  Celena&#39;s Perspective
  Pain.
  Boundless, endless pain, seeping from the marrow of my bones, a rending deep within my soul. I wasn&#39;t unconscious, not truly. More like trapped behind a thin film of awareness. I could perceive the outside world hazily, but I was paralyzed, voiceless.
  Then, I &quot;saw.&quot;
  Not with my eyes. A more inward form of sight. A shadow, a feminine outline, was struggling, slowly &quot;standing up&quot; from my own limp form. She had no substance, composed more of pale mist and flowing darkness. I could just make out curves, but no flesh, no warmth. Just a... phantom reflection.
  Who was that? A part of me?
  The shadow wavered, turning. On the floor lay Karl. And from beneath him, dark red, viscous blood began to well up uncontrollably, defying gravity. It gathered, flowed as if alive, slithering toward the shadow. The moment shadow and blood met,

  Celena&#39;s Perspective
  The dull impact seemed to have echoed from the depths of the left passage. Jacob and I locked eyes. No time for debate. We dove into the darker tunnel.
  Our flashlight beam carved a shaky path through the oppressive gloom, illuminating rough concrete walls and occasional damp patches on the floor. The air, perpetually cold and tinged with chemicals, now carried a fresh thread of blood and… the sharp tang of cordite. Faint, but undeniable.
  &quot;God, it&#39;s black as pitch,&quot; Jacob growled low. His wolf eyes should have an edge in the dark, but here there was zero light—a pure underground labyrinth. &quot;Hold on.&quot; He felt along the wall until his fingers found a recessed switch and clicked it.
  Overhead, a few widely spaced fluorescent tubes flickered and buzzed to life, casting a ghastly white pallor that pushed back some shadows but made the c

  Karl&#39;s Perspective
  This damned place was hidden well enough, buried beneath a real slaughterhouse, masked by the smells and noise of the freezers. I thought no one could find it. But wolves are wolves—noses keener than any hound&#39;s, or maybe they just had blind luck.
  The reports from the outer perimeter in recent days were off. Talk of unidentified vehicles circling the town, signs of attempted approaches to the factory. The idiots in charge of security—the young pups sent by the Hunter&#39;s Guild—babbled about radical animal rights activists or vegetarians causing trouble. Bullshit. I&#39;ve been at this for most of my life. I can smell trouble from ten miles away. That was the scent of being tracked, of beasts prowling in the dark.
  And sure enough, they came. Not through the main gate—the fools were right about that front; the firefight there was lively—but like rats, t

Celena&#39;s Perspective
  Pain.
  Boundless, endless pain, seeping from the marrow of my bones, a rending deep within my soul. I wasn&#39;t unconscious, not truly. More like trapped behind a thin film of awareness. I could perceive the outside world hazily, but I was paralyzed, voiceless.
  Then, I &quot;saw.&quot;
  Not with my eyes. A more inward form of sight. A shadow, a feminine outline, was struggling, slowly &quot;standing up&quot; from my own limp form. She had no substance, composed more of pale mist and flowing darkness. I could just make out curves, but no flesh, no warmth. Just a... phantom reflection.
  Who was that? A part of me?
  The shadow wavered, turning. On the floor lay Karl. And from beneath him, dark red, viscous blood began to well up uncontrollably, defying gravity. It gathered, flowed as if alive, slithering toward the shadow. The moment shadow and blood met, the silhouette seemed injected with a vile vitality, becoming slightly more solid. Then, togeth

Chapter 232