I had sat by Sac all night. Tried to stay awake, but drifted in and out of sleep. I patted my cheek gently—I couldn't fall asleep. Will was still out looking for the others, and my task was to make sure Sac stayed alive.

  Niva was lying on the floor beside me, her jacket draped over her like a blanket. Rex had positioned himself by the door, ready to defend us if anything happened. Niva had tended to his wounds and wrapped his entire chest in bandages. There wasn't much she could do about the ribs—they had to heal on their own. As he slept, Rex looked pale and fragile, but that wasn't something he'd ever let us see when he was awake.

  After everything that's happened, he now carries a heavier burden. With Sacra gone, he has taken over as leader. Maybe that's why he's felt so distant lately.

  I nodded off in the chair, hearing the fire struggle to stay alive, when a sound outside suddenly woke me. Quick, heavy footsteps approached. Rex jolted awake and got ready. The door burst open—and Will stormed in. His hair was wet with snow, and one sleeve of his shirt was torn. The look in his eyes made me freeze.

  "I found them. Wics and Luc," he panted.

  "Are they okay?" I asked quickly, afraid of what the answer might be.

  "Luc is injured but can be carried. Wics..." He hesitated. "We have to get him. Now."

  "What happened?" Niva had woken, and despite her fatigue, her gaze was sharp.

  Will tore off his ripped jacket and threw it to the floor. "They were surrounded by the Dark Side. Wics stayed behind to give Luc a chance to escape."

  "I'll go," I said automatically, standing up. "You need me."

  Will met my eyes—truly looked at me—for the first time that night. "You stay here. Sac needs you. And you know it."

  He turned to Rex. "I need you, Rex. Can you come with me?"

  Rex nodded without hesitation. "We go."

  Will looked at Niva. "I trust you to take care of Tracy and Sac."

  Niva nodded solemnly. "They'll have to kill me before they get near her."

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  Will gave her a grateful nod and disappeared into the night with Rex.

  I sat back down in the chair with a heavy sigh. "When is this going to end?"

  "When the curse is broken and the last of the Dark Side is defeated," Niva replied tiredly, settling down on the floor. "Only then can we live a normal life."

  She looked at me with a mix of exhaustion and concern. "Try to rest now. I've seen that you're not sleeping—you just stare at the door and at Sac."

  I nodded and leaned back in the chair, trying to relax. Niva had already managed to fall back asleep. I shifted and turned, looking for a comfortable position to rest, when

  movement from the cot caught my attention.

  "Sac?" I whispered.

  His eyes were open—wide open. And it wasn't Sac looking back at me anymore.

  His gaze was clear. Unusually deep. Almost... glowing.

  Before I could react, he began to speak, and the voice wasn't his. It was deeper, older—like wind through a thousand ancient trees.

  "Tracy."

  I froze. The voice vibrated through the room, through my chest.

  "Who...?" I whispered.

  "I am Vaelmark. Guardian of the wolves. Protector of balance."

  Sac—or whatever was speaking through him—continued:

  "You stand at the threshold between light and darkness. You carry the choice in your blood. You carry the future in your hands."

  I felt the ground shift beneath me, as if the whole world was holding its breath.

  "The curse," Vaelmark continued through Sac, "was never meant as punishment. It was a barrier. A binding to keep the darkness at bay. If it's fully broken... powers will be released that no light can stop."

  "But... how?" I whispered. "How can I change that?"

  "A heart that remembers. A soul that chooses. A force that is reshaped, not shattered."

  His eyes shimmered faintly. Almost sorrowfully.

  "What you seek is not to free. What you seek is to transform."

  Vaelmark's voice softened, but still carried the weight of truth.

  "Other forces want to use you. Sacra is not gone. Darkness hides her. She waits."

  My heart nearly stopped.

  "Sacra... is alive?" I whispered.

  "Yes. In shadows. Disguised. Driven by hunger for power."

  I gasped, my body wanting to deny it—but deep down, I already knew it was true.

  "You must choose your path. Not theirs. Not the pack's. Your own."

  Sac jerked. A trembling breath left him.

  And then it was just Sac again. Fading. Human. Vulnerable.

  I lunged forward and gripped his hand tightly.

  "I'm here," I whispered. "I promise. I won't leave you."

  But something inside me had already awakened.

  A new understanding.

  A new path.