The night sky bled red as the siege began.
Flames erupted beyond the northern wall of Silverstone, painting everything in a burning glow. The howls of wolves and the shrieks of vampires clashed in the wind like a terrible song. Warriors scrambled through the compound, weapons drawn, blood already soaking the ground.
In the center of the chaos, Eva clutched her swollen belly as a sharp pain cut through her like fire. She gasped, her knees buckling.
“Max!” she cried out, her voice trembling with fear and agony.
Max’s head snapped toward her. He had just cut down a rogue charging through the gate, blood splattering across his armor. His wolf eyes widened in panic as he saw her collapse to her knees.
“She’s going into labor!” Tiana shouted, rushing to Eva’s side. “Now? Not now!”
Dany was at her other side in seconds, his hands already bloodied from battle. “We have to move her! Get her to the den!”
But the path back was no longer safe.
Rogues swarmed through broken sections of the wall. Vampires darted across rooftops. Screams echoed from the warriors trying to hold the line.
Max picked Eva up in his arms, her body trembling. “Hold on, baby. I’ve got you.”
She clutched his shoulder tightly, her breath short and ragged. “It burns, Max. Something’s wrong. It’s like fire inside me.”
“I know,” he whispered. “Just hold on.”
Dany led the charge ahead, his sword cleaving a path through the chaos. Tiana ran beside Max, deflecting any stray attack that came too close.
Inside the nursery den, the pups had already been moved underground for safety. The healer’s bed was ready, but the healer herself had vanished in the battle. Only Tiana was left to help.
Max gently lowered Eva onto the bed, brushing hair from her damp forehead. Her eyes were wild, filled with fear and pain.
“I can’t—Max, I can’t do this,” she gasped. “It’s tearing me apart. One of them… one of them doesn’t feel alive.”
“Yes, you can,” he said, holding her hand tightly. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever known. You carried them this far. You can bring them into this world.”
Suddenly, her back arched with another scream, and her vision went black.
Whispers filled her head. Cold, taunting voices.
Danielle appeared first, her eyes hollow, her face shadowed in moonlight.
“You think this love will save you?” Danielle said. “You will break, like I did.”
Then Sylvester’s voice slithered in.
“You gave yourself to the wrong one. You should’ve been mine, Eva. These children… they belong to the night.”
And finally, Vladymyr appeared in the corner of her mind, cold and regal.
“They will be torn apart by who they are. You cannot protect them from what’s in their blood.”
“No,” Eva whispered through clenched teeth, sweat pouring from her skin. “No. You’re not real. You don’t get to take this from me!”
Max leaned over her, his face desperate. “Eva! Stay with me! Look at me!”
Her body trembled, pain ripping through her again, and then—silence.
For one terrible moment, everything stilled.
And then—
A cry.
High, strong, and loud.
Followed by another sound—harsher, lower. Not quite a cry… but a hiss, deep and sharp.
Tiana’s eyes filled with tears as she caught the two small, wriggling figures in her arms. One baby had pale silver fur along his back and let out a soft howl. The other had dark eyes that shimmered red for a second, then faded.
“They’re both here,” Tiana whispered, voice cracking. “They’re both real.”
Max turned to her, chest heaving, his eyes wide. “Let me see them.”
She gently laid the babies on Eva’s chest.
One clung to her warmth, the wolf child, his tiny hands curling against her skin. The other was colder to the touch, but his eyes blinked open and found hers instantly.
“Hey,” Max whispered, kneeling beside the bed. “You did it. You brought them home.”
But Eva didn’t answer.
Her head lolled to the side, her skin pale and drenched in sweat.
“Eva?” Max’s voice broke.
“Eva—open your eyes.”
Still, she didn’t move.
Panic filled his chest. He pressed his hand against her neck—her pulse was there, but faint. Too faint.
Tiana stepped back, letting Max take her place beside the bed.
He cupped her face, trembling. “Eva, please. You can’t leave now. You don’t get to give me everything and then disappear.”
He leaned close, pressing his forehead against hers, his voice barely a whisper.
“Don’t you dare leave me now.”
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