The ranger station was quiet, filled with the soft sounds of sleeping people. Breathing. Shifting. The occasional murmur of a dream.
Lily lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
"You're not asleep, are you?" she said quietly.
"Nope." Wolfen's voice came from the darkness. He was lying on his back, eyes closed, the picture of relaxation. But she knew better.
"You said you don't sleep." Lily paused. "Why? Is it the faces? The people you've killed? Do they scream at you when you try?"
Wolfen was silent for a long moment. Then his eyes opened, catching what little light filtered through the windows.
"Sometimes," he said.
He sat up, swung his legs off whatever he'd been using as a bed, and stood.
"Come with me."
Lily hesitated. Her eyes found Eva's sleeping form—curled up, peaceful, her hand still reaching toward where Lily had been lying. Leaving felt wrong. But something in Wolfen's voice made her move.
She followed him outside.
The night air was cold—sharp and clean, carrying the scent of pine and distant rain. Stars scattered across the sky like someone had spilled them.
Wolfen raised his hand. Umbralite flowed from his palm, lengthening, shaping, until he held a long rod—simple, unadorned, perfect.
He held it out to her.
"Hit me."
Lily blinked. "What?"
"Hit me." His voice was calm, patient. "Try it."
She stared at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, she took the rod.
She hit him.
It wasn't hard—just a tap, really, testing. Wolfen didn't react.
"Come on," he said. "Harder."
She hit him again. Harder this time. The rod connected with his shoulder with a solid thwack.
"Again."
She hit him harder.
"Again."
Harder.
"Again."
Lily kept swinging. Each strike harder than the last, each one carrying a little more of the weight she'd been carrying for eleven years. The rod whistled through the air, connecting with Wolfen's arms, his shoulders, his back.
He didn't flinch. Didn't block. Just stood there, taking it.
Tusk watched from the tree line, his golden eyes fixed on Wolfen, ready to move if needed.
Lily's arms burned. Her breath came in gasps. She swung and swung and swung until finally—finally—she let go.
The rod clattered to the ground. She stood there, chest heaving, fingers red and raw, tears streaming down her face that she hadn't even noticed falling.
"Felt good, right?" Wolfen's voice was gentle. "Sometimes you need a punching dummy. Just to get the stress out."
Lily didn't answer. Couldn't answer.
"Show me your shoulder."
She looked up at him. Those golden eyes held no judgment, no pity. Just... understanding.
Slowly, she pulled aside the fabric covering her left shoulder.
The darkness was worse than before. Veins black against pale skin, spreading like cracks in ice, reaching toward her neck, her heart. The edges pulsed faintly, alive with something that shouldn't exist.
Wolfen looked at it. Then at the ground.
A long sigh escaped him.
"How long?"
"Four months. Maybe five."
He nodded slowly. "Antidote?"
"None."
"Lily—"
"Don't tell Eva." Her voice cracked. "If you do—"
"If I do what?" He wasn't angry. Wasn't strict. Just... tired. "You're going to tell me what you're planning, or do you want me to figure it out myself?" A pause. "Trust me, I'll figure it out quicker than you can say 'stop.'"
Lily's jaw tightened. "I want to stop the virus from being released."
"Do you have people searching for it?"
"Yes."
"Kael."
"Yes."
Wolfen was quiet for a moment, processing. When he spoke again, his voice was softer than she'd ever heard it.
"I know what you're going through, Lily. I know what it's like to lose someone you love. I know how it feels to be weak. To hear voices in your head that won't shut up." He met her eyes. "But I want you to stay. With Eva. With your real sister. While you have time. I'll take care of everything. But you have to stay."
Lily's eyes glistened. "I want to stay. I want to. But I can't, Wolfen. I can't."
"Why? Because you think if you die before killing Jenny, your life will have been wasted? Because you think you never did anything that mattered?" He stepped closer. "Lily, people like us die alone. That's just how it works. We get our hands dirty so the people we love don't have to. So they don't see what we see. So they don't do what we do."
His voice dropped. "Trust me. Dying alone isn't what you want. It's not what anyone wants."
Lily stared at him. Something in his words—in his eyes—made her chest tighten.
"But you want to leave them too, don't you?" she whispered. "You're looking for a reason. I've watched you. It's clear what your intentions are." She shook her head slowly. "We're not different, are we, Wolfen? We're both monsters made by this fucking world. Monsters who only know how to kill and then love." She paused. "You haven't told anyone your problems, have you? And you're planning on taking everything you've done to your grave."
Wolfen's expression didn't change, but something in his posture shifted. A weight. A truth.
"There's a lot I'm planning on taking with me," he said quietly. "Most of it's tedious. Most of it's worse."
Lily nodded slowly. "I'll leave after a month. I'm not going to waste my time here."
"Is your time with your sister wasted?"
"You know what I mean."
"No." His voice was firm. "I'll take care of it all. You don't know what I can do. You don't know what I've done. Trust me. I'll handle it."
Lily's voice rose, frustration bleeding through. "Oh, if that's the fucking case, then why didn't you do it before? Why did I have to inject myself with this? Why is Damber still alive?"
Wolfen's eyes hardened. "You stay, Lily. That's final."
Something shifted in the air.
A pressure. A weight. Something ancient and terrible and absolute.
Lily felt it press against her skin, against her bones, against her soul. It wasn't human. It wasn't monster. It was something else entirely.
Tusk felt it too. He rose from his spot, a growl building in his chest, his golden eyes fixed on Wolfen with something that looked almost like fear.
"What are you guys doing outside?"
Lena's voice cut through the tension.
Wolfen's expression smoothed instantly, the pressure vanishing as if it had never been. He turned, that easy smile sliding back into place.
"Looking at the stars." His voice was casual, relaxed, like he hadn't just revealed something terrifying. "Come on, Lily. Let's go inside."
He walked toward the ranger station without looking back.
Lily stood frozen for a long moment, staring after him. Then, slowly, she followed.
Tusk watched them both, his growl fading to a low rumble of unease.
The night held its breath.
And somewhere in the darkness, two monsters who wore human faces pretended they hadn't just seen each other's true selves.