Chapter 49: Wicked girl

“Open the door, it’s me!”

Bryce’s voice came from outside, loud and out of breath. Maya jumped from the couch, knocking over her cup of tea. Lyra ran to the window first, her heartbeat quick and heavy. Through the glass, she saw Bryce standing there, panting hard, his shirt torn and his hands covered in dirt.

Jack rushed to open the door. Bryce stumbled in, almost falling. His chest rose and fell fast as he leaned on the wall, trying to catch his breath.

“Bryce,” Maya said, her voice filled with worry. “What happened to you?”

He shook his head. “They found us,” he said in a shaky voice. “The Hunters. The people who created her.”

“Created who?” Lyra asked, frowning.

“Skye,” Bryce said. “She isn’t just a girl. She’s a shapeshifter. They made her.”

Maya froze. “What do you mean they made her?”

Bryce sank into the chair and rubbed his face with both hands. “She told me everything. She was made in a lab, like some kind of experiment. They mixed blood, magic, wolf genes, and something else. She can turn into anything she’s touched, but it’s killing her each time she does.”

Lyra crossed her arms. “So she lied to us.”

“No,” Bryce said quickly. “She didn’t want to hurt anyone. She wanted to protect Damien.”

At the mention of Damien’s name, everyone went quiet. Jack looked at the floor. “Did she find him?”

Bryce nodded slowly. “No, but she said she knows where he is. Before I could ask more, the Hunters came. They were armed and ready. She fought them, saved me. She told me to run and warn you.”

Maya’s hands clenched into fists. “So they are back. After everything we’ve faced, now we have them to deal with.”

Bryce lifted his head. His eyes were tired but focused. “They want Damien. They said he has something inside him called the Alpha Core. I think that’s why Skye was sent here.”

Lyra walked over to the table and picked up a small silver knife, twirling it between her fingers. “If she was sent to find Damien, then why help us?”

Bryce looked up at her. “Because she saw what they did to others like her. They turned them into monsters. She didn’t want that to happen to him.”

For a few seconds, the house was silent except for the sound of rain tapping against the roof. The air felt heavy, full of worry and confusion.

Jack leaned forward. “You said they were armed. Do you think they’re coming here?”

“I don’t know,” Bryce said softly. “But she said they won’t stop until they have Damien.”

Maya walked to the window and looked outside. The street was quiet, but her eyes moved like she expected something to appear any second. “If what you’re saying is true, then we need to stay hidden. We can’t risk another fight.”

Lyra frowned. “Hiding won’t help forever. We need to know who these Hunters really are and what they want with the Alpha Core.”

Maya turned around, her face serious. “We’ll figure it out, but not tonight. Bryce needs to rest.”

Bryce tried to stand but his legs shook. Lyra helped him to the couch, and he smiled weakly. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

She nodded and handed him a glass of water. He drank slowly, his hands still trembling.

Jack sat beside him. “You said Skye can turn into anything she touches. That means she could be anyone, right?”

Bryce nodded. “Yes. She could walk right past you and you wouldn’t even know.”

Lyra frowned. “That’s dangerous. If the Hunters catch her, they could use her against us.”

Bryce looked down. “I think they already did. One of them shot her with a dart. It had something in it, maybe poison. She fell when I left.”

Maya’s face softened, though her voice stayed calm. “You did what you could. You saved yourself and brought us a warning. That’s what matters.”

He nodded but still looked guilty. “She told me to tell Damien not to come for her. I think she knew what was coming.”

Lyra sat on the edge of the table and sighed. “She saved you, Bryce. Maybe she isn’t as bad as we thought.”

Maya turned back to the window. The rain had stopped, and a soft fog covered the street. “Good people do bad things when they’re scared,” she said quietly. “Maybe she’s one of them.”

Jack looked at the clock. “It’s almost midnight. What do we do now?”

“We wait,” Maya said. “Until morning, no one leaves the house. If the Hunters are out there, we’ll see them coming.”

Lyra nodded. She stood up and grabbed a blanket, tossing it to Bryce. “You should rest here. You look like you’ve been running for hours.”

He smiled weakly. “Feels like it.”

As the room grew quiet, Maya sat down and opened the old book that lay on the table. The pages were worn and filled with strange symbols. She flipped through them, looking for anything about shapeshifters or the Alpha Core.

Lyra leaned over her shoulder. “Find anything?”

“Not yet,” Maya said. “But this book has answers to things we don’t even understand yet. It mentioned something about creatures that can steal power, but the text is broken.”

Jack rubbed his temples. “We’re in deep again, aren’t we?”

Maya smiled faintly. “When have we ever been out of it?”

They all chuckled quietly, the sound soft and tired. For a moment, it almost felt normal, like everything was okay again.

Bryce closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the couch. “We’ll find Damien,” he said softly. “And we’ll stop them.”

Lyra looked at him and nodded. “We always do.”

Maya stood up and turned off the lamp. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow we start looking for answers.”

The room went dark except for the faint moonlight coming through the window.

Outside, the fog thickened. The night was still, too still, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

Lyra lay awake on the couch, listening to the sound of the rain starting again. She thought of Damien somewhere out there, alone and maybe scared. She thought of Skye too, her golden eyes full of sadness.

She whispered softly into the quiet room. “Please be okay.”

And for the first time in a long while, there was no growl, no scream, no chase. Only silence and the slow rhythm of the rain on the roof.

It was a calm before the storm, and they all knew it.