Page 24 of Echoes From the Void

“Your mother,” he starts, but I cut him off.

“Worked three jobs to support us. Never missed a recital, a game, a parent-teacher conference. Never made us feel like we weren’t enough.” I feel Matteo move closer, his presence steadying me. “She didn’t know about the shadow shifter genes either, did she? Not until you disappeared.”

His silence is answer enough.

“So here’s what’s going to happen,” I continue, still smiling because that’s who I am, who I chose to be despite everything. “You’re going to drop the custody case. You’re going to provide Luna with everything you know about shadow shifter inheritance rights. And then you’re going to watch from a very safe distance while we save the realms without you.”

“You don’t understand the danger?—”

“Actually,” Bishop steps forward, his new oath marks glowing, “as both a Guardian and a member of Leo’s pack, I can assure you we understand the danger perfectly. We also understand family loyalty, which seems to be a concept you struggle with.”

“And if you’re worried about the girls’ safety,” I add, watching Lyra’s musical notes dance with our shadows, “you should see what happens when someone actually threatens my family.”

As if on cue, Matteo lets his new fangs show. Just a flash, but it’s enough to make our father step back.

“The pack bonds,” he whispers, finally noticing how our energies intertwine. “You’ve found... but how?”

“Because Leo brings people together,” Lena answers, her clinical tone softening. “While you were running away, he was building something stronger than blood.”

Through our bonds, I feel their agreement. Frankie’s quiet understanding, Bishop’s firm support, Dorian’s reluctant affection. And Matteo—always Matteo—his twilight shadows wrapping around mine like they have since we were kids.

“It’s actually fascinating from a psychological perspective,” Lena continues, because of course she can’t help herself. “The way trauma can either break familial bonds or?—”

“Later, sis,” Luna interrupts. “Right now, Father needs to sign these papers.” She holds up a stack of documents. “Relinquishing all custody claims and acknowledging the girls’ right to choose their own guardians. Which, spoiler alert, isn’t you.”

“And if I refuse?” he asks, his gaze flicking from Luna to the rest of us, almost pleading.

Lyra’s violin strings hum a warning note. Shadow essence ripples through the room, responding to our combined will. Five sisters, four potential mates, one unbreakable bond of chosen family.

“Then,” I say pleasantly, still smiling because that’s my strength, not my weakness, “you get to explain to the Shadow Council why you abandoned six untrained shifters, endangering both them and the realms. Bishop’s mother would be particularly interested in that conversation, I think.”

Our father looks around the room—at the protection sigils Lucia crafted, the notes Lena’s taken about shadow shifter psychology, the legal precedents Luna’s gathered. At Lyra’s music made visible and Liliana’s quiet strength. At the pack that stands with us, making our shadows stronger.

“You protected nothing by leaving,” I say softly. “But we protected each other. We’re still protecting each other.” I gesture to my pack, my sisters, the family we’ve built. “That’s the difference between running away and standing together.”

A shadow beast roars in the distance, but Lyra’s music shifts, harmonizing with the sound until it fades. The power in her, in all of us, isn’t just inherited—it’s earned through years of holding each other up.

“You know what I remember most about when you left?” I continue, feeling Matteo’s pure darkness support my twilight shadows. Where his shadows are deep and predatory, mine have always held that hint of light, like sunshine breaking through storm clouds. “Not the pain or the anger. I remember sitting with Liliana when she cried, making shadow puppets on her wall to make her laugh. I remember helping Lyra practice violin at midnight because the music kept the nightmares away. I remember every single moment we turned pain into something better.”

“Leo,” Luna warns softly, but I need to say this.

“So thank you,” I tell our father. “Thank you for leaving. Because it taught us how to stay. It taught us that family isn’t about blood or power or duty. It’s about choice. Every single day, we choose each other.”

“The papers,” Luna says into the heavy silence, holding out a pen.

Our father stares at his children—not broken by his absence, but strengthened by it. At the pack that stands with us, making our shadows brighter.

“I...” he starts.

“Choose wisely,” I say, still smiling. “It’s kind of our family specialty now.”

He sighs, then takes the pen and signs the papers. Luna immediately whisks them away, already talking about filingprocedures and supernatural law precedents. Lena scribbles final notes about resolution patterns in abandonment scenarios. Lucia adjusts her protection sigils to account for our father’s lingering shadow energy.

And me? I feel the tension finally leave my shoulders as Matteo’s arms wrap around me from behind.

“You okay?” he asks in that tone that’s been caring for me since we were teenagers.

“I’m good,” I say, and for once it’s not a deflection. “Really good.”

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