Alex looked at the seven stones, all glowing steadily in the morning light. He looked at the four small lions distributed around the alcove. He looked at his mates, his family, the walls of the sanctuary rising around them.
"I'm deciding," he said. " We don't know the depth of its power or what it's capable of, so I'm saying we keep watch. We wait while we see what it'll do while also preparing ourselves for every kind of circumstances.
I have a family now, I do not want to risk it all. Over a shadow entity or any threshold. "
"How?" Leo asked.
"The stones are all awake now. System is mostly back." Alex pressed his palm flat against the spirit stone, feeling its warmth move up his arm. "The shadow has been trying to communicate with me since before the wolf territory attack. Through mercenaries, through dreams, through—everything except a direct conversation." He paused.
