Ithan Holstrom keeps watch outside the Astronomer’s building in the rain, determined not to fail again after earlier mistakes. He suspects the Astronomer may be gone and worries that the mystics inside, especially the wolf mystic who is another Fendyr heir and a possible challenger to Sabine, have been left vulnerable.

While guarding the alley, Ithan detects Amelie Ravenscroft, his former Alpha, lurking nearby. Her appearance confirms that other wolves may also be hunting the mystic, which makes Ithan more certain that he cannot abandon his post casually or leave the heir unprotected.

Flynn calls with catastrophic news from the failed mission. Flynn tells Ithan that Dec saw palace feeds showing that the Asteri captured Ruhn and Hunt Athalar, Tharion reported that Cormac is dead, and Bryce disappeared; the last they saw, she was alive, but no longer in their world. The news devastates Ithan, but it also sharpens his sense that his friends have become his new pack and need him.

Unable to leave the mystic behind with enemies circling, Ithan decides to take her with him. He crosses the street, smashes open the Astronomer’s doors, and finds the wolf mystic still floating unconscious in her tank, connected to her breathing apparatus.

Ithan first orders, then pleads with the mystic to wake, explaining that his friends need him and that he will not leave her to be killed. His appeal works: after the tank alarms begin blaring and her body reacts, the lost Fendyr heir struggles awake and opens her eyes, giving Ithan a chance to protect her while he rejoins the others.