Caleb’s POV
It wasn’t her.
I knew it the instant my fangs touched her blood. I had expected fire—the invisible spark of the bond that once tied me to Serena, the pulse that recognized my soul through hers. But what I found was silence. Blood without life, without echo, without that sweet tremor of recognition. It was like biting into hot stone. It was like fighting a borrowed body.
That thing in front of me wasn’t Serena.
It was a mask that breathed, a puppet of flesh moved by a magic I couldn’t understand.
Nellie roared beside me, a sound that pierced my chest like a spear. I saw her move—fast, fierce, her fur matted with blood and dust—and for a moment, I felt the absurd need to protect her. The red creature stood before us, panting, its mouth open in a snarl that was neither animal
