Chapter 62: The Seed of Betrayal

I didn’t sleep after we returned.

Even with Calista captured and her lab destroyed, my mind couldn’t stop racing. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that thing in the tank—growing too fast, too unnatural. And the horror in Gabriel’s scream when he woke, like something had clawed through his soul.

Lucien sat across from me in the study, head bowed, his bruised knuckles resting on the table between us. He hadn’t spoken much since we got back. Neither had I.

There were no words big enough to carry the weight of what we’d seen.

“I should’ve killed her sooner,” Lucien finally muttered....