Chapter 87: Gone
*~Lilith’s POV~*
As soon as I handed Caspian the map, I watched him shift into motion his limbs tense, his mind already racing toward the children. The others followed like wolves on command. They would do anything to bring those babies back.
And that was exactly what I wanted.
Because while they ran off to play hero... I needed to prepare.
I wasn’t just planning a rescue. I was preparing a resurrection.
The original Crescent pack...my people, my blood, my legacy will walk again. And the key to their rebirth? That child’s blood. A single drop from the child born of crescent lineage, carrying the power of light and shadow in one fragile body.
Once I had it, nothing would stop me from reclaiming New Orleans. Not the High House, not the wolves, not even Hazel because she will be on my side.
I left before the dust settled behind them and made my way to the place where our dead were kept or what was left of them.
The doors creaked open on my arrival. The scent of ash still lingered. Not decay, not rot. Just... ash. Burned flesh. Crushed bones. The remains of warriors, not victims. I dropped to my knees and let my fingers run through them—through them. All of them.
My people...My Crescents.
Even in this form, I could still feel their presence humming through my veins like static. My skin prickled. My eyes burned. I didn’t cry. No. I hadn’t cried in a century. But a piece of my heart shattered anyway as my hands trembled through the sacred ruin of what once was ours.
"I’ll bring you back," I whispered. "Not just in memory. In body."