Maya woke two days later.
I was there—sitting by her bed, watching her sleep, thinking about everything she'd said. About everything she'd lost. About—
*About the monster who did this.*
Her eyes fluttered open. Confused. Disoriented. Then—
*Memory returned.*
*Everyone,* she whispered. *They're gone. They're all—*
*Gone,* I finished gently. *I know. I'm sorry.*
*Sorry isn't...* Maya pushed herself up, wincing *...sorry isn't enough. It won't bring them back. It won't—*
*It won't undo what happened.*
*No.* I met her eyes. *But it's a start. And after that? After the grief? We do what you came here for. We avenge them. We stop them. We—*
*We end this.*
*How?* Maya challenged. *They're too strong. Too organized. Too—*
*Too many.*
*We have the alliance,* I reminded her. *Vampires. Witches. Shifters. All united. All ready to fight. All—*
*All hunting the same enemy.*
*But you don't know them,* Maya said. *Not like I do. They're not just cultists. They're soldiers. Disciplined. Trained. Led by—*
*By who?*
*By his generals,* Maya said. *The Forgotten One's most loyal followers. They've been waiting centuries for this. Planning. Preparing. Building an army. And now? Now they're making their move.*
*What's their goal?* I asked. *Besides freeing their master?*
*Testing,* Maya said grimly. *They're attacking small packs. Isolated groups. Testing defenses. Identifying threats. And—*
*And gathering.*
*Gathering what?*
*Blood.* Maya's voice dropped. *They're hunting Lycans with strong bloodlines. Descendants of the first generation. Carriers of ancient power. They're killing them. Harvesting their blood. Using it to—*
*To break the seals.*
*Yes.* Maya met my eyes. *Your blood. Your children's blood. My pack's blood—they're all keys. Tools to unlock the prison. To free their master. To—*
*To start the war.*
*Why your pack?* I asked. *What made your pack special?*
*We were descended from the first generation,* Maya said. *My alpha could trace his lineage back to Lycaon's daughter. To Maria. To—*
*To my ancestor.*
*Yes.* Maya hesitated. *But that's not all. We had something else. Something the cultists wanted. Something—*
*Something more valuable than blood.*
*What?*
*A map,* Maya said. *An ancient map. Showing the location of every Lycan settlement. Every pack. Every bloodline. From the first generation to now. A—*
*A hunting ground.*
*Exactly.* Maya's hands curled into fists. *They took it. Now they know where everyone is. Every pack with ancient blood. Every descendant of the first. Every—*
*Every target.*
*And they're going to attack them all,* I realized. *Systematically. Harvest blood. Break the seals. Free their master.*
*Yes.* Maya looked at me. *Unless you stop them.*
*We will,* I promised. *We will.*
*We will.*
I called an emergency council meeting that afternoon.
Everyone came—Valerica and Marius. Rowan. Helga. Kael. Selene. Even the children—I didn't want to exclude them anymore. Not after the prophecy. Not after—
*Not after everything.*
*We know what they're doing,* I announced. *The Forgotten Army. They're attacking bloodlines. Harvesting blood. Using it to break the seals. To free—*
*To free the Forgotten One.*
*How long?* Valerica asked. *How long until the seals break?*
*I don't know,* I admitted. *Months? Years? It depends on how much blood they have. How many attacks they've made. How—*
*How close they are.*
*We need to warn every pack,* Kael said. *Every bloodline. Every descendant of the first. We need to—*
*To evacuate.*
*No.* Maya spoke up from where she sat in the corner. *They won't leave. Packs are stubborn. Proud. They'll defend their homes. Die defending them. They won't—*
*They won't run.*
*Then we send protection,* I decided. *Guards. Warriors. From the alliance. We patrol every settlement. Every pack. Every—*
*Every target.*
*That's spreading us thin,* Marius pointed out. *If we try to defend everywhere, we defend nowhere. We need a different strategy.*
*What strategy?* Helga asked.
*Bait,* Marius said simply. *We give them a target. A tempting one. A bloodline they can't resist. And when they come for it—*
*We ambush them.*
*Who's the bait?* Rowan asked. *Which pack? Which—*
*Which bloodline?*
I looked at my children. At Felix. At Darius. At Lucian.
*Us,* I said quietly.
*No.* Kael stood up. *Absolutely not. My children are not—*
*They're the most valuable bloodline there is,* I cut him off. *Lycaon's line. Maria's line. Mine. The Forgotten One would do anything to get their blood. To use it to free himself. To—*
*To complete his ritual.*
*I don't care.* Kael's mental voice was fierce. *I'm not risking my children. I'm not—*
*We don't have a choice,* I said. *Not really. They're coming for us anyway. The prophecy said it. The Forgotten One said it. Sooner or later, they'll attack. They'll come here. They'll—*
*They'll come for what matters most.*
*Then we leave,* Kael decided. *Take the children. Hide them. Somewhere safe. Somewhere the cultists won't—*
*There is nowhere safe,* Maya said quietly. *They'll find you. Eventually. They have resources. Spies. Magic. They'll—*
*They'll find us.*
*Then we fortify,* I said. *We prepare. We turn Silver Moon into a fortress. We set traps. We gather allies. We—*
*We make our stand.*
*And if that's not enough?* Kael asked. *If they overwhelm us? If they—*
*If they do,* I said firmly, *then we fight. Together. As a family. As a pack. As—*
*As Lycans.*
*They're not fighting,* Kael said. *I won't allow it.*
*Papa.* Felix stood up. *I want to fight.*
*No.* Kael turned to him. *You're nine. You're a child. You're not—*
*I'm the first,* Felix said quietly. *The prophecy said so. The first will lead. I can't lead if I'm hidden away. I can't—*
*I can't do my job.*
*Your job is to be a child,* Kael said fiercely. *To play. To learn. To grow. Not to fight. Not to—*
*Not to be a soldier.*
*But that's what I am,* Felix said. *A Lycan. A warrior. Your son. I'm going to fight someday, Papa. Whether you want me to or not. So I'd rather fight with you than hide without you.*
Kael stared at his son. At the determination in his eyes. At the resolve. At the—
*At the leader he was becoming.*
*He's right,* Darius added. *We can't hide. The prophecy says we're part of this. That we have a role to play. So let us play it. Let us fight. Let us—*
*Let us help.*
*You're nine,* Kael said helplessly.
*I am,* Darius agreed. *I'm also the second. The one who sees. And I see that we can't run. That we shouldn't run. That—*
*That we should stand.*
Kael looked at me. At the council. At our children. And I saw the moment he accepted it. The moment he understood. The moment he—
*The moment he let go.*
*Fine,* he said quietly. *But we train. Hard. Every day. Until you're ready. Until you can defend yourselves. Until—*
*Until we're ready.*
*We will,* Felix promised. *We will.*
*We will.*
The training began the next day.
Not normal training. Specialized training.
For Felix—leadership. Strategy. Command. Selene worked with him on the Lycan network, on controlling it, on using it to coordinate. Kael taught him combat tactics. Pack formations. How to direct. How to lead. How to—
*To be an Alpha.*
For Darius—control. His powers were growing faster than ever. Telepathy. Telekinesis. The Royal Voice. He could influence emotions now. Could calm a rage. Could incite one. Could—
*Could change minds.*
*Control is everything,* Selene told him. *Power without control is just destruction. You have to master yourself before you can master your abilities. You have to—*
*Have to be stronger than the power.*
*What if I can't?* Darius asked quietly.
*Then you don't use it,* Selene said simply. *Until you can. Until you're ready. Until—*
*Until you're sure.*
For Lucian—remembrance. He was the third. The forgotten one. The one who—*
*Who understood darkness.*
*You were like him,* I told him. *The Forgotten One. Forgotten. Lost. Left behind.* I took his hands. *But you were found. You were saved. You were loved. That's the difference. That's what he never had. That's what makes you—*
*What makes you stronger.*
*I don't feel stronger,* Lucian admitted. *I feel... angry. That he used that. Used being forgotten. Used being lost. As an excuse to—*
*To destroy.*
*Then use it differently,* I said. *Use your anger to protect. Use your pain to heal. Use your darkness to—*
*To fight for the light.*
*How?*
*By remembering,* I said. *By never forgetting what it felt like. By using that memory to help others. To save others. To—*
*To be the light they need.*
*The third will remember,* Lucian realized. *That's what the prophecy means. I remember the darkness so I can fight for the light.*
*Yes.*
*Yes.*
Weeks passed. The training intensified. The children grew stronger. Faster. Better.
And the attacks continued.
Not on us—yet. But on others. Smaller packs. Isolated bloodlines. Each attack the same: cultists striking at night, harvesting blood, vanishing before help could arrive.
*They're getting closer,* Selene warned. *Each attack brings them closer to breaking point. To having enough blood. To—*
*To freeing him.*
*Then we speed up,* I decided. *The children's training. Everything. We—*
*We prepare faster.*
*They're already training six hours a day,* Kael pointed out. *Any more and—*
*And they break.*
*Then we make the training more effective,* I said. *Not longer. Smarter. We—*
*We focus.*
On what mattered.
On what would save them.
On what would—
*On what would win.*
That night, I sat on the balcony with Kael. Watching the moon rise. Thinking about everything that had changed. About everything that was changing. About—
*About the war coming.*
*They're growing up so fast,* I said quietly.
*They are.* Kael took my hand. *But they're strong. They're ready. They're—*
*They're still children.*
*I know.* Kael squeezed my hand. *I hate it too. That they have to do this. That they can't just be kids. That—*
*That they have to be warriors.*
*But they're not alone,* I said. *They have us. They have each other. They have—*
*They have the pack.*
*The pack.* Kael was quiet for a moment. *Do you think we can win?*
*I don't know,* I admitted. *But I think we can fight. And sometimes? Sometimes that's enough.*
*Enough for what?*
*Enough to survive.* I leaned against him. *Enough to live. Enough to—*
*Enough to see another day.*
*I'll take it,* Kael said. *If that's the best we can hope for—*
*Then I'll take it too.*
We sat there together. Watching the night. Feeling the peace. Knowing it was fragile. Temporary. Fleeting.
But real.
For now.
*The first will lead,* Kael said quietly. *The second will see. The third will remember.*
*Only together,* I added. *Only united. Only whole.*
*Can they save the future.*
*I hope so,* I said. *I really hope so.*
*Me too.*
*Me too.*
And as the moon rose over the pack grounds—over the territory we'd built, over the home we'd made, over the family we loved—*
*I made a promise.*
To fight. To protect. To—
*To never give up.*
No matter what came.
No matter what happened.
No matter—
*No matter what.*