**Chapter Twenty-Four: The Wolf's Descent**
### **1. The Hollow Howl**
The silence after Damian vanished was worse than the storm.
Mikey scrambled to his feet, his hands clutching at empty air where Damian had been seconds before. **"No—no, no, *no*—"** His voice cracked, raw with panic.
Zelene grabbed his shoulders, her grip iron. **"Mikey, *listen* to me. We have to move."**
But Mikey wasn’t listening. His breaths came in short, frantic gasps, his fingers sparking with unstable energy. The veins in his arms—still streaked with lingering traces of blue-black—pulsed erratically. **"He *took* it—he *took* it—"**
Weiss limped forward, his face ashen. **"Damian bought us time. We don’t waste it."**
A howl echoed in the distance.
Not Damian’s.
Something *worse*.
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