Page 11 of Echoes From the Void

As if on cue, I feel Frankie’s alarm ripple through our potential bond. Something’s wrong in the medical wing, where the barrier between realms is thinnest. Even unsealed, the connection pulls at me to protect, to defend.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I say, already moving toward the stairs as the ground shudders, “my pack needs me.”

Through our growing bond, I feel Leo’s mix of horror and delight at his sister’s involvement. Matteo’s quiet amusement. Dorian’s resigned acceptance of more Martinez chaos. AndFrankie—our alpha, our center—her determination tinged with fear as she fights to stabilize her brother against the shadow realm’s collapse.

My new oath marks burn with power, shadow and pack magic merged into something entirely new. Something that honors both my Guardian training and my chosen family.

The shadow realm may be dying, but some bonds are stronger than darkness.

Some choices reshape reality itself.

And some traditions are meant to be broken.

For pack.

For family.

For love.

Chapter 5

Frankie

My shadow wolfcurls around Finn’s hospital bed as another tremor shakes the medical wing. Dawn creeps through the windows, but the shadows in the room don’t follow natural laws anymore. Not since I found my twin. Not since everything I thought I knew about my powers turned sideways.

The wolf’s ears perk at approaching footsteps— multiple sets, one with Leo’s familiar bounce. Through the window, I catch glimpses of reality flickering as the shadow realm’s collapse bleeds through, making the medical equipment readings spike.

“Special delivery for my favorite shadow queen,” Leo announces, shouldering through the door with a coffee carrier just as another small quake rattles the monitors. The wolf doesn’t react to the tremor, focused entirely on Finn. “Today’s puns are particularly shadow-tastic.”

I eye the cups suspiciously. “Do I want to know what you wrote on them?”

“You mocha me crazy,” he reads with a flourish, handing me the first cup. “Life without you would be un-bear-able— that one has a little shadow bear drawn on it. And my personal favorite: You’re spec-tacular.”

“That last one’s not even a pun,” I point out, but I’m already reaching for the coffee. The familiar banter helps steady me as another tremor makes the medical equipment whine in protest.

“Ah, but I drew little glasses made of shadows.” He grins. “Get it? Specs? Spectral?”

“It’s too early for this,” Dorian mutters from his corner, surrounded by ancient texts and monitoring equipment. Dark circles under his eyes match the spreading cracks in his skin. His research materials keep shifting between realities as the barrier weakens, making him increasingly irritable.

“It’s never too early for coffee puns,” Leo declares, setting a cup beside Dorian’s flickering books. “I even made yours extra dark. Like your soul.”

Matteo’s mother enters then, her healing energy a gentle counterpoint to my restless shadows. She eyes the coffee parade with amused tolerance, though her professional gaze catches every detail of how the room’s shadows respond to the realm’s instability.

“Your aura is splitting,” Dr. Sharma observes, checking Finn’s vitals as another tremor makes the monitoring crystals chime in warning. Her hands glow with healing energy, but she studies my shadow wolf with professional curiosity rather than fear. “Like light through a prism, but with shadow. The realm’s instability seems to be affecting how your powers manifest.”

“Is that... bad?” I try to hide how much the strain is affecting me, but I can feel their concern— Leo’s playfulness dimming, Matteo tensing by the door, Dorian’s grip tightening on his pen. The wolf paces restlessly, responding to both my anxiety and the unstable reality around us.

“It’s unprecedented,” Dr. Sharma replies diplomatically, adjusting Finn’s IV as the equipment flickers between realms. “Though the shadow realm’s deterioration makes everything unprecedented these days.”

“Great.” I take a long sip of coffee, letting the warmth ground me as another small quake rattles the windows. “Because my life wasn’t complicated enough already.”

Finn stirs in his sleep, and my shadows respond instantly, reaching for him. His face contorts with memories of his time in Blackwood’s custody. Cold rooms. Endless tests. Needles filled with my stolen shadows.

The medical equipment groans as my rage makes the shadows writhe. My wolf growls softly, and Leo’s hand finds my shoulder just as the room shudders with another tremor.

“Deep breaths, Echo,” he murmurs, using his nickname for me. “Your brother needs healing more than he needs vengeance.”

“For now,” Matteo adds darkly from his post by the door, echoing my thoughts exactly. His own shadows curl protectively around the room’s perimeter, responding to each reality fluctuation.

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