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“My Father is coming,” I bite out the words, words I hoped I’d never have to say.

“How can you be sure?” Blair asks, and he doesn’t sound like he thinks I’m lying. This is just the kind of person he is. He likes to have answers, which I can appreciate.

“The trees call out a warning. He’s coming, run, hide,” I repeat their warning as they continue to shout it for all the forest, chanted like a warning, one that won’t save any he intends to harm.

Thankfully, the forest hasn’t ever been his target.

The same can’t be said for the castle or the hundreds of innocents that live here. It’s as if some invisible force wraps its fingers around my lungs, making it hard to draw a breath as I worry for people I’ve never met, people who hate me.

“You can talk to the trees?” Pike exclaims, and I cringe. I’d been so worried about everything going on around us, I didn’trealize what I was saying. I probably shouldn’t have said that out loud.

I turn to him, ready for the ridicule I’m used to from Father, but find none. Instead, his eyes are wide, and he looks almost excited.

“That’s dope! I want to talk to the trees. Can you teach me?” he asks, moving toward me only for Storm to reach out and grab his arm, stopping him.

“Not the time,” he scolds him, and Pike’s face falls, but he nods.

“Right. Scary Daddy’s coming to kill us, got it.”

Serena smacks his chest with the back of her hand and pulls a face, which makes him laugh.

“Do not call him that, ever again,” she scolds him, and while I can agree, I’m also confused. When did she come over here? I swear she was still by the fountain just a moment ago.

Serena turns to look at me, and the sadness in her eyes makes all thoughts of before disappear. “I can’t feel Lyle, maybe he won’t be with him…” she says, her words quiet, almost pleading for me to agree.

I want more than anything to tell her that’s what it is, but I can’t.

I won’t lie to her. I know Lyle will be with him, even if just to try to throw Serena off. My father knows that he’s important to her; it’s why he took aim at them to begin with. The fact that they are alphas only made them more appealing, I'm sure.

Tears well in her eyes, and I press my lips together, shaking my head, unable to voice the words that I know will hurt her.

I wish I could change this, go back in time, and stand against my father sooner. I didn’t have a reason back then, didn’t care, but now…

I never want her to hurt.

Sucking in a deep breath, Serena blinks away her tears, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she nods.

“Okay, well, maybe this is a good thing. We haven’t been able to find him, and Draven is bringing him to us. So let’s just deal with him, and then we can see about helping Lyle.” She plasters a smile on her face that’s not fooling any of us. We all know it won’t be that easy; it never is, but nobody says anything. She turns and makes her way toward the exit, headed for the main district of the castle.

She doesn’t make it far before a scream fills the air, loud and monstrous enough that every one of us has to cover our ears or risk injury.

“What the fuck was that?” Storm snarls, looking around for what I’m not sure because the only thing that has my attention right now is the girl who changed my life as she runs toward the sound instead of away.

“Damn it, Serena,” Blair curses as he takes off after her, and I do the same. When I’d first come to the castle, we agreed I’d stay here. The people didn’t like me, and while I deserved that, Serena couldn’t handle it. I saw it that first day. She was so mad, and while her trying to stand up for me made my stomach do weird things and my heart race, these people have every right to hate me.

The agreement means nothing now, though, not with Serena racing toward very real danger.

I feel him before I see him. He’s not here yet, but he’s damn close, and for the first time since the last attack, I feel Lyle as well.

I don’t know how to explain it, but I can feel all of them, other chimeras. I think that might be why I can control them a little, because I have Draven’s blood, but I can’t be sure. At the end of the day, the important part is I can, not the how. Though I won’t pretend like it doesn’t bug me not knowing.

“Serena!” Garrett shouts as we make it into the inner district. People litter the streets; everyone is out of their homes and businesses, curious about what is happening.

Every single person in this whole kingdom lacks any sense of survival. They should be hiding, or at the very least, ready to face something after that roar. Instead, they stand around talking and pointing in random directions and being a huge pain in our asses.

“Move!” I shout as I push my way through the crowds, and the others do the same. It does nothing, and I curse how small Serena is as she easily slips between people in a way none of us can.

“Fuck this!” Storm shouts a second before shifting, and I fight the urge to slap a hand to my head, a facepalm as Serena calls it, for not thinking of that.