"Harry."The voice wasn't loud. It was almost drowned out by the rustle of the morning wind. But it was enough to make Harry's body go rigid instantly.He stood at the edge of the trees, one foot still planted on the damp forest soil, the other barely touching the foreign, hard ground. The city light crept slowly over the horizon, pale yellow, cold, and stinging his eyes. The smell of hot asphalt, exhaust fumes, and rusted metal assaulted his nostrils, so different from the scent of pine and wet earth that had been his world until now."Harry."This time it was clearer. Closer.He knew the voice, even before he turned around. The voice that had led him for years. A voice that never gave commands, yet was always obeyed.Harry took a deep breath, then turned slowly.Alpha stood a few yards behind him, precisely on the thin line between the forest shadows and the city light. The massive body stood tall, solid, as if integrated with the ground beneath it. The six other wolves crouched nea

Harry curled tighter under the thin blanket, his body trembling not just from the cold, but from the horrifying realization that he might have risked everything for nothing but new confusion and fear.Arthur, who seemed more accustomed to the city night's cold, shifted slightly, arranging the cardboard scraps around them as a windbreak."You must be very hungry, son," Arthur's voice was soft now, no longer as rough as before. "That bread I gave you won't be enough to sustain you. It was only bait."Harry opened his eyes. He was still alert, his ears catching the distant traffic sounds, which now felt slightly muffled within their small shelter. He couldn't see Arthur clearly, only a large shadow beside him."I'm not hungry," Harry lied, his voice still rough and weak. He didn't want to burden this stranger, this person he'd only met hours ago. In the forest, sharing was a sign of trust; here, sharing food felt like begging for alms, an act that lowered his self-worth."Don't be stupid

"Arthur, wait!" Harry yelled, running to catch up with his new mentor. His voice was too loud, too wild. He clutched the folded note tightly in his left hand.Arthur stopped abruptly on the busy street corner, without turning around. He let out a long sigh before finally turning slowly, his expression now flat with exhaustion."What are you holding, Harry?" Arthur asked, his eyes focused on Harry's hand, not his face.Harry hesitated. He held the paper with both hands now, pulling it away from Arthur. "You dropped this. On the bench earlier."Arthur moved closer, his gaze hardening. "I didn't drop anything. That's not mine. I also know someone's been watching us.""There's a message inside," Harry insisted, feeling his wolf instincts urge him not to trust anyone except his Alpha. It read... "'Watch the boy. He's not yours.'"The air around Arthur seemed to thin. The older man quickly scanned left and right, watching the passing crowd, then pulled Harry into the shadows of a closed sto

"I know you're here," the cold, trained voice echoed, breaking the silence of the harbor warehouse. "You've been holding onto our property for too long, Aubrey boy. Give me the necklace, or I'll make sure you end up worse than your father."Harry froze, his entire body tensing like a steel cable ready to snap. The scent of expensive tobacco and high-quality leather pricked his nostrils, a stark contrast to the rotten smell of the docks. The voice was authoritative, sharp,exactly the tone that haunted his worst nightmares. Marcus. It had to be Marcus."Harry, don't move!" Arthur shouted from behind a stack of crates near the entrance, his voice choked with fear.Harry gripped the necklace beneath his shirt. Outside the crate, the expensive footsteps drew closer, stopping directly in front of the gap where Harry hid. The man didn't need to see. He knew Harry was there."You won't escape me, lost boy," the voice hissed, and Harry could feel the cold threat seeping through the wooden crat

“If you step outside now, Harry,” Arthur’s voice was stifled by heavy breathing, “you might never come back.”Harry stopped at the warehouse threshold, but he didn't turn around.“I haven’t been back in too long,” he replied softly.He walked away, leaving the foul-smelling warehouse without looking at Arthur’s face once. He knew Arthur worried. He knew this decision was selfish and dangerous. But the truth about the Aubrey Family, about the Black Hand, and about Marcus called to him more strongly than any safety the hiding place could offer.He couldn't stay silent anymore.For a whole day, Harry disappeared into the city shadows. He moved without visible purpose, but his senses were fully engaged. He listened to the whispers of dock workers, fragments of conversation in cheap pubs, the complaints of old people who still remembered the city’s past. Information about the “old Aubrey family residence” was never spoken out loud. The name still carried fear.As dusk fell, Harry finally a