**Chapter Twenty-One:
The Storm’s Edge**
**1. The Howling Dark**
Damian’s claws scraped against the blackened earth where Zelene had stood moments before. The blue fire barrier still crackled between him and the retreating figures of Cain and Delores, her flames refusing to die even as their creator was dragged into the night.
Mikey trembled beside him, his breaths coming in ragged, uneven gasps. The air around him *warped*, as if reality itself struggled to contain whatever storm brewed inside him.
“We have to go back,” Mikey whispered. His voice was wrong—too deep, too layered like something else spoke beneath it.
Damian grabbed his shoulders, forcing the boy to meet his gaze. “Listen to me. We *can’t*.” His wolf snarled beneath his skin, every instinct screaming to chas
