Chapter 4

Florence POV:

"Mommy, are the bad men coming?"

Ava sat on the cot in the basement safe house, clutching her stuffed rabbit. We were underground, in a property my father bought through shell companies.

"No, baby," I soothed, brushing her hair. "We're playing a game. Hide and seek."

My phone rang. Blocked number.

"Hello?"

"I know where you are." Julius.

My blood ran cold. "How?"

"You really thought you could hide? You're still wearing the necklace I gave you. Tracker."

I ripped the silver chain from my neck and threw it across the room.

"What do you want, Julius?"

"The Lunar Temple blueprints," he snarled. "The contractors are refusing to build Kenzie's version. They say it's unstable. I need your original files. The ones you stole."

"I didn't steal them. I created them."

"Bring them to me. And bring Ava. The courts awarded me full custody this morning. Abandonment looks bad on a mother's record, Florence."

"You signed away your rights!"

"I'm the Alpha. I do what I want. You have one hour."

I hung up. I grabbed my laptop.

"Okay, Julius," I muttered. "You want the designs? I'll give you a fix."

I opened the CAD files. I adjusted the ventilation specs. To the untrained eye, it looked like a stabilization fix. In reality, I was creating a sonic tunnel. When the autumn winds hit the building, it would emit a high-frequency screech that would drive every wolf inside into a migraine-induced madness.

I hit send.

CRASH.

The door to the safe house splintered inward.

Three men in black tactical gear stormed in. Rogues. Mercenaries.

"Grab the girl!" one shouted.

"Ava, get behind me!" I screamed.

I grabbed a heavy iron lamp and swung. It connected with the first man's helmet with a satisfying crunch. He went down.

But the second man tackled me. His fist connected with my stomach. I doubled over, gasping.

"Mommy!"

I looked up to see the third man grabbing Ava. She was kicking and screaming.

Then, the air shimmered.

Ava's eyes glowed a bright, piercing gold. A low growl, far too deep for a five-year-old, erupted from her throat.

The Rogue holding her yelped and dropped her. Smoke rose from his arm where she had touched him.

"She's burning me!" he yelled.

Ava had manifested her aura. The Royal Aura.

"Forget the plan!" the leader shouted. "Gas them!"

One of them pulled a canister. Wolfsbane.

"No..."

Purple mist filled the tiny room. My lungs burned. My vision blurred.

The last thing I saw was Julius walking through the broken door, stepping over my body to pick up a coughing Ava.

"Good work," he told the Rogues. "Bring the mother. We'll finish this at the river."