Morning came quietly to the Hawk Clan.
Too quietly.
Lin Yue woke with a hand pressed to his chest, his heart racing for no clear reason. The warmth of the furs surrounded him, but unease crawled beneath his skin. His pregnancy mark glowed faintly—stronger than usual.
Something was wrong.
"Mo Shan?" he called softly.
No answer.
He pushed himself up, ignoring the heaviness in his body, and stepped outside the cave.
The forest smelled of blood.
Not fresh—but not old enough to ignore.
Lin Yue's face drained of color.
Mo Shan collapsed to one knee just beyond the tree line, his breathing ragged. Blood soaked through his side, staining the earth beneath him. Feng Lihan stood in front of him, wings half-spread, eyes sharp and alert despite the exhaustion pulling at his limbs.
"You're losing too much blood," Feng Lihan said tightly.
Mo Shan laughed weakly. "Still alive, aren't I?"
"That's not the point."
Feng Lihan knelt, pressing a hand over Mo Shan's wound, channeling controlled heat to slow the bleeding. His jaw clenched—not from pain, but from frustration.
"You don't get to die," Feng Lihan said. "Not like this."
Mo Shan looked up at him, eyes dark but steady. "You're angry."
"Yes."
"Because I scared Lin Yue?"
Feng Lihan's hand stilled for a fraction of a second.
"No," he said. "Because you're reckless."
Mo Shan smiled faintly. "Liar."
Before Feng Lihan could respond, a soft, shaken voice cut through the air.
"Mo Shan."
Both of them froze.
Lin Yue stood a few steps away, barefoot on the forest floor, his robe loose around his body. His eyes locked onto the blood first—then the wound—then Mo Shan's face.
"You promised," Lin Yue whispered. "You promised you wouldn't risk yourself like this."
Mo Shan's expression cracked.
"I had to," he said quietly. "For you. For our child."
Tears welled in Lin Yue's eyes. "And what if you hadn't come back?"
Silence.
That question hit harder than any beast's claws.
Feng Lihan looked away.
Back in the cave, the air felt heavy.
Mo Shan lay resting, unconscious now after his strength finally gave out. Lin Yue sat beside him, holding his hand with trembling fingers, tears silently sliding down his cheeks.
Feng Lihan stood near the entrance, arms crossed, wings folded tightly against his back.
"You didn't have to do that," Lin Yue said suddenly.
Feng Lihan stiffened. "Do what?"
"Risk yourself too."
Feng Lihan turned to face him. "I didn't do it for him."
Lin Yue looked up, startled.
"For the clan," Feng Lihan continued evenly. "And for you."
The words hung between them—dangerous, unspoken things wrapped inside them.
Lin Yue swallowed. "Then why does it feel like you're the one always bleeding silently?"
Feng Lihan said nothing.
Because if he spoke, the truth might ruin everything.
That night, when everyone believed the danger had passed, the demonic power stone pulsed violently inside its containment seal.
Cracks spread across the surface.
Far deeper in the forest, something ancient opened its eyes.
A six-star presence.
Awakened.
And it was moving—straight toward Hawk Clan territory.
Lin Yue's pregnancy mark flared painfully as he gasped, clutching his belly.
Feng Lihan's wings snapped open.
Mo Shan's eyes flew open as he sucked in a sharp breath.
"It's coming," Feng Lihan said grimly.
And this time—
They might not be strong enough.