Theresa Halvorsen

A beautiful refuge. A brilliant villain. A promise designed to trap. Kendle thought the Borough, a research facility for Wild-born telepaths and psychokinetics, was a safe haven. With three teenage Wilds in tow, she believes the estate's home-like serenity promises safety, dignity, and control. But the Borough's luxury masks something sharper. The director of the facility, Indira, pushes the Wilds toward increasingly invasive and dangerous experiments.
Each assessment is framed as necessary, each risk justified as progress. As the Wilds' abilities grow, so does the fear around them. Outside the Borough, riots spread. Inside, ethics splinter. The doors to the Borough close around them. Kendle's choices vanish. And Stephen, the Bred she loves, remains bound to her former home, the Warehouse-his loyalty stretched thin by distance, secrecy, and a world determined to keep them apart. Each choice brings Kendle and her students into more danger, and Kendle must decide what their protection will cost. Because some cages don't need locks-only the promise of safety.