The city was a skeleton of its former self, buildings jagged and broken, smoke curling from fires that had long refused to die. From our vantage point on the safe house roof, I could see the pockets of chaos where the council’s forces were regrouping, organizing, and hunting. Every shadow could hide a patrol. Every alley could conceal an alpha ready to strike. The twins stirred sharply inside me, a warning I couldn’t ignore. I pressed my hands to my stomach, trying to calm both myself and the unborn children. Damian crouched beside me, muscles coiled like springs, eyes scanning every street, every alley, every roofline. Fangs glinted faintly, claws flexing, and his tension radiated in waves I could feel even through my own fear. “They’ll come in waves,” he said quietly. “We take the initia
