Aria stared at the little girl with violet eyes. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a caught bird.
"I don't understand," she whispered. "How can she be calling me mama?"
The Guardian stepped closer, her old robes rustling like dry leaves. "Time moves differently in the Deep Places. Past, present, and future mix together like water."
"That doesn't explain anything," Caden snapped, his ice-blue eyes blazing with protective rage.
The old woman smiled sadly. "The Moon Wolf family is older than you know. What you see here are echoes. Memories trapped in stone and shade."
Above them, the Primal Alpha's roars got louder. Chunks of roof began falling around them.
"We need to move," Caden pushed, reaching for Aria's hand.
But she couldn't stop looking at the child. Something deep inside her chest ached with recognition. Like looking at a picture she'd forgotten she owned.
"Mama, please don't go," the little girl begged, tears running down her face.
