Leah's POV
The moon light was spilling over the chaos that erupted the moment Leo and Seth burst through the door. My breath hitched, chest tight with a mix of relief and dread as Leo, all claws and menace, shoved Darren away from me with a force that rattled my bones. Darren hit the ground hard, rolling twice, his body twisting in ways that made my stomach lurch. Seth, my shadow in this human world, threw his arms around me, his voice a shaky whisper against my ear. "Boss, don't be afraid! I'm here!" he said, clinging to me like I was his lifeline. But I wasn't the one who needed saving - not yet.
With a quick, hard slap, I knocked that kid out cold, his body slumping to the floor. Better unconscious than dead.
Darren's lips peeled back, revealing a sinister grin, sharp teeth glinting in the dim light. His hands morphed into claws, jagged and cruel, and I froze, heart hammering against my scarred ribs. This couldn't be real. Darren had been disqualified by the Moon Goddess, stripped of his wolf long ago. How the hell was he transforming now? My mind scrambled for answers, but before I could think, Leo and Darren were squaring off, tension crackling between them like a live wire.
Leo brushed his sleeve with a disdain that made my skin crawl. "Failure in experiments and defective goods should stay in memory for good," he sneered, his voice dripping with venom, "instead of popping up for a damn threesome while your brother's busy with a woman." The words stung, sharp and deliberate, but Darren didn't flinch. He roared, a guttural sound that tore through the room, and his body contorted further - half-wolf, half-zombie, a grotesque mockery of what he'd once been. He lunged at Leo, all fury and hunger, and I couldn't tear my eyes away.
In a flash, Leo shifted, his skinny frame exploding into a massive white wolf, claws slashing through the air. I'd never seen him like this - never imagined my chemical-obsessed brother could carry such a beast inside him. Most Lycan wolves were pure white, but Leo's was different, a silver-gray shimmer tipping his fur, catching the moonlight in a way that was both beautiful and terrifying. He collided with Darren, pinning him to the floor with a sadistic grin curling his muzzle. "Lester, my worst and most ominous first work," he growled, voice thick with twisted nostalgia. "We meet again. You have no idea how much I miss you."
Darren - or whatever he was now - thrashed beneath Leo's claws, his body jerking wildly, but he couldn't break free. My pulse raced as Leo's grip tightened, claws sinking deeper into Darren's neck. "Leo, don't hurt him!" I shouted, my voice cracking with desperation. "Don't hurt Darren!" The plea slipped out before I could stop it, raw and ragged.
Leo's golden eyes swung to me, piercing through the haze of violence. "My dear sister," he said, soft and chilling, "the person in front of you isn't Darren anymore. He's just a Memory Agent of his dead brother, Lester." The words hit me like a punch, knocking the air from my lungs.
"Memory Agent?!" I choked out, hands trembling. "What the fuck are you talking about?!"
Before he could answer, Darren's wolf surged up, teeth sinking into Leo's shoulder. The two tumbled across the floor, a snarling tangle of fur and blood. Leo's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and accusing. "You're dead! Your brother's still alive! Why won't you let him go?! He's got a woman who loves him. He's go a kid on the way..."
Darren's wolf snapped back, his voice warped but searing with hate. "That woman deceived Darren! Used him over and over, toyed with his heart, then tossed him aside! She's a demon's daughter! Now she wants to use him to birth another demon into this world! But her heart's always on some other bastard! She's not worth his life - she doesn't deserve his love!" Each word stabbed into me, sharp as claws, tearing open wounds I'd buried deep. I clapped my hands over my face, shaking, fighting the sob clawing up my throat. He was talking about me. Me.
Darren's strength finally faltered, and with one last venomous glare my way, he broke free and hurled himself out the window, disappearing into the night. Leo moved to chase him, but I grabbed his arm, nails digging in. "Don't!" I snapped, voice hoarse. "He's rampaging. You go after him now, he'll fight you to the death."
Leo shifted back to human form, his eyes blazing with fury. "Why the hell did you stop me?!" he snarled, shaking me off.
"He's the father of my child," I said, barely above a whisper, the weight of it crushing me. "My kid can't come into this world without a father."
Leo's face twisted, anger boiling over. "First, see if you've even got the life to birth that thing!" he spat.
I flinched, confusion flooding me. "What do you mean?!"
"Your child's cursed!" he shouted, voice echoing off the walls. "It's controlling you from inside, killing you one bit at a time! You're losing your senses - don't you get it?!" His words slammed into me, echoing what the doctor had hinted at but never fully said. A curse? My baby?
"Curse?" I rasped, throat dry. "What curse? Who'd curse a kid not even born yet?"
Leo paced, restless and wild, muttering under his breath. "You shouldn't be carrying Darren's child. I'm just starting to feel like I've got a family - I can't lose you like this!" He stopped, glaring at my belly like it was an enemy. "Dr. Monk told you, didn't he? The day that thing's born, you're dead! But he didn't tell you it's a demon! Leah, you were supposed to have two kids. This little bastard killed its sibling in your womb already - a murderer before it's even out! It's stripping your senses, your wolf- can you imagine what it'll be once it's born?! That demon doesn't belong here. Let me end it!"
His hands shifted, claws scraping the metal table with a screech that set my teeth on edge. I reached for my wolf, desperate to fight back, but nothing happened. No shift, no power - just a hollow ache where my wolf should've been. The curse had me already.
Leo lunged, claws gleaming, and I braced myself - then he crumpled, limp on the floor. Seth stood behind him, sedative syringe gun in hand, his face pale but steady. He tossed it aside and pulled me into his arms. "Boss, aren't humans the most reliable ones when it counts?" he said, forcing a grin that didn't reach his eyes.
I clung to him, tears spilling hot and fast down my cheeks, my whole body shaking. He trembled too, holding me tighter. "Boss, I'm sorry," he murmured. "I know I shouldn't ask, but… you're all werewolves, right?"
I didn't answer, couldn't. The truth would kill him.
"Even after you wiped the footage from that night with Liam," he went on, soft but relentless, "I saw the original. You turning into a wolf - I couldn't believe it. I faked the beast attack video to cover for you. But tell me now - who am I really working for?"
I buried my face in his shoulder, kissing his hair, silent. Telling him meant death. I'd already fucked up too much in the human world. Maybe the Kingdom was supposed to be where this mess belonged.
Seth pulled back, searching my eyes. "Boss, I've told you since day one - what you are doesn't matter to me. Believe me, I'll always protect you."
His loyalty cut deeper than Darren's words, but I couldn't break now. Darren was out there, a loose cannon drawing too much attention. I turned to Leo, who was stirring on the floor. "Leo, we need to find Darren. Now."
Seth grabbed his laptop, fingers flying over the keys. "Not hard," he said, pulling up a tracking program. "I slipped a locator in that lighter he's always got." A red dot blinked on the screen, moving fast—too fast. "Holy shit, how's he going that quick? Plane?"
I stared at the dot, dread pooling in my gut. "No," I muttered. "He's running." And the direction—Mediland. He was heading straight for Mediland, where it all started, where this nightmare might end.
"We've got to move," I said, voice hard despite the fear clawing at me. "Before he's hunted down—or worse."
Leo groaned, hauling himself up, eyes still sharp with anger. "Fine, sister. But he's not Darren anymore. He's Lester's Memory Agent, and he'll kill you without blinking."
"I know," I said, swallowing the panic. "But I've got to try." With Seth at my side and Leo grudgingly on board, we stepped into the night, chasing the ghost of the man I'd loved, now a monster I might not survive.
"Shoot." Seth mumbled as he traced the glimmering dot on the screen. "He moves fast. Is he on an airplane or something? Where's he heading for?"
My heart sunk. He's heading towards Mediland as if something was calling him from there.
Finn. That damn bastard must have something to do with this.