The lab hummed like it was thinking.
Monitors glowed, wires hung half-organized, and the faint smell of overheated metal lingered in the air.
It was one of those moments where everything almost worked—and that somehow made it worse.
Eliot stood beside Theo at the main table, shoulders slightly hunched, oversized sleeves slipping down his wrists.
His hair was soft and messy, curls catching the light as he leaned closer to the projection Theo had pulled up.
His glasses slid down his nose again.
Theo sighed and gently pushed them back up with one finger. "Focus, genius."
Eliot flushed. "Sorry."
Theo pointed at the diagram.
"Okay. The portal doesn't collapse because it's unstable—it collapses because it's panicking. You're forcing it open."
Eliot frowned, thinking. "So… it's not a door. It's more like—"
"A wound," Theo finished quietly.
Eliot's eyes widened. "Oh."
"Yeah," Theo said. "Now you get it."
Across the room—
Rex was sitting backward on a chair, arms draped over the backrest, watching Leon work with exaggerated seriousness.
"You know," Rex said, "for someone who pretends not to care, you're being very careful with that."
Leon didn't look up. "Because I don't want it to explode."
"So you care about the lab?"
Leon shot him a look. "I care about not dying."
Rex grinned. "Progress."
Lunara sat nearby on a counter, coat wrapped tightly around her frame, beanie pulled low.
The fabric hugged her shoulders, hiding most of her form, but her tail flicked beneath the hem—sharp, restless.
Her ears twitched at every sound.
"You humans talk too much," she muttered. "In my world, this would have been solved already."
Theo didn't even turn around. "And yet you're still here."
She scowled. "Tragic, isn't it?"
The door slammed open.
The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot.
Everyone turned.
Mira stood in the doorway.
Her uniform was neat, her posture sharp, expression calm—but her eyes went straight to Eliot like he was the only person in the room.
"There you are," she said.
Before anyone could react, she crossed the lab in long strides and grabbed Eliot's wrist.
"Hey—!" Eliot yelped, nearly stumbling.
Theo reacted instantly, gripping Eliot's other arm and pulling him back. "Absolutely not."
The room froze.
Rex's jaw dropped. "Wow. Bold move."
Leon stepped forward, shoulders squared, voice low. "Let. Go."
Lunara slid off the counter in one smooth motion.
Her coat shifted, ears pressing flat beneath the beanie, tail stiff.
The amulet beneath her coat pulsed once—soft, angry light.
Mira glanced around, irritated. "This doesn't concern all of you."
Theo's grip tightened. "Everything that involves him concerns us."
Eliot stood between them, heart racing, breath shallow. He looked smaller like this—caught in the middle, glasses slipping again.
"Mira," he said quietly. "You said I could choose."
She hesitated. Just for a second.
"Yes," she admitted. "But I need you. Now."
Theo searched Eliot's face, voice softer. "Eliot… you don't have to."
Eliot swallowed. His hands trembled.
"I know," he said.
Silence stretched.
Then Eliot lifted his head.
"But if I don't go," he continued, "nothing changes."
He met Theo's eyes and gave a small, determined nod. "I'll be careful. I promise."
Theo held on for one more heartbeat.
Then he let go.
The moment felt heavy—like something important had shifted.
Rex ran a hand through his hair. "I really don't like this."
Leon turned his face away, jaw tight. "This is a bad idea."
Lunara stepped closer, golden eyes locked on Eliot. "If she lies to you," she said quietly, "I will find her."
Mira didn't respond. She simply turned and tugged Eliot toward the door.
As they reached it, Theo spoke again—barely above a whisper.
"Come back."
Eliot looked over his shoulder, offering a small, crooked smile.
"I will."
The door shut behind them.
The hum of the lab continued—but now it sounded wrong.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
The lab felt wrong after Eliot left.
Too still.
Like the machines were holding their breath.
Theo stood where Eliot had been a second ago, fingers still half-curled as if he might grab him back through the door by sheer will.
Then his shoulders sagged. He turned away, found the nearest chair, and sat down hard.
"This is bad," he said quietly.
Rex scoffed, pacing. "Bad? This is terrible. She just walks in, grabs him, and he goes with her?"
Leon spun on Rex, eyes sharp. "Don't put this on Eliot."
"Oh, I'm absolutely putting this on the situation," Rex shot back. "Mira is Brent's sister. Her dad is literally hunting wolves. And we just—what—let him go?"
Leon stepped closer, voice low. "You think I don't know that?"
"Then why didn't you stop him?"
"Because he chose."
"That doesn't make it smart!"
The air snapped between them.
Theo pressed his palms to his eyes. "Stop. Both of you."
They didn't.
Rex threw his hands up. "We're always too slow. That's the problem. We analyze, we hesitate, and then something like this happens."
Leon clenched his fists. "Say that again like Eliot didn't just walk into a trap because he wanted to help someone."
Rex opened his mouth—
"Enough." Theo's voice cracked.
That did it.
Both of them froze.
Theo lowered his hands.
His glasses had slid down his nose, and he didn't bother fixing them this time. "Yelling won't bring him back. And it won't protect him."
Silence settled, heavier than before.
From the corner of the room, Lunara moved.
She stepped forward slowly, coat still wrapped around her, beanie shadowing her eyes. Her tail flicked once, then stilled.
When she spoke, her voice was quieter than usual.
"I think," she said, "this is not just about Eliot."
All three of them looked at her.
Theo straightened a little. "What do you mean?"
Lunara hesitated. That alone was unusual.
"When Elara took me out," she began, "to show me your world… I sensed something."
Rex frowned. "Sensed?"
"Yes." Her ears twitched beneath the beanie. "Fear. Pain. Wolf blood."
Leon's posture changed instantly. "Where."
"A quiet street. Hidden. There was a male wolf—young, injured. He had been experimented on." Her jaw tightened. "He ran before I could help him."
Theo's head snapped up. "You didn't tell us."
"I wasn't sure," Lunara admitted. "But now I am."
Rex's pacing slowed. "You think Mira knows about that?"
"I think," Lunara said carefully, "that her father is searching for something he has not found yet. And that wolf… may be connected."
Leon exhaled through his teeth. "And Eliot is good with patterns. With systems. With blood data."
Theo swallowed. "So Mira didn't just take him randomly."
Lunara nodded once. "She is afraid. But fear does not make her harmless."
The room went quiet again.
Theo leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "He said he'd come back."
"He will," Lunara said.
Rex looked at her. "You sound sure."
Her eyes burned gold beneath the shadow of her beanie. "Because if he doesn't," she said calmly, "we will go get him."
Leon finally relaxed his fists. Just a little.
Theo let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"…Okay," he said. "Then we don't panic."
Rex gave a humorless smile. "Too late."
Theo glanced at him. "We don't panic alone."
Lunara's tail flicked again.
"Do not worry yourselves," she said. "If Mira wants to talk about what I saw… then she has already stepped into something far bigger than she understands."
And somewhere deep underground, far away—
A choice had already been made.