<h4>Chapter 355: Chapter 355 Night Terrors</h4>


    Cecilia ’s pov


    "Cece... there are so many... so many little green men standing next to you."


    I blinked. My brain couldn’t process what Harper had just said.


    "Wait, what ?"


    "Little green men," she whispered, her voice shaking. Her pupils were huge, her eyes ssy. "They’re dancing."


    My heart kicked into overdrive.


    "Dancing how, exactly ?"


    "Like a weird alien Riverdance," she said,pletely serious. "They’re kicking their legs and spinning in circles around your chair."


    I forced a smile. "That’s... creative. They’d probably make it to the finals on America’s Got Talent."


    But inside, I was panicking. Something was seriously wrong.


    Harper waspletely locked in her hallucination. She pulled out her phone and started filming the empty space, humming along to some invisible music. Her feet began mimicking the "alien dance moves."


    I stared, horrified, as she danced and recorded nothing, her face lit up like she’d just found her true calling.


    "Tang," I whispered, trying to keep calm. "A little help here ?"


    No answer.


    I stood up and walked over to where he was sitting. He was still glued to the TV, eyes narrowed like he was watching a live battlefield feed.


    I leaned in. "Hey..."


    "Shhh." Tang turned and put a finger over my lips.


    I froze.


    "The mutant is close," he whispered. "Don’t make a sound."


    My stomach dropped. [No. Not him too.]


    Tang jumped up like he was in an action movie.


    "You won’t get away, monster!" he shouted at the balcony.


    And then heunched himself over the railing.


    I ran to the edge, gripping the banister.


    I couldn’t see him, but the backyard exploded into total farm chaos.


    Chickens were losing their minds, geese were honking like car rms, and something definitely crashed into a metal bucket.


    My knees buckled. I leaned on the rail, whispering to myself. "I’m losing it. I’m actually losing it."


    When I turned around, Harper was still in the living room, spinning and talking to the air.


    "Don’t grab! That’s my flying disc!" she yelled. "They said I’m their mother. I have to take them back to the mothership!"


    I ran over and grabbed Harper’s arm. "Stop. We need to find Tang. Now."


    She let me pull her toward the stairs, but her mouth kept moving.


    "They’re cute, you know. The blue one says ‘I love you.’"


    "Great. Alien Furbies. Awesome," I muttered, guiding her down step by step.


    Just as we reached the bottom, a creepy giggle echoed from the shadows below.


    I nearly jumped out of my skin.


    I flipped on the hallway light. And there, crouched beneath the stairs, was Levi.


    He was giggling and cradling a basket of potatoes like it was a litter of puppies.


    "You’re my roundest one... you’re the cutest one... you’re my destined spud," he murmured, kissing a russet potato.


    My blood ran cold. This wasn’t a joke. Everyone was losing it.


    Before I could react, Harper yanked open the front door and bolted outside.


    "The children have waited long enough! If I don’t go now, the aliens will take them away!"


    "Harper!" I shouted, chasing her into the night.


    Author ’s pov


    Cecilia and Harper hadn’t made it far when a pickup truck rolled into the yard, tires crunching over gravel.


    Several men in ck tactical uniforms jumped out, moving fast and focused.


    The leader had sharp eyes and a buzz cut. He looked around the yard and frowned at the mess.


    "What the hell is this ? Did the farm animals throw a rave ?"


    Right on cue, amb sprinted out of the vegetable patch, shrieking like it had just seen the apocalypse.


    "You three, check the back," he barked. "Everyone else, with me."


    At that moment, Alpha Sebastian ’s ck SUV tore into the driveway and came to a screeching halt.


    He stepped out, face grim, and headed straight for the house.


    Inside, the scene was absolute madness.


    Tang was still in the backyard, fullymitted to his hallucination.


    He moved fast. Security officers dropped like bowling pins as he delivered clean, tactical strikes.


    Cassian and Beta Sawyer rushed through the back entrance just in time.


    "Tang, stop!" Cassian shouted, grabbing him in a tight hold.


    Tang thrashed, wild-eyed butpletely serious.


    "Bro, if you let those mutants go, you’re helping the enemy! They’re already infiltrating the vige!"


    Beta Sawyer looked at Cassian. He was clearly concerned, but he also looked like he didn’t believe any of this.


    "He knows who I am, but he’s totally out of it."


    Cassian nced at the chickens and geese cowering in the corner.


    "If anyone’s the mutant here, it’s you," he muttered.


    Then Alpha Sebastian came in through the back door, his jaw clenched.


    "They’re gone," he said, voice low and tight.


    Cassian’s expression darkened. "Gone ? You sure ?"


    Alpha Sebastian nodded. "Nothing upstairs. Their phones are still in the living room."


    The team leader stepped forward.


    "We checked the house when we arrived. TV was on. Couch cushions all messed up. But no one was there.


    And the guy downstairs... was making out with a basket of potatoes."


    He held up a phone. "Found this on the floor."


    Alpha Sebastian recognized it instantly.


    His eyes narrowed. "She called me twenty-five minutes ago. Why the hell is her phone here ?"


    Cassian didn’t hesitate.


    "Pull the security footage. Now."


    Within seconds, a tech had the nearest surveince feed up on a tablet.


    The footage showed Cecilia and Harper walking out of the house ten minutes earlier.


    They stayed on the right trail and stopped near an old cemetery at the edge of the woods, just past where the cameras could see.


    Alpha Sebastian ’s eyes changed.


    Something feral flickered just beneath the surface. His wolf was pushing through.


    Without a word, he turned toward the door. "I’m going after them."


    Cassian was right behind him.


    "I’ming with you."


    Beta Sawyer remained in the yard watching Tang, who minutes ago had nearly sent three security team members to the hospital.


    He walked over and gave Tang a light poke on the forehead.


    "You’re seriously screwed this time," he said, shaking his head."When Alpha Sebastian gets back, he’s going to tear you apart."


    Tang didn’t flinch. He was still watching the direction Sebastian had gone, his eyes a little too bright, his face strangely calm.


    "No, he won’t," Tang said quietly. "The Alpha walks in the light. He’s one of the good guys."


    Beta Sawyer stared at him,pletely at a loss for words.