147

Jenny’s POV

I sat on the couch, my fingers absentmindedly picking at the edge of my sweater. There was a tension in the room, a heaviness that hadn’t lifted since Lyanna had shown up, battered and bruised. She hadn’t said much yet, just that something had drawn her out of her house that night—something urgent.

Ian and Jacob stood near the window, their postures tense as they watched her. Sophia sat beside me, her face pale, worry etched in every line of her expression. I hadn’t been able to get comfortable since Lyanna walked through the door. Her presence always felt like a mystery, like she knew more than she let on. And the fact that she’d been kidnapped only heightened that unease.

Finally, Lyanna spoke, breaking the thick silence that had wrapped itself around us. Her voice was low, but there was a strange calmness to it, as though she had already resigned herself to the gravity of the situation.

“I had a vision,” she began, her gaze drifting from one of us to the next, before settling on Sophia. “A vision about you.”

Sophia’s breath hitched beside me. I instinctively reached out and grabbed her hand, offering a silent comfort. Lyanna leaned forward, her face grim and serious.

“What did you see?” Ian asked, his voice tight with concern.

Lyanna hesitated, her eyes darkening as if replaying the memory in her mind. “I saw Sophia… lying in a dark room, chained, surrounded by men I couldn’t make out. She was covered in blood.” Her voice trembled slightly, and I felt Sophia stiffen beside me. “There was something else, though… a shadow that loomed over her, like a force more dangerous than we’ve ever encountered.”

The room grew impossibly still, and I could feel my heartbeat echoing in my chest. Ian’s eyes flashed with fury, his fists clenching by his sides. Jacob remained quiet but stepped closer, his presence a solid wall of protection.

“What do you mean, more dangerous?” I asked, my voice small. I didn’t want to think about anything worse than what we’d already faced, but it seemed like there was always something worse in our world.

Lyanna met my gaze, her eyes filled with the kind of dread that made my stomach churn. “I don’t know what it is. But I felt it. Something dark, something ancient. It wants Sophia. I think it’s been after her for a while, but it’s getting closer.”

Sophia shifted beside me, her hand trembling in mine. I could feel her panic rising, though she was doing everything she could to keep it under control. Her lips parted, and for a moment, she looked like she wanted to speak, but no words came out. I squeezed her hand, trying to give her the strength she needed.

“How do we stop it?” Ian’s voice was sharp, cutting through the fear hanging in the air.

Lyanna sighed, looking older and more weary than I’d ever seen her. “I don’t know if we can stop it. But we can protect her. We have to be vigilant. Whatever this force is, it’s going to come for her again, and we need to be ready.”

Sophia finally found her voice. “Why me?” she whispered, her voice trembling with a mix of confusion and fear. “Why am I always the one they’re after?”

Lyanna’s expression softened as she reached out, placing a hand on Sophia’s knee. “It’s not just because of your connection to Ian or the fact that you’re a vampire now. There’s something about you, Sophia—something powerful that others can sense. You’ve been marked, not just by Ian, but by forces beyond our understanding. I don’t know why, but you’re important. That’s why so many are after you.”

Sophia let out a shaky breath, her eyes darting between Ian and me, as if searching for reassurance, for some sense of normalcy in all this madness. But there was no normal anymore. Not for any of us.

“This shadow you saw,” Jacob finally spoke up, his deep voice steady, though I could see the worry in his eyes. “Do you know what it is?”

Lyanna shook her head. “No. But whatever it is, it’s not human, and it’s not like anything we’ve encountered before. It’s as though it’s been waiting, biding its time. And now… it’s coming.”

A shiver ran down my spine, and I could feel the room grow colder with every word. I hated this feeling—this constant fear that something terrible was always lurking just around the corner, waiting to strike. And now, Sophia was the target, and I couldn’t shake the helplessness clawing at my insides.

“We’ll protect her,” Ian said firmly, his eyes blazing with determination. “I won’t let anyone or anything hurt her.”

Lyanna nodded but didn’t seem reassured. “You have to be careful, Ian. This isn’t like the usual threats. It’s more cunning, more insidious. You need to be prepared for anything.”

Sophia swallowed hard beside me, and I could feel her heartbeat through the grip of her hand. She wasn’t just scared for herself—I could see the fear for the child she was carrying, the one none of us had dared speak about openly since Lyanna’s discovery. The stakes were higher than ever, and we all knew it.

“We need a plan,” Jacob said, his voice low and resolute. “We can’t just sit around and wait for this thing to come after her.”

Lyanna nodded again, her fingers tracing absent patterns on her knee as she thought. “I’ll start looking into protection spells, something that might help keep her shielded from this force. But we all need to be on guard. This shadow… it’s closer than we think.”

Ian turned to Sophia, his expression softening for a moment, though I could still see the tension in his jaw. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promised, his voice low but fierce.

Sophia met his gaze, her eyes filled with emotion. “I trust you,” she whispered, though the fear in her voice was unmistakable.

I sat there, feeling like a helpless bystander in all of this. I hated that Sophia was the one always in danger, hated that no matter how much we fought, there was always something else threatening to tear us apart. But there was no time to dwell on that now. We had to focus on protecting her, on keeping her safe.

“What do you need us to do?” I asked Lyanna, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me.

Lyanna looked at me, her expression unreadable for a moment, before she spoke. “Just be there for her. Keep her grounded. She’s going to need all of us, more than ever. And we can’t let our guard down. Not for a second.”

I nodded. I wouldn’t let anything happen to Sophia. Not now, not ever.

As the room fell into a heavy silence once more, I glanced over at Sophia, who sat quietly, her hand still tightly gripping mine. I could see the fear in her eyes, but I could also see the strength beneath it. She wasn’t going to let this break her, and neither were we.

Whatever was coming, we would face it together. And we would win.