The blueish glow of the laptop screen was the only light in Kai's private study, etching sharp lines of concentration onto his face. The rest of the pack compound was quiet, asleep or standing watch, but his mind was thousands of miles away, navigating the digital shadows. The encrypted browser window, a relic from his days as Shadowmoon's intelligence heir, felt both familiar and alien. He wasn't hunting rivals or securing pack assets now. He was looking for friends.
For days, he'd been following digital breadcrumbs. In the comment sections of alarmist news articles, buried under layers of hate, he found carefully worded pleas. On obscure, moderated forums dedicated to rare genetic conditions, he spotted coded phrases. "Child exhibiting unusual developmental energy." "Seeking support for family managing extreme empathy." They were whispers in a hurricane, but he'd learned to listen.
