Darian had spent years avoiding the coast. Not because he hated it. Because too many memories lived there.
His mother's family had always kept their distance from Silvercrest. They had their own property, their own rules, and very little patience for pack politics. After his mother left, Darian had rarely heard from them. He had assumed that was the end of it.
Now, with Lyra sitting beside him and Marianne's impossible birth certificate open on his phone, he wasn't so sure.
"How much farther?" Lyra asked.
"About twenty minutes."
She looked out the window. The city had disappeared behind them almost ten minutes ago. Tall buildings had given way to narrow roads, dense trees, and stretches of gray water visible between the branches.
Ash sat on Lyra's other side, quiet but alert. Adrian
