Malix I stand between my brothers,looking up at the village where we were born, and all I want to do is run the other way. Returning with bad news isn’t my favorite thing. Every time we come back without the key to opening the barrier between our realm and the shadow realm, I feel a little more like a failure. A little more like I’m letting our alpha down, ruining the only purpose I have to exist. Even more than that, I feel like I’m letting my brothers down. I know they struggle with the pain. I do too. All we need is that one f*****g break, and everything will be fixed. No more pain. No more feeling isolated and different. Home, Kian says gruffly. Not home, I counter, pawing at the snowy ground with one giant black paw. Not really. Frost huffs his agreement. Just a place to lay our

