---- some feeling. The drug seems to be wearing off." He nodded, then went to the cave entrance to check the situation. "They've spread out to search; they shouldn't find us here for now." Returning to my side, he tore a strip from his shirt and roughly bandaged his wound. The knife cut wasn't too deep, but blood was still seeping out. "How did you know I was in danger?" I asked. "T didn't," he confessed. "I just... felt it. Even with the mate bond severed, some connection still seems to exist. I knew you'd left the cottage and were heading in the wrong direction." I was silent for a moment, then asked the question on my mind, "Lina said they serve 'beings from the other side of the Fissure.' What does that mean?" Kaelen's face grew even more grim. "Legend says the 'Shadow Fissure' isn't just a passage to ---- another dimension, but also a prison for ancient dark creatures. Some beings are trapped there, desperate to return to this world." "And they want to use our child..." "As a key," he clenched his fist. "A pure Alpha bloodline, a soul untainted by the world, strong enough to break the seal." I shivered. "Lyra allied with such a power just for revenge?" "T don't think she knows the whole truth," Kaelen shook his head. "Given her personality, she wouldn't willingly become anyone's tool. She was probably deceived, just like she deceived me." The mention of past deceptions brought an awkward silence between us. After a while, I tried to stand; my legs had regained some strength. ''We should go. They won't give up the search." ---- Kaelen nodded, helping me towards the deeper part of the cave. The cave grew narrower, eventually becoming a tunnel just wide enough for one person. In the darkness, Kaelen's hand held mine tightly, guiding every step. "Where will this passage take us?" I whispered. "To an ancient refuge," he replied. "Only successive Nightfang Alphas know of its existence. It has enough supplies and defenses." After a long walk, the tunnel finally began to widen, and a faint light appeared ahead. We stepped out of the tunnel into a hidden valley surrounded by mountains, with a small stone cottage at its center. A waterfall cascaded down one side, forming a clear lake. "Moonhaze Valley," Kaelen named the place. "The Nightfang pack's final sanctuary for a thousand