The ultrasound machine's hum filled the small clinic room, sharp against the rain drumming on the roof. Ava stared at the screen, her breath catching at the blurry shape there—a tiny heartbeat flickering, a curl of something that might've been a hand.
"Eight weeks," the doctor said, sliding the probe across Ava's stomach. "Strong as an ox. Must take after the dad."
Alexander's hand tightened around Ava's, his thumb brushing the silver mark on her wrist—the one that hadn't faded, just shrunk to a thin line, like a scar. "Healthy?"
"Perfect. For now." The doctor pulled off her gloves, her tone softening. "But Ava—your vitals are erratic. That… light you mentioned? It's not just in your blood. It's in the baby's, too. Could accelerate its growth. Make it… unstable."
Ava's throat went dry. "Unstable how?"
"Could shift early. Develop powers no one's ever seen. Or—" The doctor hesitated. "Your body might reject it. If the light fights too hard."
Alexander stood, his jaw tight. "That's not happening."
Outside, a wolf howled—short, urgent, cut off mid-call.
Alexander was already moving, grabbing his jacket. "Stay here."
Ava grabbed his arm. "Like hell. Whatever it is, we face it together."
The clinic door burst open before he could argue, a young wolf stumbling in, blood pouring from a gash in his side. "They're here. The Shadow Clan. They want… the baby."
Ava went cold. Shadow Clan—rumors, stories told to scare pups. Wolves who'd made a pact with darkness, trading their fur for shadow magic, their eyes gone black as tar.
Alexander cursed, shifting mid-step. "Stay behind me."
Ava didn't listen. She followed him outside, silver light flickering around her, and froze.
The pack lay scattered across the lawn—some unconscious, some writhing as shadows crawled over their skin, dissolving fur into smoke. At the center stood a woman with skin like ash, her eyes solid black, a crown of thorns on her head.
"Avangeline Thompson," she said, her voice like gravel. "We've been waiting for you."
Ava stepped forward, light blazing. "Who are you?"
"Call me Lilith. Leader of the Shadow Clan. And I've come to collect what's mine." She smiled, revealing fangs black as night. "Your child. Half moon-blood, half alpha. It'll tip the balance. Make shadows stronger than light."
Alexander roared, launching himself at her, but Lilith waved a hand, and shadows wrapped around him, pinning him to the ground.
"Tsk tsk, alpha. So predictable." She turned back to Ava, her gaze lingering on her stomach. "The light in you is already fighting the shadow in him. Can't you feel it? The ache? The way your magic flickers when you think of me?"
Ava clutched her stomach, a sharp pain shooting through her. "Leave my baby alone."
"Or what? You'll burn me? Like you did Morrigan?" Lilith laughed. "Your light feeds us, 傻瓜. Every time you use it, we grow stronger."
Ava's light dimmed, and she stumbled—the pain, worse now, like her insides were tearing.
Lilith's smile widened. "There it is. The shadow in your child. It knows who its true mother is."
"Bitch." Alexander strained against the shadows, his claws tearing at the ground. "Let her go."
Lilith ignored him, taking a step toward Ava. "Join us. Raise the child with me. Rule beside me. Light and shadow, together."
Ava thought of the pack, of Alexander, of the tiny heartbeat on the ultrasound screen. "Never."
She unleashed a wave of light, brighter than ever, but Lilith didn't flinch. The light passed through her, absorbed by the shadows, and Lilith sighed, satisfied.
"Foolish girl." She raised her hand, and the shadows around Alexander tightened, squeezing until he howled.
Ava screamed, and something inside her snapped.
The silver mark on her wrist blazed, and a new light erupted—golden, warm, nothing like the cold silver. It washed over Lilith, and she shrieked, the shadows melting off her skin, her eyes returning to a human brown.
"The sun's light," she gasped. "Impossible. You're not—"
Ava didn't let her finish. She grabbed Lilith by the throat, the golden light burning through her. "Touch my family again, and I'll burn your whole clan to ash."
Lilith collapsed, her body dissolving into shadows, a final curse on her lips.
The remaining Shadow Clan members fled, the shadows retreating with them.
Ava ran to Alexander, the golden light fading as she knelt beside him, healing his wounds.
"Where did that come from?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
Ava touched her stomach, a strange warmth spreading through her. "I think… it came from them."
The pack gathered around, their injuries healing, their eyes wide with awe.
Ava stood, Alexander beside her, and looked at the sky—rain clearing, a sliver of sun breaking through the clouds.
"Whatever's next," she said, "we're ready."
But in the woods, a shadow moved, silent and patient, watching.
And in Ava's stomach, a tiny heartbeat quickened, as if answering.