Or maybe not gone. Maybe she had simply stepped aside and let the Savage blood show its teeth. Penny’s claws were out, her eyes too bright, Itaca pushing so close to the surface that even Liam looked like he was struggling not to grab her and wisely choosing continued survival instead.
And then there was Kai.
The Golden Wolf.
The mother.
The legend.
The reason half the monsters in our world probably checked under their beds at night and called it instinct.
Her aura was not loud. It did not need to be. It rolled out of her with the kind of quiet, golden violence that made Marcellus’s shadows curl back just enough to be respectful. Not scared. I didn’t think Marcellus’s power knew how to be scared.
But respectful?
Oh, yes.
Three golden females walked toward us.
Slowly.
One step af
