#Chapter 169: The Before

The rally had gone better than anyone expected, but the quiet that followed wasn’t clean. It buzzed with uncertainty, fractured by reactions that hadn’t had time to land until now. We’d stood in front of them with proof, with history, with unity, and still, by morning, there were murmurs spreading across the edges of camp. Some said I’d been created in secret, not born. Others whispered about bloodlines and curses and whether the Council would use this to strip protections from any future hybrids. A photo of my eyes reflecting red in the plaza lights had made it to one of the influencer gossip accounts, twisted with just enough color correction to make me look fully vampiric. They didn’t see hybrid. They didn’t see wolf. They saw something other. I didn’t engage. There were more urgent things to handle. I walked the shelter rows myself, checking the rotation sheets and inspecting the temporary radio lines. Each tent had a cot, fresh blankets, and a flash-printed instruction card