“How is she?” Mom’s voice cracked like thin ice as she stared through the clinic window.

Dr. Liana worked over Jennifer’s still form, her movements sharp with urgency.

“Look at her… she’s hollow. Did she lose too much blood?” Mom’s fingers twisted in her Sentinel robes, knuckles bleached white.

I could feel the weight crushing her as a senior Sentinel watching her pack unravel, betrayal festering in the shadows we’d trusted.

I shook my head, jaw clenched tight enough to ache. “I wish I had answers, Mom.”

“Moon Goddess above,” she whispered, shoulders curling inward like a wounded bird. “How did the Black Widow’s den get breached like this?”

I...