Noah burst into the Council chambers, still aching from his transformation, fear and anger rolling off him in waves. Victoria stood at the center of a group of ancient vampires, her impassive face betraying nothing.

  "Show me," Noah demanded, bypassing formalities.

  Victoria raised an eyebrow at his tone but nodded to an aide, who handed Noah a photograph. The apartment—his and Elias's home—in disarray. Blood spatter on the wall. Not much, but enough to recognize as vampire blood. Elias's blood.

  "When?" Noah asked, fighting to keep his voice steady.

  "Our representative arrived at nine this morning for the scheduled meeting. The door was ajar. Signs of struggle were evident." Victoria studied him. "When did you st see him?"

  "Yesterday evening. Before moonrise." Noah handed back the photo. "I found something in the preserve st night. A campsite, destroyed. Rose Thorn symbols."

  Murmurs rippled through the assembled Council members. The Rose Thorns—a radical faction advocating supernatural supremacy—had been growing more vocal in recent months.

  "You believe the Rose Thorns took Elias?" Victoria's voice was skeptical. "That seems... counterproductive to their stated aims."

  "Not just them." Noah paced, the wolf still close to the surface after the full moon. "The message mentioned 'blood traitors' plural. That's about both of us—a vampire and werewolf living together, working together. It could be Rose Thorns angry about supernatural unity. Could be human hunters targeting prominent supernatural figures."

  "Could be both," said a new voice.

  Noah turned to find Lena at the chamber entrance, her sylph heritage making her almost luminous under the Council lights.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked.

  "Helping." She approached, nodding respectfully to Victoria. "The diner hears things. Rose Thorns have been meeting there, thinking I don't notice. They've been talking about a human ally. Someone high up with resources."

  Victoria's eyes narrowed. "A name?"

  "Never said outright. But they mentioned 'the Councilman' several times." Lena gnced at Noah. "And they've been watching you and Elias. Called you an abomination. Unnatural."

  Noah growled, the sound rumbling from deep in his chest. "So they're working with humans to target their own kind? That makes no sense."

  "Extremists rarely make sense," Victoria said. "If Rose Thorns has allied with a human politician—presumably this Councilman—it suggests a mutual interest. Perhaps the humans believe they're using the Rose Thorns for their own ends. And vice versa."

  "Westfield," Noah realized. "Gregory Westfield. The city councilman Elias was investigating for the housing crisis. He's an ex-hunter."

  Victoria's ancient eyes glittered with cold anger. "Westfield. Yes, that fits. He's been campaigning against supernatural integration for years. And he has the resources for an operation like this."

  "So where would he take Elias?" Noah demanded.

  "Westfield owns property throughout the city," said another Council member, a gaunt vampire with an old-world accent. "Industrial holdings, primarily."

  "I can help with that," Lena offered. "I've dated someone in city records. I can get a list."

  Victoria nodded. "Do it. We'll assemble a search team." She turned to Noah. "You should rest, Mr. Parker. The full moon has just passed. You're in no condition to—"

  "I'm going," Noah cut her off, his voice brooking no argument. "Elias is my roommate. My..." he faltered, uncertain how to define what Elias had become to him. "My friend. I'm going."

  Victoria's expression suggested she heard the hesitation, understood what went unspoken. "Very well. But you'll follow orders. This isn't a werewolf pack hunt. We move with precision."

  Noah nodded tersely. Every minute spent talking was a minute Elias remained in danger. The thought sent another surge of protective rage through him.

  "I need to stop at the apartment first," he said. "Get his scent fresh. It'll help me track him."

  "Take Nikoi and Serena," Victoria gestured to two vampires. "They're our best trackers. And Mr. Parker..." her ancient eyes held his. "Elias Bckwood has survived centuries of hunters and wars. He is more resilient than you know."

  Noah recognized the attempt at reassurance but couldn't find comfort in it. He'd seen the blood in the photograph. Smelled the fear in it.

  "Let's go," he said to the vampire trackers. "We're wasting time."

  The apartment was worse in person than in the photograph. Noah stood in the hallway, breathing deeply, sorting through the yers of scent. Elias's familiar presence. The sharp tang of fear. At least three human intruders, carrying silver and wolfsbane.

  "Professional hunters," Nikoi confirmed, his accent faintly Eastern European. "They came prepared for both vampire and werewolf."

  Noah moved to where the small table had been overturned. "Elias did this deliberately. He was conscious enough to leave a sign."

  "Smart," Serena murmured. "The old ones usually are."

  Noah entered Elias's bedroom, a space he'd respected as a private domain until now. It was meticulously organized, as expected—books arranged by subject and author, clothing sorted by color and type. A life ordered with the precision only centuries of existence could cultivate.

  On the bedside table sat a single framed photograph. Noah picked it up, surprised. It showed a Parisian street from what looked like the early 1900s, a man in period clothing standing before a bookshop. The man was unmistakably Elias, looking almost exactly as he did now, with perhaps a slightly different hairstyle.

  "His life before," Serena said quietly from the doorway. "We all keep something."

  Noah set down the photo, oddly moved by this glimpse into Elias's past. He opened the closet door, letting the concentrated scent of Elias wash over him. Wool and old books and that unique vampire scent that had become so familiar, so... necessary.

  When had that happened? When had Elias's presence become something he craved rather than tolerated?

  "I've got it," he said roughly, turning away from the closet. From the bedside table, he took a silk handkerchief that carried Elias's scent strongly. "Let's go."

  His phone buzzed with a message from Lena: Property list incoming. Westfield owns warehouse district. Three buildings. Sending addresses.

  "The warehouse district," Noah told the vampires. "Three locations to check."

  Nikoi nodded. "Victoria is assembling teams for each site. We should join the primary team."

  Noah was already heading for the door, determination hardening into resolve. He would find Elias. He would bring him home.

  And God help anyone who stood in his way.

  The first warehouse yielded nothing but dust and forgotten shipping crates. The second was an illegal arms cache, but no sign of captives. By the time they reached the third—a sprawling complex near the river—Noah's post-transformation exhaustion was battling with adrenaline and fear.

  They approached cautiously, Victoria's team spread out to surround the building. Noah breathed deeply, sorting through the night air.

  "There," he whispered, pointing to a loading dock door. "Elias's scent. Faint, but recent. Within the st twelve hours."

  Victoria signaled to her team. With vampire silence, they moved into position. Noah felt the familiar tingle of magic as fae members of the team tested for wards and arms.

  "Silver mesh in the walls," one reported. "Anti-supernatural measures throughout. But we can breach the loading dock."

  Victoria nodded. "On my signal."

  The attack was swift and coordinated. Vampire speed, werewolf strength, fae magic—all focused on a precision strike. The loading dock door crumpled under Noah's enhanced strength, and they poured into the warehouse.

  Human guards responded immediately, but they were outnumbered and outmatched. Noah barely registered the fighting around him, his senses straining for Elias's scent, for any indication of where they might be holding him.

  "Down," he growled, catching a stronger trace of Elias's blood. "There's a sublevel."

  He found the stairs, taking them three at a time, Victoria and several others close behind. The scent grew stronger—blood, fear, and something else. Other supernaturals. Multiple species.

  The lower level was a boratory of horrors. Examination tables with restraints. Blood samples beled with species and date. Research equipment humming with sinister purpose.

  And at the center, Elias strapped to a metal table, eyes closed, skin paler than usual, burns visible where silver restraints touched his flesh.

  "Elias!" Noah rushed forward, heedless of potential traps.

  Elias's eyes snapped open, focusing with effort. "Noah," he rasped. "Careful. Westfield..."

  "Is not currently present," Victoria finished, appearing beside them. "But his work certainly is." She surveyed the boratory with cold fury. "Release him. Quickly."

  Noah worked at the restraints, wincing as the silver burned his own skin. "Hang on, Elias. We've got you."

  Elias's eyes held his, an intensity in them Noah hadn't seen before. "You came."

  "Of course I came," Noah said roughly. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

  A ghost of a smile touched Elias's bloodless lips. "I knew you would. That's why I was worried."

  The st restraint fell away. Noah helped Elias sit up, supporting him as he swayed. Despite his weakened state, the vampire's posture remained dignified, his composure returning visibly as he surveyed their rescuers.

  "Victoria. The Council moved quickly."

  "Mr. Parker was most insistent," she replied, with the barest hint of amusement. "Now, what is all this?" She gestured to the boratory.

  "Westfield is researching supernatural biology. Collecting specimens. Experimenting." Elias's voice strengthened. "And he's not working alone. There are Rose Thorns involved."

  "We suspected as much," Victoria nodded. "But why?"

  "There's someone else here," Elias said suddenly. "Below us. I smelled their blood—unusual, hybrid. We need to find them."

  Noah helped Elias to his feet, armed by how heavily the vampire leaned on him. "You need blood. You're too weak."

  "Later," Elias insisted. "The prisoner first."

  They found a hidden elevator, descending to a lower level still. The scent that hit Noah's enhanced senses was complex—vampire, werewolf, something else entirely. Magical and earthly at once.

  The chamber was small, sterile, with a single reinforced cell at its center. Inside, a young man y curled on a narrow cot. Even from the doorway, Noah could see he was badly injured, his breathing shallow.

  "Open it," Elias commanded, his voice carrying the weight of centuries despite his weakened state.

  Victoria gestured to a fae lockpick, who made quick work of the cell's sophisticated lock. Noah entered first, approaching the prisoner carefully.

  The young man's head snapped up, eyes fring with supernatural light—one red, one amber. Fangs extended, but a growl rumbled from his chest—vampire and werewolf traits manifesting simultaneously.

  "We're not here to hurt you," Noah said, keeping his voice low and steady. "We're getting you out."

  The hybrid's dual-colored eyes darted between them, lingering on Elias with recognition. "You're the one they brought in. The elder vampire. I heard them talking."

  Elias stepped forward, moving with care. "Yes. My name is Elias Bckwood. This is Noah Parker. We're here to help."

  The young man's posture remained defensive. "Why? What do you want from me?"

  "Nothing," Noah said simply. "You're being held against your will. That's enough reason to help."

  Disbelief warred with desperate hope in the hybrid's face. "They've been hunting my kind for months. Picking us off one by one. Experimenting. Looking for weaknesses."

  "Your kind?" Victoria asked from the doorway. "There are more like you?"

  "Not many. We hide." His gaze hardened. "Purists from both sides want us eliminated. Consider us abominations."

  Noah felt a surge of anger at the familiar prejudice. "What's your name?"

  The hybrid hesitated, then seemed to make a decision. "Kai. Kai Winters."

  "Well, Kai Winters," Noah extended a hand. "Let's get you out of here."

  Kai stared at the offered hand like it might bite him. Then, cautiously, he reached out, allowing Noah to help him to his feet. He swayed, clearly injured beyond what was immediately visible.

  Without discussion, Noah and Elias moved to either side of him, supporting his weight between them. Something about the moment—the three of them united, helping this young man who embodied both their species—felt strangely right to Noah.

  "We need to move," Victoria said from the doorway. "Our teams have secured the building, but Westfield could return with reinforcements."

  They made their way back upstairs, Kai growing steadier with each step. Outside, Council teams were loading evidence from the boratory into vehicles, working with efficient precision.

  "Take him to the Council safehouse," Victoria instructed, gesturing to Kai. "Our healers will attend to him."

  Kai stiffened. "No. No Council. They'll just lock me up somewhere else. Different cage, same principle."

  Victoria's ancient eyes narrowed. "You require medical attention and protection."

  "I'll heal on my own. Always have." Kai's dual-colored eyes reflected stubborn determination.

  Noah exchanged a gnce with Elias, a silent understanding passing between them. "He can come with us," Noah said. "To our apartment."

  Elias nodded. "We have room. And it would be... safer for him. Less institutional."

  Victoria looked between them, something knowing in her expression. "Very well. But the Council will want to speak with him when he's recovered. This situation with Westfield and the Rose Thorns requires all avaible information."

  "When he's ready," Elias agreed, his tone making it clear it would be on their terms, not the Council's.

  As they helped Kai to Noah's car, the hybrid looked between them with wary curiosity. "You two live together? A vampire and a werewolf?"

  "Housing crisis," Noah expined, opening the back door so Kai could lie down. "Council's emergency measures."

  "Forced proximity," Elias added, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "Though it's proven less disagreeable than anticipated."

  Noah caught his eye over the car roof, something warm unfurling in his chest at Elias's understated acknowledgment. "Yeah. It's been... interesting."

  They drove in silence, Kai drifting in and out of consciousness in the backseat. Noah kept gncing at Elias, reassuring himself that the vampire was really there, safe beside him. Elias looked exhausted, the burns from the silver restraints still visible on his wrists, but his posture remained impeccable, his dignity intact.

  "Thank you," Elias said quietly, eyes fixed on the road ahead. "For coming for me."

  "Always will," Noah replied, the words emerging before he could consider their weight. "That's what..." he hesitated, unsure how to finish the sentence.

  "Friends do?" Elias suggested, a question in his voice.

  Noah's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Yeah. Friends." The word felt insufficient, a pale shadow of the complex emotions swirling inside him.

  In the rearview mirror, he caught Kai watching them, those strange dual-colored eyes missing nothing despite his weakened state.

  As they pulled up to their apartment building, Noah realized their quiet life of reluctant cohabitation had just become considerably more complicated. Adding a wounded hybrid to their household while being hunted by both radical supernaturals and human extremists was not what he'd expected from his council-mandated living arrangement.

  But looking at Elias—the vampire who had somehow become essential to his happiness—Noah found he couldn't regret any of it. Their paths had crossed for a reason. And now Kai's had joined theirs.

  Whatever came next, they would face it together.