#Chapter 7#::Lockdown

I stared at the photo on my phone. My apartment building. The same angle as my living room window.

Someone is watching us right now.

“Kids, come here.” I kept my voice calm even though my heart was racing.

Asher and Ember looked up from their blocks.

“We’re playing a game,” I said. “It’s called hide and seek. I need you both to go into the bathroom and stay there until Mama says it’s safe. Can you do that?”

“But we just got home,” Asher complained.

“Now, Asher.”

Something in my voice made him move. He grabbed Ember’s hand, and they both ran to the bathroom.

I locked them inside and grabbed my phone. Called Victor back.

“I got a threat. Someone’s watching the apartment right now.”

“I know. My team just pulled up outside. Stay away from the windows.”

I dropped to the floor and crawled to the edge of the living room window. Peeked out carefully.

A black SUV was parked across the street. Tinted windows. Could be Victor’s people. Could be someone else.

My phone buzzed again. Another text from the same number.

“We can see you peeking. Wave hello.”

I jerked back from the window.

Three loud knocks on the door made me jump.

“Mira, it’s me.” Victor’s voice.

I checked the peephole first. Saw Victor and two large men in tactical gear. Opened the door fast, and they pushed inside.

“Where are the kids?”

“Bathroom.”

Victor nodded to his men. They immediately started checking every room, every window, and every possible entry point.

“The video has twenty million views now,” Victor said quietly. “It’s everywhere. Every pack in the country has seen it. The comments are going crazy.”

“What are they saying?”

“Half think Chase is a monster for rejecting you while pregnant. The other half are calling your twins abominations because of the prophecy.”

“They’re three years old.”

“I know. But scared people don’t think clearly.” He pulled out a tablet and showed me the screen.

It was a werewolf news site. The headline made my stomach turn.

“PROPHECY TWINS DISCOVERED: ARE THEY THE SAVIORS OR DESTROYERS OF WOLF KIND?”

Below it were screenshots from the park video. Asher’s face. Ember’s face. Zoomed in. Enhanced. Analyzed.

Someone had even dug up my old pack records. Posted my photo from before the rejection. The comments were brutal.

“She trapped the Alpha with pregnancy.”

“Those twins are cursed.”

“The prophecy says one destroys all packs. Kill them before they grow up.”

“This omega is dangerous. She needs to be stopped.”

I couldn’t read anymore. Handed the tablet back to Victor.

“How bad is it really?”

“Five packs have already put out official statements. They’re calling for the Council to intervene. Saying the twins are a threat to pack stability.”

“They want my children dead.”

“Some do. Others just want them contained. Studied. Controlled.” Victor’s face was grim. “Either way, you can’t stay here. This apartment isn’t secure enough.”

“Where can we go?”

“I have a safe house outside the city. Remote location. Twenty-four-hour security. We can move you tonight.”

One of Victor’s men came back from checking the apartment. “All clear inside. But boss, we’ve got a problem. There are three vehicles circling the block. Different makes, different plates, but they’re all watching this building.”

“How many people total?”

“At least twelve that we can see. Could be more.”

Victor cursed under his breath. “They’re already here.”

My phone rang. Unknown number. I almost didn’t answer, but something made me pick up.

“Hello?”

“Mira Hart?” A woman’s voice. Cold. Professional.

“Who is this?”

“Elder Theresa from the High Council. I’m calling to inform you that an emergency session has been convened regarding your children. You are required to appear before the Council in three days.”

“Required?”

“The prophecy twins pose a potential threat to pack stability. The Council needs to assess them. Determine if they’re dangerous.”

“They’re three years old.”

“The prophecy doesn’t care about age. Neither do we.” The woman’s voice was like ice. “You will bring both children to the Council chambers in three days. If you refuse, we will come get them. And you.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise. Three days, Ms. Hart.”

She hung up.

I stood there holding the phone, shaking with rage.

Victor was watching me. “What did they say?”

“The Council wants to assess the twins. See if they’re dangerous. They gave me three days to comply.”

“And if you don’t?”

“They’ll take them by force.”

One of Victor’s men looked out the window. “Boss, we’ve got movement. One of the vehicles just pulled up front. Two males getting out.”

I moved to look, but Victor stopped me. “Stay back.”

His man had binoculars. “They’re approaching the building. Armed. One’s going for the entrance, the other around back.”

“How long until backup gets here?” Victor asked.

“Ten minutes.”

“We don’t have ten minutes.” Victor pulled a gun from his jacket. Handed it to me. “You remember how to use this?”

I took it automatically. My hands knew what to do even if my brain was still catching up. Three years of training with Victor. I knew how to shoot.

“What about the kids?” I asked.

“Keep them in the bathroom. Lock yourself in with them. Don’t come out until I say.”

“Victor…”

“Go. Now.”

I ran to the bathroom. Unlocked it. Asher and Ember were sitting in the tub playing with bath toys.

“Mama, can we come out now?” Ember asked.

“Not yet, baby. A little longer.”

I climbed into the tub with them and locked the bathroom door from inside. Put my body between the door and my children.

The gun felt heavy in my hands.

From outside the bathroom, I heard the apartment door crash open. Voices shouting. Victor yelling orders.

Then gunshots.

Ember screamed. Asher grabbed onto me.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “It’s okay. Mama’s got you.”

More gunshots. Something heavy hit the floor.

The bathroom door handle rattled. Someone was trying to get in.

“Mira Hart, open this door.” A male voice I didn’t recognize.

I raised the gun. Aimed it at the door. “Get away from my children.”

“The Council sent us. We’re just here to escort you and the twins to safety.”

“I said get away.”

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

The door handle rattled harder. He was trying to break it down.

I fired once through the door.

The rattling stopped. Someone cursed. Footsteps running away.

Then silence.

“Victor?” I called out.

No answer.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might explode.

“Victor!”

“I’m here.” His voice came from the other side of the door. “It’s safe. You can come out.”

“How do I know it’s really you?”

“Remember the first day I found you? You told me you wanted to learn everything. I said I’d teach you how to be deadly. Then you threw up on my shoes.”

That was Victor. Nobody else knew that.

I unlocked the door slowly. Gun still raised just in case.

Victor was standing there. Blood on his shirt but not his own. Two bodies on my living room floor. Men I didn’t recognize. Both not moving.

Victor’s team had their guns trained on the door.

“Are they dead?” I asked.

“Unconscious. We need to move now before more show up.” He looked at the twins. “Hi kids. I’m Uncle Victor. We’re going on an adventure.”

Asher’s eyes were huge. “Mama has a gun.”

“I know. Your mama is very brave.” Victor held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

We rushed out of the apartment. Down the back stairs instead of the elevator. Victor’s men formed a protective circle around us.

When we hit the back alley, there were more black SUVs waiting. Doors are already open.

“Get in,” Victor ordered.

I pushed the twins into the back seat and climbed in after them. Victor got in front. The doors locked automatically.

We pulled out of the alley fast. Too fast. Tires squealing.

Through the back window, I saw three other vehicles trying to follow us. Victor’s driver took a sharp turn. Then another. Weaving through traffic like he was in an action movie.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Safe house. Twenty miles outside the city. No one knows about it except my people.”

Ember was crying quietly. Asher was trying to be brave, but his hands were shaking.

I pulled them both close. “It’s okay. We’re safe now.”

But were we? The video had gone viral. The prophecy was spreading. The Council wanted my children.

And somewhere out there, Chase Black had just discovered he had twins.

My phone buzzed again. I almost didn’t look. But I did.

Text from Chase’s number.

“I saw the video. I saw the threats. Please let me help protect them. They’re my children too. Please.”

I stared at the message for a long time.

Then another text came through. From a different number.

A photo. Not of my apartment this time.

Of the safe house. The one Victor said nobody knew about.

Below it, one line.

“Found you. See you soon.