I reached out and touched Alex’s shoulder, almost afraid the contact would break whatever fragile moment we had left. As soon as my hand met her skin, I pushed out some of the new power simmering inside me. It moved instinctively, the same force that had just formed the clothes hanging over my back. I let that energy flow across Alex’s naked body, shaping itself into the clothes I remembered her wearing only moments before. I saw them in my mind’s eye, clear, familiar, and made them real.

  It felt like a mixture of Death’s essence and something of my own physical form that I could somehow push out and separate from myself. It was instinctual, clumsy, and barely understood, but it got the job done.

  Within seconds, Alex was clothed again. I had a sharp feeling that whatever I’d wrapped around her wouldn’t hold if we got too far apart, but for now, she was at least presentable to anyone who might be watching.

  I found myself giving a small, silent thanks to the prime elder for that ridiculous little trick. He was the one who gave me the idea; the way he hurled that ball of filth at the spider-shifter.

  “Alex,” I said, trying gently to pull her attention back to me. “What was happening here? How… how is that Autumn?”

  She didn’t answer right away. She just stared, caught between the shock of seeing me alive again and the strain of whatever truth she was trying to gather in her mind. I could feel it… how part of her was relieved, grateful we were back together, but another part was terrified of what she needed to tell me.

  “Just tell me, Alex,” I said quietly. “Whatever happened… I know you. I trust you.” I needed her to hear that. To feel it. Even though I’d been gone for who knew how long, I was still connected to her. That hadn’t changed.

  She nodded slowly. She wiped the blood-tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, steadying herself before she spoke.

  “She’s ravenous,” Alex said, voice small but shaking. “She has so much hunger now.” She swallowed. “We all do. Even Martin is struggling. At first, it was manageable, but after the earthquake… and the surge that came later… the hunger inside me has been growing. My power is growing with it.”

  She looked down at her hands then, staring at them like they belonged to someone else.

  “How could I have done this?” she whispered, more to herself than to me. There was so much conviction in her voice… so much self-loathing. She truly believed she had done something unforgivable. “I swore… I promised myself I would never do this to someone else. Not after it was forced on me.”

  “Alex…” I said softly, trying to steady her spiraling thoughts. I cupped her face in both hands, guiding her to look at me. Her green eyes were wild with fear and guilt, and the sight of them twisted something deep inside my chest.

  I used my thumbs to gently wipe away the streaks of blood-tears. For a moment, everything Primeval in me, everything Death had woven into my bones, faded back. I let it all fall away until only the human part of me remained… the part that knew her, cared for her, refused to let her drown in this.

  Even the blade dissolved from my grasp without me realizing it. I didn’t need power for this. I needed Alex to feel me here. Present. Real.

  “Alex… slow down,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “Just explain. How are you here right now? How is that Autumn? What happened?”

  She inhaled sharply, then exhaled, trying to collect herself. It took her a long moment. She kept glancing down at the clothes that had formed on her body as if they were an impossible illusion. When she finally looked back up, something steadier had returned to her expression.

  “Let’s go somewhere,” she said quietly. “Away from here.”

  “What about Autumn? We need to find her,” I started, but she cut me off before I could get further.

  “No,” Alex said firmly. “She’s fine. She’s heading back to my apartment. We’ve been staying there ever since all of this started. She knows that’s her safe haven. She’ll stay there until I get back.”

  I shook my head, not out of disagreement, but because something in what she said didn’t sit right.

  “What do you mean? How can you know that for sure?” I asked. The idea of Autumn wandering the city alone, with whatever was happening to her, sent a jolt of panic crawling under my skin.

  “Just trust me, Sam,” Alex said softly. “We’re bonded now, Autumn and I. I can feel her through the sire bond.”

  “Sire bond…?” I echoed. “What is that? What are you talking about?”

  She breathed out slowly, exhaustion and dread mixing in her voice. “It’s a lot to explain. A lot has happened since you’ve been gone. Not just with Autumn. With me… and every other vampire, werewolf, or monster tied to the hunger like ours.”

  The weight of her words pressed down on me, heavy and cold. All the questions that had been gnawing at me since I arrived: the strange power changes, the hunger in her voice, the way Autumn moved… they were beginning to form a pattern I didn’t like.

  I swallowed hard. “How long have I been gone?”

  Alex’s expression softened, but with a sorrow so deep it made her look older, worn. “It’s been a while, Sam.”

  We relocated to a quiet rooftop farther downtown, away from the crowds and flashing lights. The wind carried only the distant hum of traffic, giving us the space we needed. For the first few minutes, Alex asked me questions; rapid, anxious, desperate for clarity. But I found myself answering more cautiously than before.

  There were things I couldn’t speak about now. Death’s existence felt heavier, more dangerous, and I knew better than to toss his name into the open air like I had before on my first round of truth-telling. Carter knew. Eleanor likely knew. I was unsure if Autumn still knew after all these… changes. But even then… the fewer words spoken, the safer they all were… and the more dangerous I could be.

  So I kept it simple. “I did die,” I told Alex plainly. “You saw it. They ate me. All of that happened.”

  She stared at me, pale and tense. “But… then how are you…”

  “Remember what I told you,” I said quietly. “Who I’m tied to.”

  She nodded slowly. “To De…”

  “Don’t say his name.”

  My voice carried something that wasn’t fully mine; authority from somewhere deeper, older. She flinched as if she felt a ripple of it pass over her, then swallowed her questions.

  “There are things you won’t understand,” I said. “And things I can’t say out loud. But they couldn’t kill me. Not fully… not the real me now. If anything… they made me stronger. They killed something that was holding me back.” I stopped myself there. No point spiraling off-topic. “I’m here now. Please… just tell me what happened.”

  Alex drew in a steadying breath and began.

  She explained everything that unfolded after my disappearance: Autumn’s spiral with Patrick, the Chasse family joining forces with other connected branches they could reach, the Wicklows, and even Martin. All of them were throwing resources, expertise, rituals, anything to undo the curse Peter Grimwood had woven around Autumn.

  None of it worked.

  Each ritual made her degrade further. Her body weakened, her mind strained. Alex described helping restrain her, tranquilizing her when they had no choice. Even then, in the silver cell, Autumn’s resolve never cracked. Her eyes never surrendered, and Alex swore that something else was gleefully killing her from the inside. Alex said she could see it… looking out from her eyes… basking in Autumn’s destruction.

  Then Alex told me more about Shelta’s revelation. The curse was one of obsession, binding Autumn and Patrick so deeply that their lifeforces were intertwined. If one died, the other would follow almost immediately. A tether of fate neither of them chose.

  Alex knew she was powerless against something like that. She wasn’t a witch, wasn’t a healer, wasn’t part of the Chasse legacy in the ways that mattered. She was a helper on the sidelines of a family running out of time.

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  So, she planned for the worst. She had to pause before telling me the next part. Her voice wavered, and bloody tears pooled at her lashes as she said it. While she helped to tranquilize Autumn and prepare for their last ritual to break the curse, she gave Autumn the only thing she could. A last-ditch effort to keep her on this earth… even if the curse won. She injected Autumn with her own blood.

  It broke every personal code Alex had ever lived by. She had never created another vampire, never fed on humans… never stolen someone’s choice. But Autumn’s choice had already been stolen the moment Grimwood cursed her. And Alex… Alex couldn’t stand by and watch her die.

  Even after confessing it, she struggled to breathe. The guilt was that deep. Her chest and back heaved for breath as she let it all out on the rooftop. I sat beside her, my hand on her back, trying to offer what comfort I could. But I knew not to attempt any hollow words. This was a personal battle… something Alex had to make her way out of. We both knew she saved Autumn from passing on, but to do that, Alex broke something within herself.

  She said that after the turning, she felt a connection to Autumn. It was a pull she hadn’t expected. A responsibility and a need to guide her, teach her, keep her from drowning in the hunger. A need to show her how to live with it instead of being consumed by it. But that connection raised questions of its own.

  Alex’s voice trailed off from her explanations. I knew we were only scratching the surface of what had really happened, but I had to ask.

  “So the hunger… the urges you feel… they’re getting stronger?” I asked her to reiterate.

  Alex nodded, “Yes. I don’t know how… but one minute it was like it always had been, and the next it was like the need for blood was magnified.”

  I nodded along, “For you, it's still for vampire blood, right?”

  “Yeah,” she answered quickly. “But I’m a special case. For everyone else, the need is for any type of blood, human or monster alike. Martin has… he’s had to lock himself up in the cellar of his bar. He doesn’t trust himself around the family. His hunger is… It’s not the same thing that he has tamed over so many decades of struggle. He’s scared of what he’ll do.”

  I shook my head at her explanation. I had a theory, but I couldn’t explain it. Killing Hunger had obviously done something to the monsters connected to the Primeval. But if this was going to happen with her death… wouldn't Death have known this was going to happen? Was this a part of his plan? Was this what was meant to happen when the Primevals finally took their last breaths? The world would become more… monstrous?

  “We need to get to her. I want to see her… talk to her…” I said as I feared what might become of the innocent girl I had met in the cursed second life of mine.

  “Okay,” Alex nodded. Her green eyes looked almost empty as she stared down a little.

  I felt like I had to split my focus and worry about Alex’s well-being. She obviously had a lot going on inside of her after changing Autumn. I was under no misconceptions. I knew that if it wasn’t for Alex, Autumn would be dead right now. Alex was the only reason Autumn was still standing on two feet. She may be different now, but she was the same to me… and I was thankful for that. But… I was also thankful for Alex, because I know she didn’t just do it for Autumn, but for me as well.

  It made things… complicated.

  As I followed behind Alex’s trail of blood red hair, I took in her form and the change in her demeanor. There really was something off with her. Beyond the shocking chaos of everything that had happened and the sacrifices she had to make. She seemed distant, so far away that I could barely communicate with her. It was like she was here in mind and body but not in spirit. It felt like her soul had gone somewhere else.

  Within minutes of rushing across the city together, Alex and I stood on the balcony of her apartment. Alex stopped at the sliding glass door and put her hand on it before stopping dead in her tracks. She raised a pale hand out to stop me. I didn’t say a word. I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell she was closing her eyes and concentrating. I think she was reaching out to check on Autumn from out here, trying to sense what state she was in. Then, she shook her head slightly and then nodded to herself. Was she… communicating with her?

  “Okay, she’s prepared. Just move slowly once we’re inside.” Alex informed me before sliding open the glass door.

  I entered and closed the door behind me, allowing Alex to lead us towards the middle of the apartment. Once we were in the central part of her small living room, Alex spoke out loud.

  “Autumn… It’s okay to come out. I know you can feel what’s inside him now… more than you ever could before, but it’s okay. This is Sam. The same Sam you’ve always known. You’re just… sensing more of him now.”

  A beat of silence passed, then soft footsteps crossed the adjoining room.

  My senses flared toward the darkened doorway. She stood there, wrapped in shadow. My black eyes peeled the veil away, and Autumn’s human face came into focus; still beautiful, still hers. But something in her was different. Not in her features… in her spirit. A shift I couldn’t name.

  Then she met my eyes, and I understood. She was terrified that she looked like a monster… and terrified I might see her that way.

  I stepped past Alex, lifted a hand, and gently took the back of Autumn’s neck, pulling her slowly toward me. And the moment her warmth touched me, the guilt hit like a blade. If I hadn’t been so stupid… if I had faced the truth earlier, fought harder, done something… maybe none of this would’ve happened. I’d let Death’s cold certainty become a wall I hid behind. Apathy disguised as acceptance. It kept me from caring, kept me from fighting, kept me from feeling the weight of what I could lose.

  And now here we were. And she was paying for it.

  I pulled her in tighter, whispering against her ear, “You’re still Autumn. The same girl I met in your parents’ house that night, sitting across the table from me.” I pressed a finger gently to her chest. “You’re still in there. Still in control. You’re just fighting something that wants you to slip.”

  Tears welled and spilled from her eyes. Her deep brown irises were rimmed in red, trembling with fear, grief, and disbelief. She nodded, fast and small, like she was clinging to my words to stay upright.

  Somewhere behind us, I heard the soft slide of the glass door. Alex stepped outside, giving us space. And the guilt clawed at me again. Alex, who had suffered, lost, bled, and now had sacrificed for Autumn, deserved better than the confusion I brought into her life. I hated myself for being here with Autumn while Alex was breaking herself apart to save her.

  But I pushed it aside. Autumn needed me now.

  “You’re not alone,” I said, keeping her close. “I’m going to help you through this, right there alongside Alex. Every step. We’ll teach you, guide you… the way I wish someone had helped me.”

  Autumn swallowed shakily. “It’s a lot, Sam. I still don’t believe any of this is real. I keep waiting to wake up.”

  “Have you seen your parents since…”

  “No!” she snapped, her voice cracking into panic. “I can’t. I can’t be around them yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever be safe to be around them. How could they even look at me like this?”

  I stepped back just enough to meet her gaze head-on.

  She was doing exactly what her brother had done… the same thing I had done; pulling away, isolating herself, cutting off the people she loved instead of facing the truth.

  I couldn’t let her fall into the same darkness.

  “Autumn, do you remember when Alan was gone? When you all thought he was dead?” I asked her.

  She nodded as she raised her hand to wipe her bloody tears away from her eyes.

  "That whole time he was gone, remember how much you missed him. Remember how much you wished he would just come home. Then remember when he showed up not only alive but changed into a werewolf. Do you remember what you felt the moment you knew he was alive but changed?”

  Autumn’s frantic nodding slowed. She drew in deep, shaky breaths, each one steadier than the last as if she were pulling herself back from the edge. When she finally lifted her eyes to mine, the fear was still there… but something gentler pushed up beneath it. Something reaching, inching toward belief.

  “I was… just happy he was home.”

  The words escaped her like she’d run out of air the moment she touched them. And something in her shifted. Her expression softened, not into peace, not yet, but into something like the first spark of it. Hope, fragile and trembling, settling into place.

  I let her breathe in that feeling for a moment before speaking again.

  “I’m not saying you have to go back now. Not tonight. Maybe not even tomorrow. But you can’t run from them forever, Autumn. Family is all we have in this world… and there’s another truth you need to understand. One I wish someone had told me a long time ago.”

  Her head snapped up at that, neck twitching with that jittery, frightened movement. “What? What truth?”

  I stepped closer and took both of her hands, grounding her. Making sure she felt me here, solid, unflinching, before I said the thing that would hurt.

  “The truth is… we’re going to live a very long time. But our loved ones won’t.” Her breath caught, but I continued gently, firmly. “The longer we stay away out of fear, or guilt, or shame… the more of that time we lose. And one day, Autumn… every person we love will be gone, and we’ll still be here… walking this world without them. So, if you stay away now… you lose pieces of them you don’t get back.”

  Silence settled over the apartment, thick and heavy. The faint hum of the building, the muffled city noise beyond the windows. But even more so, the noise all faded under the weight of what she was realizing.

  Autumn’s tears swelled again, shimmering crimson before spilling fast and hot down her cheeks. I didn’t reach for her… not yet. She needed the moment. But she only lasted thirty seconds before she slammed into me, clinging like she might fall apart if she let go. Her sobs were quiet but desperate, her face buried against my shoulder.

  Her dark brown hair swarmed my face as she latched onto me for connection, filling my nose with her scent. It was the same, but different. It was Autumn, but more lethal. A strange combination of sweat, blood, and pain.

  It hurt to say the words. It felt cruel. But it was the kind of cruelty that could save her bond with all her loved ones… while they still breathed. She needed that steel in her. With the hunger inside her… Primeval hunger amplifying everything she felt, she needed every ounce of willpower she could gather.

  I held her until her breathing softened. Until her grip loosened just a little, exhaustion settling in place of panic.

  After twenty minutes or so, she spoke again, voice small, raw. “Could you… talk to Mom and Dad?” She swallowed hard. “I don’t want to just show up like this. I don’t want them to see me before they’re ready. If you could talk to them first, tell them I’m okay, prepare them… then maybe… maybe I could go home.”

  I nodded. “If that’s what you want, I’ll do it. But before that… we need to take care of a few things. And I’m going to need both of your help.”

  Almost on cue, the sliding glass door opened behind us. Alex stepped back into the apartment, her expression steady but her eyes just the faintest bit red. She’d been crying. She wouldn’t talk about it, wouldn’t admit it; not with everything else going on. But I saw it. I felt it, and it twisted something sharp in my chest.

  Still, she didn’t talk about her own pain. She just focused on what mattered.

  “What do you need our help with?” she asked, voice steady but threaded with uncertainty. She wanted to help. She just couldn’t imagine how she could help me.

  I stepped toward Alex near the door, sliding it open with my palm as the cold night air rushed in.

  “Follow me,” I said, my voice low and flat. “We need to get rid of a body.”

  And without another word, the three of us stepped out into the night, heading toward Forest Park… toward the massive pile of meat and bones from the Prime Elder.

  We left her apartment, all three of us, and descended back into the city… into the shadows. We moved toward whatever came next…together.