It had stopped raining, but the air still smelled of damp earth and pine. Moonlight filtered through the trees, and I could hardly tell what time it was.

I stood across from Damien, heart pounding, breath shallow. I had just spoken the words I swore I’d never say aloud.

“I only want you.”

His expression didn’t change right away. But I saw something flickered in those storm-grey eyes. His jaw flexed, his fingers twitching at his sides like he wanted to reach for me but didn’t trust himself to.

A breath passed between us. Silence had never felt so thin, or so close to breaking. Then he exhaled sharply and took a step forward, and I thought he might close the distance completely, and finally surrender to what had been building between us.

Then, footsteps and the sharp scent of wet fur.

I stiffened.

Damien cursed under his breath and drew back, fists clenching as wolves pushed through the trees. The first wave of warriors.

I stepped back instinctively, but he caught my wrist. His grip was strong, not forceful, like he wasn’t ready to let this moment pass, which we both knew it would. “Luna, don’t run from me.”

I swallowed. “I’m not running. Not from you. Just” not here.”

He held on for a beat longer before releasing me. And just like that, the moment was gone.

The warriors broke through the trees, scanning the area as they shifted. I straightened, pushing everything down, pulling my mask back on.

Marrick was the first to speak up. “What the hell happened out here?”

I met his scathing gaze. “Witches attacked. Damien fought them off.”

Marrick’s nostrils flared, his sharp blue eyes narrowing. “You reek of magic. Worse than before.”

My jaw clenched. I had hoped the rain would wash some of it away. Apparently not.

“She intercepted a blast meant for me,” Damien said before I could deflect the interrogation. “It didn’t just bounce off her like with you, it dissipated, like it couldn’t touch her.”

Silence settled over the clearing as the warriors looked between my brother and me.

I could see suspicion stirring under Marrick’s perpetually stiff face as he turned back toward me. “You did?” His voice was now softer.

I stared at him, refusing to look away. “Yes.”

A sharp breath. Then he squared his shoulders. I should have known he’d react like this. It’s been a while since Marrick took my side, ever since I said no to Kael.

His hands flexed at his sides, like he was resisting the urge to grab my arm and drag me back to the compound himself. “You intercepted a spell? Are you out of your damn mind?”

“I didn’t exactly do it on purpose.”

His jaw twitched. “What does that matter? You could have been killed, Luna! What if the blast hurt you? Why can you suddenly deflect magic?”

I didn’t have an answer.

Damien moved beside me, the irritation rolling off him. It was almost like I could hear what was going on behind those unreadable grey eyes. Although he hadn’t asked me about it yet, I knew it would come. Unlike my brother, he was smart not to ask that in front of an entire battalion.

With a sharp exhale, Marrick raked a hand through his drenched hair. Then he turned to Damien. “And you—why the hell did you let her come out here alone in the first place? The Alpha put her in your care!”

There was no change in Damien’s expression. “She wasn’t alone.”

Marrick scoffed. “Lyra was in trouble. I felt it, but Kael didn’t. Can one of you explain that to me?”

I bristled. “You can keep shouting about what I should’ve done, but it won’t change anything.”

His nostrils flared, his anger crackling in his stance, but Lyra’s voice cut through before he could launch into another tirade.

“Don’t do that.”

She stepped out from between the trees, her golden eyes locking onto Marrick’s with quiet command. Her damp curls clung to her sharp cheekbones, rain still dripping from her jacket.

Marrick stiffened. I did too.

“Lyra,” I breathed, tension easing from my shoulders. She was safe, that was all that mattered.

I didn’t think—I just moved. As soon as I got close, I buried my face in her shoulder and wrapped my arms around her.

Lyra let out a small breath, squeezing me back. “I’m okay.”

“Are you?” I pulled back just enough to check her face. “They didn’t’”

She shook her head. “No. You stopped them. I escaped because you gave me the chance.”

The warmth in Lyra’s voice faded as she turned to Marrick. “If you had bothered to ask instead of barking orders, I would’ve told you that the witches can sever our link to the Alpha when they attack. They cut me off from Kael. I felt nothing.”

Marrick’s eyes darkened. “That’s not possible.”

“And yet, it happened.” Lyra’s gaze darted to me. “She saved me.”

The muscle in his jaw twitched as his mind worked through whatever argument he was about to make. But then something changed in his expression.

He turned back to me, his eyes narrowing like he was seeing me for the first time. “You really did that?”

I held his stare. “Yes.”

Marrick went quiet, but it didn’t last long. His eyes swept over me, shining with disbelief and concern. Maybe even a little fear. But not the kind you have for an enemy. The kind you have for something you don’t get.

“What exactly did you do?” he asked, his voice quieter now but still carrying that unmistakeable Beta authority. He raised a finger and turned to the warriors.

“Return to the compound,” he ordered, and the warriors straightened, their eyes locked on him as they awaited further instructions. “Seal all the side gates. Impose an immediate curfew. No one leaves the Nightclaw compound until further notice. These attacks are getting too frequent. Until we get to the root of this witch infestation, no stragglers or lone patrols. We are not losing another wolf to their magic.”

Another wolf? Did I miss something?

The warriors saluted and marched away, their heavy boots thudding against the damp earth as they disappeared into the trees. Only four of us remained in the clearing after the night swallowed them.

Marrick turned around to me and said, “Tell me what you did.”.

My adrenaline had burned off, I could feel the exhaustion creeping in. “I already told you. He attacked, I got between him and Damien, and then nothing happened. I don’t know how or why, but his magic didn’t stick. It just disappeared.”

He clenched his jaw. “Magic doesn’t just vanish.”

“Well, it did.”

I’d been thinking about it since Damien said it. Magic didn’t touch me.

It should have. I should have been writhing on the ground, burning alive from the inside out just like any other wolf caught in a direct magical blast. But it had gone out like a candle smothered by the wind.

I felt my skin prickle as Damien shifted beside me. He hadn’t spoken since Marrick started his interrogation, but I could feel his attention drilling into me.

Lyra crossed her arms and let out a sharp breath. “Look, we can keep standing here playing twenty questions, or we can focus on what really matters: the witches entered our territory looking for something. Or someone.”

I knew exactly what she meant when she glanced at me. I was relieved she didn’t mention what I did to get her out.

Marrick must have noticed too. “You think they were after Luna?”

Lyra didn’t blink. “That’s pretty likely. It was the same coven, plus a bunch more witches than before.”

His frustration rolled off Marrick like waves as he dragged a hand across his face. “This doesn’t make sense.”

He was right. It didn’t. Witches weren’t reckless. Those guys didn’t cross the Enchanted River for no good reason. Yet here they were, breaking the truce, hunting on our side, attacking me. It would be easier for me if I told them what Fabian told me about the priestesses. But I didn’t want any more interrogations, so I crossed my arms.

Finally, Damien spoke. “You’re marked.”

I felt my stomach twist. “Excuse me?”

He stepped closer to me. “That’s why their magic reacted so strongly to you. It wasn’t bouncing off you, it recognized something in you.”

I felt a chill creep down my spine. Honestly, I was wondering if it was because Fabian was my mate. But what did marked mean?

It was hard for me to swallow. “Do you think they did something to me the first time they took me?”

Damien didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached out, brushing his fingers over my arm. As soon as his skin touched mine, something new happened.

There was a sharp and electric pulse of energy that made me flinch. Damien pulled back just as fast, his eyes bright with shock.

“I felt that,” he murmured.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded.

Marrick stepped between us, his protective instincts fully engaged. He’d never liked Damien or other males coming close enough to touch me. “Is she cursed?”

As his brows furrowed, Damien’s gaze never left mine. “Not cursed.” He hesitated, then said the last thing I expected. “You feel like them.”

It was a silence louder than anything else that happened tonight.

Like them, the witches?

My breath caught as I took a step back. “No.”

Damien stared at me. “Yes.”

I felt nausea creeping through my stomach. No. It wasn’t possible. I wasn’t like them. I was wolf, through and through. I’d trained my whole life to be a warrior, a protector of the pack.

With a sharp exhale, Marrick shook his head. “That’s insane. Luna isn’t’” He stopped himself, like he couldn’t even bring himself to say the words out loud. “She’s not.”

But he didn’t sound convinced.

“Don’t forget she’s a Baudelaire. This might be what it means to be a female Baudelaire.” Marrick’s voice was strained, like he was trying to convince himself. “We’ve always been males with immunity to magic. Maybe it manifests differently for women, they might have magic too.”

It was almost hilarious hearing him try to rationalize it. That’s not because Damien was the wrong person to argue with, but because Marrick actually felt he needed to defend me.

Lyra looked at me closely. Unlike the others, she didn’t try to rationalize away or force it into something that made sense. “How did it feel when you attacked?”

I hesitated. The question caught me off guard and called into question my unfounded ability before I’d even finished thinking about it.

Marrick’s gaze shifted to her. “Attacked who? What are you talking about?”

Before she could answer, Damien’s head snapped up, scanning the darkness. The whole look on his face changed, and so did his stance.

“We shouldn’t have this conversation here,” he said quietly. His eyes scanned the area. “I sense witches.”

I could see Marrick’s hand twitching towards the hilt of his blade as he went rigid beside me. Lyra mirrored him, shifting closer, her fingers curled around the dagger on her thigh.

Nobody questioned Damien’s instincts. If he said witches were nearby, they were nearby.

“How close?” Marrick asked with barely audible voice.

Damien tilted his head slightly, listening. “Not far. Three, maybe four of them. They’re not cloaked, they’re watching.”

Was it Fabian again? I told him to leave!

My pulse hammered against my ribs as I swallowed. “Can you tell if they’re male or female?”

Three pairs of eyes snapped toward me. There was no better time than now to tell them.

“The coven I’ve encountered twice now is all male. Their leader is Fabian.” I exhaled sharply, watching their reactions. “My mate.”

Silence.

There was a momentary look exchange between Lyra and Damien. A knowing look which I assumed was because they had already met him.

Meanwhile, Marrick just stared at me like I was crazy. “What the hell did you just say?”