going to."
"I should kill you," I hissed.
"Then do it."
I raised the blade—
And something pulled me.
A force I couldn't see. My whole body jerked back, my knife clattered to the floor. I stumbled, heart pounding. She grabbed the opportunity and scrambled to her feet, bolting through the back exit.
"What the hell was that?!" I shouted.
"I don't know," Chris said, his voice shaking. "I... I couldn't see it. It wasn't part of the system."
I turned to Sophie. I knelt and untied her quickly. She sobbed into my chest, and I held her.
"It's okay. You're safe now."
But my eyes stayed on that door.
---
CODE HEADQUARTERS
The screen pulsed red.
Natalie stood, fingers flying over the controls. "That bracelet," she muttered. "It... it activated."
The Gamekeeper watched in silence, his usually relaxed face tight with concern.
"It's emitting dark energy," she added. "And whatever pulled Harper back—it wasn't part of our parameters."
The Gamekeeper's hand clenched. His eyes narrowed.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, voice dangerously soft.
Natalie turned slowly. "Tell you what?"
He was beside her in a blink, hand around her throat.
"Why didn't you tell me that he is starting to awaken?"
"How was I supposed to know?". She suddenly seemed confident.
"Seems like you're happy with the situation "
She didn't flinch. "Why? Are you scared?"
The air crackled.
He dropped her, his expression unreadable. "This could ruin everything."
Natalie stood, brushing herself off. "Or... it could make it more interesting."
---
MEANWHILE – THE MAYOR'S DAUGHTER
She ran through the forest path, gasping, clutching her ribs.
When she stopped to breathe, she noticed it.
Her bracelet—glowing. Not gold. Not silver.
But pulsing with black, smoky light.
"What is this?" she whispered.
She held it up, watched it swirl and tremble as though something inside it wanted to escape.
Fear, for the first time, touched her eyes.