Katie hadn't slept since the scream. Not really. Sleep danced at the edges of her mind, but Rachel, Daya, and Syla whispered too loudly. The lake had awakened something no, *someone*. And ever since, the air had tasted different. Thick with iron and roses.
Rachel paced in her chest, growling low.
Daya purred like a blade dragged across silk.
Syla… Syla hummed lullabies that made her bones tremble.
And worse? That tether, that *feeling* hadn't gone away. It tugged at her. Pulled at her blood. Something ancient had woken up when she screamed, and now the shadows whispered his name.
Lucian.
She didn't know how she knew the name. It wasn't in her memories. It was in her *blood*.
Katie sat on the edge of her bed in the servant quarters, her fingers gripping the worn blanket like it could hold her together. Marissa had called her worthless this morning. Again. But Katie barely heard her. Her ears were still ringing with echoes of the forest and her own voice turned into a weapon.
Her ears bled when she screamed. But the trees bowed. The earth *shook*.
Someone knocked.
Before she could answer, the door creaked open.
Liam.
She stood instinctively, heart clenching. His presence filled the room like a storm front tall, golden, dangerous. He shut the door quietly behind him, eyes never leaving hers.
"You felt it too," he said.
Katie nodded. "Something's coming."
"No," Liam murmured, stepping closer. "*Someone's already here.*"
Before she could ask what he meant, the lights flickered. The air went cold freezing cold. Frost crept across the windowpane in spirals.
And then…
The door behind Liam burst open.
He turned instantly, growling. Katie gasped.
The man who stood there wasn't a man. He was hunger dressed in velvet shadows. Pale skin, tall frame, silver eyes that looked through your soul and into what you feared. His black hair fell in waves to his shoulders, and blood-red symbols crawled up his throat like living ink.
Lucian.
Katie staggered back, clutching her stomach like it might cave in. Every part of her *screamed*. But not in fear.
In *recognition*.
Lucian's gaze locked on her. And the world cracked in half.
"Mate," he whispered.
Liam stepped in front of her, eyes glowing gold. "Get away from her."
Lucian cocked his head, lips twitching. "You think you can stop me, pup?"
Katie shoved past Liam before he could shift. Her hands trembled. Her skin burned.
"Lucian," she said, tasting his name. It felt like home. Like fire. Like hunger.
Lucian's eyes softened. For a moment—just a breath he looked *lost*. "You remember."
Katie shook her head. "I don't. But I *feel* you."
Lucian reached out, fingertips almost brushing her cheek.
That's when it happened.
Katie's chest *exploded* with power. Not literally, but close. She gasped as Rachel howled, Daya shrieked, and Syla *sang*. The bond blazed like lightning in her veins, and her knees buckled.
Lucian caught her.
His arms were cold. But strong. So strong.
"Easy, my heart," he murmured, voice like a winter kiss. "You've been waiting for me. Just like I've waited for you."
Behind them, Liam growled low. Torn. Rage and hurt fighting for dominance.
"She's mine," Liam said.
Katie's head whipped toward him, eyes wide and glowing.
One eye burned gold. The other shimmered silver. Her pupils turned red as blood.
All three of them Rachel, Daya, Syla rose within her.
"I'm not a prize," she said, voice layered with more than one tone.
Silence.
Lucian's lips curled into something between a smile and a challenge. "Then choose, little fire. Wolf or vampire?"
But Katie wasn't listening. Her eyes blazed with all three colors gold for Rachel, silver for Syla, and blood-red for Daya.
She glowed.
Visions danced at the edge of her consciousness, firelight, ancient bonds, locked doors inside her own soul. Something was changing. Evolving.
Rachel growled: *He is ours.*
Daya purred: *He is mine.*
Syla sang: *He is hers.*
Katie closed her eyes, trembling between them all.
And then… she smiled.
"I don't have to choose."
Lucian blinked. Liam stepped back. The room pulsed with power as Katie stood tall.
"I'm not just a wolf. Not just a vampire. Not just a siren. I'm *me.* And whoever can handle all of me... will earn me."
Lucian stared, stunned.
Liam bowed his head, a slow grin rising.
And Katie? She turned toward the window as the moonlight poured in, skin glowing faintly silver, eyes flashing red, gold, and silver like a living storm.
Let them come. Let the world try to claim her.
She belonged to no one.
But soon, they'd all belong to *her.*