Kai grabbed Jessica’s hand and pulled her down the hall toward his bedroom.

"I can’t shift with this injury," he said, his jaw tight, his crutch thumping awkwardly against the floor with every hurried step. "I need to grab a knife to keep you safe."

Jessica’s heart slammed against her ribs as she stumbled after him, the howls and shouting outside crawling closer with every second.

Everything was happening too fast. One minute they were safe in bed, the next the whole palace was screaming about Umbras.

They had barely reached the door when Tan burst out from a corner, already half-shifted, fur rippling along his arms and claws glinting. He looked wild and ready for war.

"Kai! Go to your bedroom and stay there!" Tan ordered. "The Umbras are everywhere. It seems they have already been inside Dravengard before tonight."

Kai nodded quickly and turned to leave, but Tan grabbed his shoulder, holding him back. For a moment, the older brother just looked at him, something serious and protective flashing in his eyes.

"Whatever happens tonight, Kai," he said quietly. "Do not leave your bedroom. Promise me."

"I’ll be fine." Kai met his brother’s gaze. "Go. Where’s Mother?"

"Already shifted. She is down in the thick of it." Tan released him. "Stay down."

Kai gave a short nod and pulled Jessica along with him.

As they hurried away, Jessica muttered under her breath, "I’ve never fought before." Her voice was thin and shaking as she hurried alongside him. "I’ve never. I don’t know how. I’m so scared."

Kai squeezed her hand. "Nothing is going to happen to you," Kai said firmly. "I won’t let it."

But as they moved closer to his room, Kai suddenly stopped.

"Actually," he said, his eyes narrowing in thought, "I think we should go and help. The children. The weaker women. They’ll be gathering them somewhere, and they’ll need protecting."

Jessica’s eyes flew wide. "Your brother just told you to stay inside. He made you promise."

Kai turned to her, and there was a stubborn set to his pale face. "My brother is worried about me, that’s all. But I’m perfectly capable of handling a knife, injury or no injury. And I’ll give you one too, so you can defend yourself if it comes to it."

"Kai, this is crazy—"

But he was already moving, limping determinedly toward his room.

"I’m not going to cower in a bedroom like a coward," he said, "while Dravengard burns around me."

In no time, he had grabbed a couple of sharp knives from inside. He handed one to Jessica, who took it with shaky hands, staring at the blade like it might bite her. They headed toward the balcony to get a better view of what was happening.

The scene below was pure chaos. In the palace courtyard, dozens of Umbras pushed forward while Tan and the few gammas left behind fought desperately.

Fires had broken out in several places, lighting up the night with an eerie orange glow. In the distance, thick smoke rose into the sky.

"They’ve breached the security entrances," Kai muttered, gripping the balcony rail. "All of them. Goddess help us, I only hope the people of Dravengard are ready enough to fight."

As they watched, horror crept over Kai’s face. Most of the gammas he knew as loyal Lycans suddenly shifted, but not into Lycans. They turned into shadow shifters, attacking their own people without mercy.

"Oh, Goddess," he whispered, his voice filled with disbelief. "These Umbras have already been planted in Dravengard, still parading as our gammas."

He paused, thinking hard, then his eyes widened. "If they are attacking us tonight, this means they know that Derek left Dravengard with a large number of troops."

The full shape of it landed on him all at once, and the colour drained from his face.

"Oh, my Goddess. Someone lured the King away. It is all a trap."

He turned to Jessica, who was shaking like a leaf in winter. "An insider has been feeding Rolf information."

Kai pushed back from the balcony and limped fast for the door, Jessica right at his heels, his fingers tightening hard around the hilt of his knife as they made their way down the stairs.

Through the glass doors of the living area, Jessica caught sight of Nana and a cluster of women who had not shifted, hurrying children and the weaker females into the safety of the inner room, herding them close, shielding them with their own bodies, and fighting off Umbras that approached.

Out in front, a magnificent russet Lycan stood planted before the terrace stairs, tearing into Umbra after Umbra with brutal, beautiful precision.

"That’s my mother," Kai said with pride in his voice as he steered Jessica toward the entrance. "She is a fine warrior."

Jessica agreed silently.

Nana stood near the front door with a long staff in her hands that doubled as a blade, holding the threshold and hauling the door open for any survivor who came staggering toward it.

Jessica looked back to see a female doctor and some nurses scrambling around to help the injured.

When Nana’s eyes landed on Kai, she scowled.

"Kai!" she barked. "What in the Goddess’s name are you doing down here? Tan told you to stay in your room, you foolish boy!"

"I’m not going to hide like a coward, Nana," Kai shot back.

His mother’s russet beast turned at the sound of the exchange, her glowing eyes finding her son standing there in the doorway when he was supposed to be safely upstairs.

And in that single moment of distraction, an Umbra slammed into her.

The impact knocked her clean off her feet. Beast and Umbra went down together in a snarling tangle, rolling across the bloodied stone.

"Angelica!" Nana screamed.

And without a breath of hesitation, the old woman launched herself off the threshold and into the fray, her blade already singing through the air.

***

Meanwhile, far away in the bright, hushed calm of Aethelwulf Centralis, Kira sat across from the woman in the hotel restaurant, frozen in her chair.

The room was nearly empty at this late hour.

Connor and the guards stood outside the restaurant, but their eyes were fixed on the two women inside.

Kira had asked for privacy, but before they allowed that, they had taken away the woman’s handbag and phone. Petra had searched her thoroughly, and they had clamped her left wrist with a silver cuff to make her unable to shift.

They weren’t taking chances.

"What did you just say?" Kira asked. Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

The woman glanced around once more, her eyes darting to the corners of the room as though terrified of being overheard. Then she leaned in and spoke.

"I said, your mother, Claire, is still alive, my Queen. She never died. And Alpha Braxton of the Crystal Moon Pack..."

Her eyes searched Kira’s face. "He is your twin brother."