The facilities were closing, but the work was never done.
Sasha woke each morning to new challenges. New hybrids arriving. New families to investigate. New battles to fight.
But there were good days too.
Days when Nico took his first steps without fear. Days when Katarina read her first book aloud. Days when Nadia laughed—really laughed—for the first time.
"You're changing," Rhys said one evening.
"I'm trying."
"You're succeeding."
She leaned into him. "I couldn't do it without you."
"You could. But you don't have to."
Luc found a pattern in Cordelia's files.
"There's one more facility," he said. "The oldest one. The one where it all began."
"Where?"
"The Arctic. Hidden in the ice. Cordelia built it herself, centuries ago."
Sasha studied the map. "How many hybrids?"
"Unknown.
