Mira led him to a large shed tucked behind the yard.
The door creaked open, revealing a space packed with technology: monitors stacked in towers, wires snaking along the walls, vials of glowing fluids in chilled cases, and strange mechanical devices Eliot couldn't identify at a glance.
"This is where I operate," Mira said quietly. "Whenever my father orders experiments, this is where it happens. But he's not here today… you're safe."
Lunara stepped inside, tail flicking nervously.
The air was charged with electricity, monitors casting pale glows on her coat.
Mira turned to Eliot.
"My father… he's been searching for a specific type of wolf blood for years. He's caught fourteen others recently. All of them were wrong. But this time—" Her voice dropped slightly, careful.
"The fifteenth wolf… ran away."
Eliot's eyes widened. "Fifteenth? Why—what does he want with it?"
Mira stepped closer, voice firm.
"He wants her. The daughter of the king of the realms. Her blood is unique—powerful, uncorrupted. And he assumes I might know where to find her. I do. But I won't give him that information."
Lunara's ears twitched. Her tail flicked sharply.
"My… family?" she whispered, fists tightening beneath the coat.
"You mean them?"
Mira gave a slow nod. "He's taken wolves before… experimented on them… sometimes destroyed them. He believes this one might be the fifteenth. That's why he's hunting for her. And that's why he might come after anyone connected to her."
Eliot swallowed hard, adjusting his glasses. "So… he's hunting a wolf… because of her blood?"
"Yes," Mira said firmly.
"He thinks she's out there somewhere. But you…" Her eyes met Eliot's.
"You could help me stop him. That's why I called you here."
Lunara finally thought, fierce. "If he touches my world again… or my family… he'll regret it."
Eliot looked between the two of them, mind spinning. "How do we even start? Do you… do you need me to do calculations, or—"
Mira nodded. "Exactly. You understand energy, portals, interdimensional reactions. I need someone who can analyze the patterns, someone who can outthink him. And you can do it."
Lunara's golden eyes softened just a fraction, though her stance remained defensive. She crossed her arms.
"And if he comes here?"
"Then we'll be ready," Eliot said, trying to sound confident, though his fingers trembled slightly on his backpack strap.
The shed hummed with electricity, screens flickering, wires snaking along the walls, and the weight of the task ahead pressed down on all of them.
Mira led Eliot and Lunara down a narrow alley behind the shed, her footsteps quiet but confident.
The sun had dipped lower, casting long shadows across the cracked concrete, but Mira moved as if she had walked this path a hundred times.
"I need you to trust me," Mira said softly, glancing at Eliot. "There's something you need to see… something my father is doing. You'll understand why I need your help."
Eliot hesitated, adjusting his glasses. "I… I don't know if I can believe you, but… I'll stay. For now."
Lunara's tail flicked behind her, ears flat beneath the beanie. She was tense, scanning the area, silent.
Mira pushed open a heavy metal door and motioned them inside.
A narrow staircase led downward, concrete walls damp and faintly glowing from the dim lights overhead. The air grew cooler, heavier, and smelled faintly metallic.
At the bottom, they entered a vast underground chamber.
Eliot's eyes widened. Rows upon rows of glass tubes, some tall, some short, each containing a suspended, unconscious wolf.
Their fur shimmered under the pale fluorescent lights, breathing slow and mechanical.
Some tubes hissed gently as fluids circulated, wires hooked into the sides monitoring vitals.
Eliot swallowed hard, glancing at Lunara. She was quiet, her tail flicking restlessly.
Her golden eyes scanned the tubes rapidly, muscles tensed, but her family was nowhere in sight.
Mira walked among the rows, her voice soft but firm. "My father has kept hundreds of wolves like this. He's searching for one specific blood type… the blood of the princess. He takes others too, because he can't be sure. But he hasn't found her yet."
Eliot frowned.
"Princess?" He glanced at Lunara again, who stiffened at the word, breathing slightly heavier, tail flicking in agitation.
Mira continued, unaware of their reactions. "Three of the last captured wolves were from the royal family: the king, queen, and prince. He still hasn't found the princess—she is the one whose blood he needs most. That's why he keeps taking wolves indiscriminately, trying to locate her."
Eliot felt a pang of guilt as he noticed Lunara's tense posture, shoulders rigid, tail stiff.
She didn't speak, but the rise and fall of her chest, the slight clenching of her fists, and the sharp glint in her golden eyes told him everything.
She finally broke the silence, voice low and cautious. "Where is the exit?"
Mira pointed down a dimly lit corridor. "That way. You can leave if you choose."
Lunara's coat rustled as she moved toward it, tail flicking sharply. Eliot hesitated, then whispered,
"I… I'll think about it. Don't worry."
Lunara glanced over her shoulder briefly but didn't answer. She disappeared down the corridor, her footsteps fading into the underground shadows.
Eliot took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, then glanced at Mira. "I'll think about it. I'll help… but I need to process this."
Mira nodded once, expression unreadable. "I understand. Just… don't take too long."
After he turned to leave, Mira stepped over to a monitor bank in the tech shed, eyes scanning the cameras.
She watched Eliot follow Lunara through the corridors. A faint smirk tugged at her lips.
Then, almost reflexively, she reached out and hit the arm of light the camera console, as if scolding herself for letting a small smile slip.
She closed the computer with a soft click, the glow of the screens fading.
She sighed, exhaling slowly, and flicked off the lights in the tech shed.
The underground chamber plunged into shadows, tubes of suspended wolves glowing faintly like ghostly silhouettes.
Mira leaned back against a console, silent, watching, and waiting.