Katya looked on with a troubled expression as Agda frantically paced back and forth outside of Natasha’s hospital room, having just been expelled by her granddaughter for her poor bedside manners.

Katya couldn’t fault Sophia for kicking Agda out as the Fjorgyn Matriarch had been madly rambling about evacuation plans and scenarios with no regard for the state Natasha was in, making it all but obvious that Natasha wasn’t included in said plans.

Katya thought it wise to excuse herself as well to keep an eye on the unstable matriarch, her sore throat a reminder of just how dangerous she could be.

Katya would have preferred simply ousting Agda and her clan from the valley, but knew that such an action would require either handing over Sophia or gathering the Eve clan’s elders and having an all out war with the remnants of the Fjorgyn Clan, all of whom were of a comparable age and strength to herself.

And on top of that there was the unsettling presence of Agda’s second, Ivar, to consider.

Katya had heard of the man before as he had made a name for himself through the centuries for being a formidable fighter and a truly terrifying clanless Deviant.

His power to erode psyche’s merely through touch was a horrifying prospect to any of their kind.

Katya’s attention snapped back to the present as she heard a commotion down the hall.

“Please, sir, you shouldn’t be walking!” A doctor pleaded and a nearby nurse audibly gasped in shock.

As he came into view, Katya realized the reports she’d received regarding his injuries had been woefully insufficient.

Had it not been for the tightly wound mind and visibly pulsing veins, one might very well have confused the man for a walking corpse just by the state of his injuries.

Katya watched as he waved off the worried medical staff and made a beeline for her, his left eye gone, leaving behind an empty dark socket of seemingly impossible depth.

“It’s begun.” Aleks stated ominously, his voice coarse and rough like a growl, and Katya felt something from him she never had before... Fear.

“Aleks, you should be-” Katya started but she was interrupted by Agda rushing past her, charging up to Aleks.

“How could you let this happen?!” Agda demanded, incensed.

Katya wanted to intervene but feared making the situation worse. Her inaction drawing the attention of Aleks, as he all but disregarded the Fjorgyn Matriarch and examined Katya closely, his eyes settling on her throat.

Katya unintentionally raised her hand, only to pull away at the last moment, but the damage was already done.

Aleks’s mind closed off like a steel gate slamming shut, cutting off any and all thoughts with a wall of chaos as he turned to Agda.

“Agda, there’s something you need to know about Sophia... About the baby.” Aleks said, Katya easily spotting the obvious deceit, but in her frenzied state, Agda did not, instead she leaned forward anxiously.

In an instant Aleks’s remaining eye blazed a fiery hue of red as he raised his hand and placed it on the side of her face, energy arcing before they touched.

As if jolted by a high current, Agda’s body locked in place except for the occasional small sputter of struggle.

Ivar moved instantly, having seen through the act almost as quickly as Katya, but a figure in black armor met him in the narrow hospital hall.

Arkos manifested out of black flame and raised a dull chunk of obsidian in the shape of a sword before bringing it down on Ivar’s shoulder in a brutal strike.

The Sentire Deviant buckled and fell to his knees with a fierce snarl as his teeth clenched in pain.

Katya had heard more than a few bones break from the impact, and half of Ivar’s body had slanted noticeably.

That he was even kneeling upright and conscious was an impressive testament to his willpower and endurance.

However, his resistance was short-lived as Arkos swung his armored fist, impacting the man’s jaw, breaking it and slamming him into the floor with far more force than seemed strictly necessary.

Arkos turned and marched towards them, but it wasn’t at his master’s side he stopped, but at Katya’s, almost as if intent on comforting her by his presence.

Katya felt more at ease, with him there, something which surprised her, but her attention was quickly drawn back to Agda and Aleks, seemingly locked in a stalemate, until Aleks began to speak.

“Your state is no excuse and your justifications are irrelevant. You decided violence would serve you better than words, so now by violence you shall be judged, and my verdict is the brand.” His voice cold as an executioner’s.

Agda’s teeth gritted as smoke rose from her face and the smell of burning skin filled the halls. A nurse behind Katya gasped and covered her mouth and nose with her hands.

When Aleks removed his hand, it wasn’t charred flesh which was revealed, but instead a deep red mark in the shape of his hand, runic sigils drawn within, glowing faintly.

***

I watched as Agda gritted her teeth so hard I feared they might shatter; she refused to cry out in pain, even though I knew her suffering was great.

There was an unspoken agreement between Katya and I, a delegation of responsibilities, and I had failed to uphold mine, regardless of the reasons.

That could no longer be allowed to happen...

I knew there were ramifications for my decision, but they were unimportant compared to setting an example.

You can reason with the Matriarch... But step out of line and you will face a Titan.

I turned away from Agda to find Katya standing calmly, almost as if she had expected this outcome.

“We can speak later. For now, you should go to them. I will take care of matters here.” Katya said calmly before I could even open my mouth, her face no longer showing even a hint of her previous worries.

I nodded and followed my connections to Sophia and Natasha to a nearby door.

As I opened the door, my mind immediately went into a fight of flight at the sight of Natasha restrained to her hospital bed, tubes and wires running all over her body along with the faintly glowing lines of a breaking vessel.

Sophia looked up at me, her eyes red from tears and whatever words I had in mind got caught in my throat as a wave of guilt swept over me.

“Don’t do that.” Sophia said, her voice tired and shaking but fierce. “This was no more your fault than it was mine for wanting to leave the valley...” Sophia stated, although a hint of guilt was also present on her features.

But it was short-lived, soon replaced with anger as her hands clenched and shook.

“We know who did this,” Sophia hissed before taking a deep breath to calm herself and placing a gentle hand atop of Natasha’s.

I sat down opposite her and took Natasha’s hand between my own, pulsing small amounts of refined energy through her body to seek out any damage and contaminants.

But within seconds, the equipment connected to her went haywire, screaming their alarms, some even throwing sparks as they shorted.

I looked up, frustrated at the machines, and then turned to Sophia, who wore a worried expression.

“I will fix this... I swear it. But I can’t do so here.” I said, gesturing to the machines and lights.

“Then we bring her home.” Sophia nodded.

***

Sophia helped Aleks disconnect the sensors and IV’s from Natasha and wrapped her up in her covers, Sophia had wanted to carry Natasha herself, especially with the state Aleks appeared to be in, but she felt the importance of him being in physical contact with her and backed off.

As they left the hospital room, Sophia was surprised to see no sign of her grandmother, only Katya patiently waiting for them.

Katya stepped forward worriedly and brushed the back of her hand over Natasha’s cheek as she slept in Aleks’s arms.

“She will recover.” Aleks stated as if an undeniable fact. There truly was no doubt in his mind, and Katya nodded, trusting in his words.

Sophia wondered briefly if Katya heard the same small voice whispering poisonous words of doubt and uncertainty, reminding her of how little they knew of him, of how brief their time together had been and of all the secrets he still kept.

Sophia felt sick at the vile thoughts creeping their way into her brain, but could not banish them completely.

Not until she felt a hand on her shoulder. The haze seemed to lift from her clouded mind and the invasive thoughts all but disappeared as she felt herself be pulled into a warm and comforting embrace.

She felt the knot of fear and trauma loosen and a flood of emotion spill out as she wept into Katya.

***

Elisa looked up from her huddled position in the corner of her cell as the rumbling ceased.

She had no way to tell how much time had passed since they’d been captured and swallowed by shadows after their attempted attack on the Titan at the pier, but it couldn’t have been more than a couple of days, it wouldn’t be long now before someone would come for them.

She was sure of it.

“Kid, you really should eat something.” One of the Outcasts said from the room opposite hers.

Like all the other Outcasts in here, she kept her head shaved, proudly displaying the tattooed markings covering their bodies. One of her sisters had asked about them and the Outcasts had seemed almost reverent in their explanations.

Elisa had been skeptical until she felt the fluctuations of power emanating from all around her every time they practiced, it rivaled that of a young circle, it would still pale in comparison to the heads of a covenant, but it scared her to know these people had access to such power.

“Would you fucking quit it already? If you kill her, he’ll punish all of us. Use your fucking head for once, you crazy bitch.” Someone shouted out of view and the woman in the room opposite Elisa frowned, her expression manic and hungry as all pretense of friendliness disappeared.

“Aww, you ruined it.” She replied with a wide grin revealing rows of teeth filed down to points, “I wasn’t gonna kill her, just take a few choice cuts and leave the rest.” She continued, her tongue running over the sharpened points of her teeth, drawing blood.

The Outcast closed her mouth and Elisa could see her gleefully suckling on her own bleeding tongue, savoring the taste of blood.

***

The car quietly sped across the paved roads leading towards the valley walls.

Sophia sat beside me on the backseat, her head resting on my shoulder as she slept. The weight of what had happened lifted from her shoulders momentarily, allowing her a much needed reprieve.

Natasha was still in her unconscious state cradled on my lap, a continuous stream of my refined energy flowing through her system, trading long-term recovery for momentary relief.

Despite the circumstances and the troubles ahead of us, I found a calm I hadn’t known for as long as I could remember.

However, that calm didn’t last, as I was reminded of my current state.

Over twenty percent of my body had been replaced with solidified shadow imitating basic functions, sadly my left eye, the intricacies of a cornea being far too complex to mimic currently.

It would take a long time to fully recover, even with the increased ambient energy of the world.

For now, I just wanted to go home...

***

“We’re standing here at the edge of the restricted zone, formerly thought to be caused by a chemical spill, but now believed to have something to do with the newly confirmed paranormal. Officials have been silent after president McKenzie’s shocking announcement and people are demanding answers-” Melissa Keys stopped as her camera man pointed behind her. A group of people had set up a ladder to climb over the wall.

“It appears that protesters have erected a ladder and are scaling the wall as we speak, as we are currently located twenty miles from the nearest military checkpoint this may be the first civilians to enter the zone, we’ll be here with any updates as soon as they happen. Back to you, Janet.” Melissa finished off.

“You know Janet is on leave, right?” Her camera man, Mark, reminded.

“They’ll chop the segment up, anyway.” Melissa replied, disgruntled, her cheery persona gone, as she pulled out a cigarette and lit it, inhaling deeply before the tension in her shoulders eased.

“Do you think they really got camps in there?” Mark asked, looking up at the posing protestor at the top of the concrete wall.

“Well, if they do, those idiots aren’t gonna be much help, no guns, or anything.” Melissa replied derisively, blowing a cloud of smoke in the direction of the protestors.

***

The smell of grief and hopelessness hung in the air like a smog, choking Lydia’s senses, making her eyes tear up.

She took a deep breath to calm herself as the parents and their wards shuffled lifelessly out of the various campers and vans; they put up a brave front as soon as they turned around, not wanting their child’s last days to be sad or painful.

Few of the children had the strength to walk on their own, being either carried or wheeled forward. This was likely the first time many of them had been outside in months.

Lydia stepped forward and got the attention of the group of nearly thirty people.

“Hello, my name is Lydia Olson, and this-” Lydia flourished behind her as wolves many times larger than any found in nature stepped out of the cover of the woods. “- Is my pack. We are Therianthropes, shapeshifters and although we don’t agree with the term, werewolves... Any questions?” Lydia finished, and looked out into the crowd, there were plenty of fear and uncertainty, but one emotion was present on all those gathered... Hope.

A large man stepped forward, his hair unkempt and heavy bags hung under his eyes.

“Are you one of them?” The man asked, although his tone dipped into what might be construed as an accusation.

“I am,” Lydia replied simply.

“This...” The man looked back to a little girl in a wheelchair, an IV bag hanging from a pole duct taped to the chair. “This seems too good to be true... What’s the catch?”

“The catch is that they will no longer live by mundane society’s rules, and neither will you. They will be part of a pack and have to bear the responsibilities that entails. Until they reach adulthood, you will be part of this pack as well.” Lydia explained, stepping forward and raising her voice to be heard by all of them.

“You will live by the rules of the pack, and there are no exceptions. This isn’t a choice to be made lightly and I wish I could give you more time to decide, but all I can give you is until sunset.” Lydia continued.

“Is it worth it?” The man asked with a small voice, his fists clenched tightly.

“That is for you to decide. Is living here worth it?” Lydia retorted.

Lydia walked past the tree line and she heard rustling behind her, turning in time to see John wearing a pair of sweatpants two sizes too small for him.

“You did well.” John said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t get how you or mom could do that, I wanted to shake and yell at them, tell them that of course it’s the right fucking choice because they’ll live, but more than that because of the life they’ll experience!” Lydia ranted.

“They can’t be swayed. That isn’t the way,” John reminded her.

“I know! It’s just... They’re fucking dying in front of me, and I could save them, all of them!” Lydia felt tears of frustration well up in her eyes.

“I told mom the same thing... I messed up my first time, pushed too hard and over half left... I bawled my eyes out for two days straight afterwards.” John confided.

“What did mom say?” Lydia asked.

“Remember this, and do better.” John replied.

Lydia calmed down and looked out into the clearing where the families were busily setting up a fire and camping, some looking up at the colors of the sky as they clutched their sickly child tight.

“How many do you think will leave?” Lydia asked quietly.

“Some... But not many.” John replied.