CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Three months passed at Haven.
Spring arrived in the mountains, painting the forest in shades of green and gold. The last of the snow melted. New buildings rose where old ones had fallen. Gardens were planted. Routines were established.
And the hybrids... thrived.
Twenty-three had become thirty-seven. Word was spreading. Every week brought new faces—scared, hopeful, desperate for somewhere to belong. Haven took them all.
Sasha watched them arrive and felt her heart grow with each one.
"I didn't know there were this many of us," she said one evening, sitting on the porch with Maya.
"There are more." Maya's voice was quiet. "So many more. My grandmother's network keeps finding them. We could double our numbers by summer."
"Can we support that many?"
"We'll have to.
