Chapter 10｜The Brother’s Choice

Rain slicked streets of Portland glistened beneath the dim glow of rooftop lights, the city’s shadows stretching like dark fingers across the skyline. Jake Bennett crouched behind the low parapet of the apartment building, heart hammering so violently he was sure Lila could hear it. He’d never imagined his Saturday night would end like this—dodging creatures that didn’t belong in the human world, his sister transformed into something fierce and unrecognizable. “Jake! Move!” Lila’s voice sliced through the storm, urgent and commanding. Her eyes glimmered with a silver sheen that was unnerving and beautiful all at once, the transformation partially complete but enough to make her appear less human, more predator. Jake hesitated, adrenaline jamming every rational thought. “I… I can’t—” he started, but a shadow darted between the steel beams, fast and deadly. Lila’s hand gripped his arm with surprising strength, her claws briefly brushing against his skin. “You have to! I can’t do this alone.” The words weren’t a suggestion. They were a demand that carried the weight of a life—or in this case, two. Jake swallowed hard, forcing his fear into a tight knot in his chest. He had always protected Lila, sure, but never like this. Never against monsters, never against the impossible. A low growl rolled across the rooftop from behind, sharp and guttural, the sound vibrating in Jake’s chest. He stumbled sideways, nearly losing his footing, and looked down. The alley below seemed like a canyon, filled with shifting shadows and flashes of movement. Human instinct screamed to run, to hide, to preserve his life at all costs. But his blood called louder. Lila was his sister. “Jake!” Her voice cracked, a mixture of frustration and fear, echoing over the rain. “You’re not just a bystander—you’re family. You move with me, or you die here!” Jake’s fingers flexed, gripping her arm harder. He didn’t understand this world—wolves, hunters, supernatural politics—but he understood loyalty. He understood blood. And he understood fear, the kind that froze a man in place until the consequences hit harder than any instinct. He followed. Lila led him along the slick rooftop, her pace fast but measured, each leap precise, each landing calculated. She glanced back occasionally, her sharp eyes ensuring he kept up, guiding him through a labyrinth of pipes, vents, and satellite dishes. Jake’s lungs burned, his legs screamed, but he never let go. He couldn’t. Not now. From the shadows, movement approached fast. A hunter—or someone aligned with Evelyn—emerged, eyes gleaming with cold intent. Jake froze, terror paralyzing him for a moment too long. Lila hissed, her body tensing, teeth bared in a snarl that made the hairs on his neck rise. “Jake! Now!” she shouted. Instinct overtook reason. He pushed off the ledge with her, landing hard on the next rooftop. Pain shot up his side, but he rolled, staying low. Lila leaped beside him with the fluidity of a predator, transforming fully in the final moments of the jump. Her wolf form was terrifying, majestic, and terrifyingly beautiful, every sinew coiled for attack or defense. The hunter hesitated, evaluating the pair. That moment of hesitation was all they needed. Lila lunged, a blur of fur and fangs, scattering the enemy with feral precision. Jake ducked instinctively, covering his face, unsure whether to scream or run, heart hammering in sync with hers. When the danger passed, Lila shifted back to human form, rain dripping from her hair and clothes. She exhaled sharply, looking at him with a mixture of gratitude and relief. “You did well,” she said, voice softer now, almost vulnerable. “You could have left, you know. You had every right.” Jake shook his head, chest heaving. “Family doesn’t leave,” he whispered. He realized, in that moment, that the moral lines he’d clung to—laws, civility, human limitations—didn’t matter when blood was involved. Protection was primal. Loyalty was a choice, and he had chosen. Lila smiled faintly, her exhaustion hidden behind a mask of strength. “Good,” she said. “Because now, the pack will notice us. And if they do… we need to be ready.” Jake looked out over Portland’s rain-soaked streets, shadows creeping and shifting. Fear still lingered, but it was tempered by resolve. He might not understand the supernatural world, but he understood this: he would not abandon Lila. Not ever. Not even when the world asked him to choose between morality and family, he would choose family every single time. And tonight, on that rooftop, Jake Bennett decided that loyalty ran deeper than fear, stronger than reason, and unbreakable even in the face of monsters. The city lay below, oblivious to the choices made above, but for Jake and Lila, nothing would ever be the same. The chase had ended—but the consequences had just begun.