The growl rolled through the chamber.
Deep.
Ancient.
Wrong.
It wasn't the sound of a wolf.
It wasn't the sound of any animal Alice had ever heard.
It was something older.
Something that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
Ryan took one cautious step backward.
"...I vote we don't open that."
"No one is opening it," Victor said sharply.
Selene never took her eyes off the crack in the Gate.
"You assume it needs to be opened."
Silence.
Jake's grip on Alice's hand tightened.
"What do you mean?"
Selene slowly turned toward them.
"The seal is failing."
Alice felt her stomach drop.
"Because of me?"
"No."
Selene's voice was gentle.
"It began long before you were born."
Victor nodded grimly.
"For decades, we've repaired the wards that kept the Gate closed."
He lo
