They moved at sunrise.
No fire. No food. Just motion.
Seren followed Cael through the woods with her heart pounding and a warning humming at the edge of her senses. She didn't know what was coming, but every step felt heavier than the last. Her body ached with the weight of growing life and the silent bond that now tugged at her every time Cael got too far ahead.
He was faster, even injured. But he kept glancing back now—more than before. As if he felt it too. That electric thread stretched between them. Not fully formed, but no longer dormant either.
They didn't talk about it.
They couldn't afford to.
The wind had changed.
And so had the quiet.
It was the kind of silence that wrapped around your throat and squeezed.
Not empty.
Waiting.
By midday, the scent hit them both.
Blood.
Not old blood. Not an animal. Fresh. Carried on the wind like a whisper meant only for them.
Seren stopped walking. "Do you smell that?"
Cael didn't answer. But his eyes narrowed, and he changed direction instantly, veering toward the ridge without explanation.
She followed, staying low, her breath tight in her chest.
They found the first body just past the edge of a ravine.
A young werewolf. Face down in the moss. Still partially shifted—fur across his arms, claws extended. His throat had been ripped open so fast that there was no blood trail. Just a puddle beneath him, soaking into the earth.
Cael crouched beside the body.
"This was fast," he muttered.
Seren stared down, hands clenched. "You know him?"
"No. But he wasn't rogue. His scent's too clean. He belonged to someone."
She swallowed hard. "Lucan?"
"Maybe."
But then Cael stood, turning his head slightly. "There's more."
They found two more bodies within minutes.
One vampire. One-half shifted.
All of them were marked the same way—deep, surgical tears at the neck or spine. No signs of a fight. No struggle. Just execution.
Cael's shoulders tightened.
"This wasn't an ambush."
"Then what was it?"
He glanced at her.
"A message."
They kept moving.
Slower now. More alert.
By the time the sun started to drop, they reached a clearing filled with burned ash.
Something had stood here once. A structure. Maybe a ward-stone. Maybe something older.
Now it was just blackened earth and melted stone.
Seren stepped carefully around the edges. Her skin prickled. "It feels wrong."
Cael didn't move.
His eyes were locked on the tree line.
Seren followed his gaze.
And her heart stopped.
A figure stood there.
Tall. Still.
Watching them.
At first, she thought it might be another rogue.
Then he stepped forward.
And she saw his face.
Lucan.
Everything in her body went cold.
She backed up a step. "No."
He stopped a dozen paces away.
His coat was torn, his jaw bruised. But his eyes… they were the same. Sharp. Controlled. Hungry.
He smiled. "Seren."
Cael stepped in front of her before she could reply.
Lucan's smile widened. "So it's true. The lost dog is following you."
"Stay back," Cael warned.
Lucan ignored him.
"You know, I didn't believe it at first," he said. "I thought the bond breaking would've killed her. But here she is. Glowing. Carrying someone else's abomination."
Seren's fists clenched. "What do you want?"
Lucan's eyes flicked toward her stomach. "What I'm owed."
"You gave up your claim," she snapped.
"I didn't know what I was giving up," he growled. "The Council didn't tell me what the child might be. They just said your blood was wrong. That you betrayed the line. But this?"
He took a step closer.
"I smelled the power on you from miles away. And then I started finding bodies. Half-drained. Left like warnings. That's not random."
Cael's voice cut in, low and dangerous. "You're not here to talk."
Lucan's gaze shifted. "No. I'm here to clean up what you've ruined."
Then he moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
Seren didn't even blink before Cael slammed into him.
The two hit the dirt hard, claws flashing, teeth bared. They rolled, snarling, snapping. Lucan tried to go for Cael's neck, but Cael twisted, slammed an elbow into Lucan's ribs, and drove him backward into a tree.
Seren backed up, heart racing, hand on her belly. She didn't know who to help. She didn't want to help Lucan—but Cael was bleeding already, and Lucan was stronger than she remembered.
"Cael!" she shouted.
Lucan landed a punch that sent Cael skidding.
Then he turned to her.
"Do you think he can protect you?" He spat, "You think he can keep that thing inside you safe?"
Seren raised her hands.
Magic flared.
Not controlled.
Not perfect.
But enough.
Light burst from her palms—white-blue fire, blinding. Lucan staggered back, hissing.
Cael didn't hesitate.
He slammed into Lucan's side and knocked him to the ground.
"Run!" He barked,"
Seren hesitated.
But then she ran.
Through the trees, heart in her throat, stumbling, breath sharp. She didn't look back. She just ran until the ground dropped beneath her and she fell into a shallow ditch.
She stayed there, panting.
Waiting.
Listening.
Then footsteps.
She raised her hands again—
But it was Cael.
Covered in dirt and blood.
But breathing.
"We have to go," he said.
She stood, shaking.
"Did you kill him?"
Cael didn't answer.
"Did you—?"
"No," he said.
"He let you go?"
"No."
She stared at him.
"You did."
He looked at her.
Long and hard.
And she understood.
He couldn't finish it.
Not with her watching.
Not with what they used to be.
They made camp miles away.
Deep in a hollow under a ridge of twisted rock.
Cael collapsed first.
Seren sat near him, shaking.
"What now?" she whispered.
He didn't speak for a long time.
Then he looked at her.
And said, "Now we run faster."