When Kidd and Zane burst from the tree line onto the edge of Marco's property, the tension was strung tight as a wire ready to snap
Thiago crouched low to the ground a few meters from the front door. His paws were spread wide, his back arched, fur bristling along his spine. His breathing was fast and uneven, and the air carried the heavy scent of adrenaline and something else—a metallic note of instability that Kidd was beginning to recognize
Colton and Christian stood closest to him. They had formed a half-circle, teeth bared, bodies stretched to their limits. They weren't attacking, but neither were they retreating. A low, dangerous growl rumbled from their throats, vibrating in the cold air like a warning
When they sensed the alpha's presence, their posture shifted almost imperceptibly. The growling didn't stop, but its tone changed—readiness replacing tension. They were waiting
In a single second, Kidd assessed distance, positioning, possible escape routes, and threats. Zane halted half a step behind him, ready to move at a signal. Adrahil was taut beneath Kidd's skin, prepared to strike if the young wolf made even one violent move toward the house
And then Kidd saw her
Ithilien stood a few meters from the entrance, bathed in moonlight that fell over her like a silver glow. She wore sweatpants and a dark green sweater, her hair loose and stirred gently by the wind. She wasn't looking at the twins. She wasn't looking at Kidd or Zane.
She was looking only at Thiago
"Easy," she said softly. Her voice wasn't loud, yet it carried clearly through the taut silence. "Breathe. It's your body. Come back to us, Thiago. We're waiting for you."
She didn't react to the alpha's arrival, as if their presence were obvious, as if she knew they were not the most important part of this moment
The energy she released into the space was tangible. It wasn't aggressive. It wasn't brutally dominant. It was soothing, calm—and yet it commanded obedience absolutely
Colton was the first to stop growling
Christian shifted uneasily, and then both of them began to whine softly, as if unsure whether to hold their ground or kneel. Their instincts reacted faster than their reason
Kidd felt it just as clearly.
Adrahil stopped pressing forward. The fury that had been pulsing beneath his skin collided with something older and equally primal. He did not retreat. He did not submit. But he acknowledged it
Kidd moved forward slowly, placing each step with intention so as not to provoke a sudden reaction. As he passed Zane, he shot him a short, hard look.
Be ready
Zane gave the slightest nod, his body still tense, ready to react in a fraction of a second
Thiago remained low, but the tone of his growl shifted. It was no longer blind and feral. It trembled
Ithilien took one step forward.
"Good," she continued, her voice steady and warm. "You hear me. I know you do. It's just a wave. It will pass. Breathe."
Thiago flinched. His ears twitched slightly. His darkened eyes focused on her
"It's your body," she repeated calmly. "You have control. Come back."
Slowly, cautiously, the young wolf shifted one paw forward, then the other. His back lowered slightly, and the tension in his neck began to ease
Kidd stood several meters away, feeling something inside him shift in a way he couldn't fully name. It wasn't jealousy or simple pride. It was the understanding that the energy of a Luna—even one who had not formally taken the role—worked in a way that could not be denied
Thiago moved closer to her, only a few steps away.
And suddenly something changed
Not in the space around them.
In him
The shadow clouding his gaze dissolved like mist in light. Muscles that had been stretched to their limits shuddered, as though a taut rope had been cut
The Fenrir protein fueling the aggression shut down as abruptly as it had ignited
The growl died
In its place came a heavy, disoriented breath
Thiago blinked, as if only now truly seeing his surroundings. His gaze moved from Ithilien to the twins, then to Zane
Finally, it settled on Kidd .
In the same second, his body dropped instinctively. The wolf lay down on the ground, paws stretched forward, belly pressed to the grass in unmistakable submission
There was no fear in it.
There was acknowledgment of fault and recognition of authority
Kidd stepped closer, watching carefully to ensure no shadow lingered in the young wolf's eyes
There wasn't . There was confusion. A trace of panic. And immense exhaustion
The tension in the air fell like a curtain.
And Adrahil, though still alert, stopped growling.
Kidd remained still for a few more seconds, listening to the night as if he expected the tension to snap back without warning and crash into them with renewed force. Thiago lay low to the ground, breathing hard, but the blind, mindless fury was gone from his eyes. He looked alert now, disoriented, more frightened than dangerous.
To Kidd, the scene was already settling into something familiar. A first shift. Too many stimuli. Instinct searching desperately for an anchor and lunging at the strongest signal within reach. It could be chaotic, sometimes risky, but it still belonged within the boundaries of nature.
Colton was the first to understand the unspoken command. He approached Thiago and nudged his shoulder firmly with his muzzle, not aggressive, just steady. Christian positioned himself on the other side, creating a natural corridor of exit, ready to block the path if the young wolf tried to bolt again. Zane moved closer as well, muscles taut, though his tail had already lowered.
Kidd stepped back into the shadows of the trees and shifted into his human form. The cold air bit into his heated skin, but he barely noticed. His gaze found Ithilien immediately.
She was still standing there, bathed in the pale light of the moon, her hair loose around her shoulders, dressed in an ordinary green sweater and sweatpants, as though the entire scene were something routine. Only someone who knew her well would have seen the faint tremor in her hands.
"Take him home," Kidd said calmly, without taking his eyes off her. "Go ahead. I'll keep him close to me for a few days."
"Got it," Zane replied without hesitation.
Thiago glanced once more at Ithilien. There was more than gratitude in his look. There was confusion. A question. As if he were trying to understand why her voice had been the one to cut through the noise he had spoken about earlier.
The twins led him toward the street. Zane brought up the rear, casting one last look at his alpha before disappearing around the bend.
When they were alone, the silence thickened.
Kidd stepped closer, stopping at the boundary of neutral ground. He respected it, even if his instincts urged him otherwise.
He looked at Ithilien with open acknowledgment.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "That could have ended much worse."
There was no pride or resentment in his voice. Only the honesty of an alpha who knew when the safety of his pack had depended on someone else.
"I'm sorry it happened at all. First shifts can be unpredictable, but I should have anticipated that something might throw him off balance."
Ithilien didn't answer immediately. Her gaze was still fixed on the direction Thiago had gone, as though she were replaying the last seconds before the aggression had extinguished itself.
Kidd felt a sharp, uncomfortable sting in his chest.
For a fleeting second, the thought crossed his mind that her attention might not be only concern for a young wolf. That perhaps her instinct had answered his. That perhaps it wasn't coincidence that Thiago had run here.
Adrahil stirred beneath his skin, restless.
The thought was irrational. Unsupported by facts. Yet instinct rarely asked permission from logic.
Then Ithilien finally turned her head and looked at him.
Her face was calm—almost too calm. There was no warmth or relief in her eyes. Only a tension he couldn't quite read.
"Take him to the hospital," she said evenly. "Marco will examine him."
Kidd frowned slightly, more out of surprise than objection.
"I'm not sure that's necessary. It was his first shift. Aggression happens. The body goes wild before it stabilizes."
Ithilien studied him more closely. Something sharper entered her gaze, something almost cutting.
"That wasn't normal aggression."
"Ithilien," he replied calmly, though there was a note of firmness in his voice, "I've seen dozens of first shifts. Sometimes a wolf lunges at anything that moves. It's instinct. Nothing more."
Her jaw tightened for a moment.
"Then take advice from someone who has seen something different," she answered quietly, but in a tone that left no doubt it wasn't a request. "Take him to my brother."
Kidd looked at her for several seconds, trying to understand where this tension was coming from. To him, the situation was under control. Troubling, yes—but still within the boundaries of nature. To her, it was as if a door had just opened onto something far bigger.
Without another word, she turned and went inside. The door closed behind her softly but decisively, as if she were drawing a line she had no intention of explaining.
When the door shut, the silence inside Marco's house was almost deafening.
Ithilien braced her hands against the kitchen counter, feeling the cold stone beneath her palms as if she needed a physical anchor. Her breathing was shallow, uneven, though only moments earlier she had stood outside unmoved, steady as rock. Only now did she fully register how tightly wound she had been.
It wasn't fear of the attack.
It was recognition.
She closed her eyes and tried to sort through the images. Thiago low to the ground. His fur bristling, his eyes darkened in a way that wasn't purely instinct. That fraction of a second when the skin beneath his coat rippled unnaturally, as though something were moving under it too fast, too violently. Dark veins surfacing beneath the fur, pulsing in a rhythm that did not belong to an ordinary transformation.
It could have been coincidence.
A first shift could be brutal. A young wolf's body reacted in extremes, and adrenaline could distort perception. Ithilien knew that. She had seen it many times.
She tried to push away the thought that it was more.
Montana was far away. Three years ago. A different territory. Different wolves.
It can't be the same.
She ran a hand through her hair, which still carried the scent of cold air and forest. But the memory of that day in Silver Creek forced its way into her mind without permission.
The wolf that had escaped the research facility, eyes possessed by pure aggression, as if his body were too small to contain whatever was rising inside him. Skin rippling beneath fur in a way that felt almost alien to biology. Black veins that should not have existed.
And Ace had been beside her.
She remembered his presence like an anchor. His wolf had stood firm, stable, and the energy of an alpha had created space for her to act. Together, they had been a point of balance. Together, they had been strong enough to calm that experiment—because now she could not call it anything else, even for a moment.
Now she was alone.
No.
She corrected herself sharply.
She wasn't alone.
Kidd was here.
Adrahil was strong, stable, powerful.
But if this was the same case, why had it worked?
Why had Thiago listened to her?
Why had her voice cut through that wave of aggression?
She opened her eyes and walked slowly to the window, pulling the curtain aside slightly. The driveway was empty now. The night had returned to its deceptive normalcy. Only the wind stirred the branches of the trees.
If this wasn't the same—if Thiago was only a young wolf overwhelmed by instinct—then how had she calmed him without a stabilizing alpha right beside her? In Montana, she had needed Ace. She had felt clearly then that it was their combined energy that had kept that wolf in check.
Tonight, Adrahil had been several meters away.
And yet it was her he had listened to.
Did that mean she herself had become strong enough?
Or did it mean… that something in Thiago had been reacting specifically to her?
That question sent the tension back through her like a cold shiver along her spine.
Why had he run to her?
The scent of jasmine could have drawn a young wolf. That was natural. A Luna—even an unofficial one—was a stabilizing point for unstable wolves. Instinct sought balance.
But there hadn't been only desperation in that run.
There had been purpose.
Thiago hadn't wandered. He hadn't searched for a random target. He had headed straight for her door, as if something inside him knew that the answer was there.
Ithilien rested her forehead against the cool glass.
If this was the same phenomenon as in Montana, it meant someone was interfering with wolf biology again. That something had been introduced into a young wolf's system. That the aggression had not been merely hormonal chaos.
If it wasn't the same, she needed another explanation. Stress, perhaps. An uncontrolled reaction to an alpha's energy. Maybe her own presence had disrupted the pack's balance in a way she didn't yet understand.
But deep down, she knew it wasn't that simple.
The image of black veins beneath fur had not been an illusion.
Skin should not ripple like that.
And above all—a young wolf should not, even for a moment, feel completely cut off from the pack, as if there were nothing in his head but noise.
Noise…
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the windowsill.
If something in him had been altered, if there had been interference, she needed to know. She needed certainty before she told Kidd. Without proof, her suspicions would sound like echoes of old trauma.
But if she was right…
Then the fact that Thiago had run to her might mean she had become part of a mechanism she did not yet understand.