Gregory’s smile widened as he stopped moving to stare at her, and she caught a glimpse of the man who’d shaped Vincent’s brutal regime.Think, daughter.Who had the access?Who could move freely through pack territory, gather personal items without suspicion, plant evidence without detection?
Her mind raced through possibilities—security personnel, household staff, anyone with intimate access to the twins’ daily routines.But Gregory’s confidence suggested someone closer, someone whose betrayal would cut deeper than mere convenience.
You haven’t figured it out yet?Genuine amusement colored his voice.I’m disappointed in you.And to think I once considered you worth training.
Her throat was dry, making her voice even huskier than usual.Silly me, believing you were capable of actual love.
Love was never the issue.Gregory’s tone carried a painfully casual dismissal.But neither was it strategically relevant.You became a liability.A threat to operational security.
The mate bond—closed but not severed, despite all her attempts—carried phantom echoes of Conall’s steady presence.His certainty that some connections transcended tactical considerations felt like a lifeline in this sterile nightmare.
Operational security for whom?she asked.Chimera?Or whatever organization bought your services?Or is it your organization, one you created?
Gregory’s expression shifted, surprise giving way to approval.You have been busy.The evidence you compiled was thorough.I taught you well.
You taught me to find truth.I doubt you expected me to apply those skills to you.
No,he admitted.I expected loyalty.Unquestioning trust in the man who saved you from foster care, who gave you purpose when you had nothing.
The guilt was expertly applied—exactly the psychological pressure Gregory had always used.But eighteen years of his manipulation had taught her to recognize it, even wrapped in parental disappointment.
You gave me lies.Purpose built on false premises.She shifted slightly, testing the restraints’ give.A mission serving your agenda, not justice.
Justice?Gregory’s laugh was harsh.Justice for whom?The humans who would see our kind hunted to extinction if they discovered what we really are?The packs willing to conform to human-style governance?Or those too bound to the old ways to see the value of new technologies?
He began pacing again—the restless energy she remembered from childhood when he worked through complex problems.But what had once seemed reassuring now felt dangerous.Predatory.
You think Sunburst represents some noble alternative,he continued, his fervor building.Malcolm and Larissa with their democratic ideals, their alliance building, their faith in cooperation over strength.They’re naive children playing at leadership while real threats gather.
Real threats like Chimera?
Chimera was primitive.A proof of concept.Gregory stopped pacing, fixing her with an intense stare.We’ve improved their techniques exponentially.
She’d expected this, and yet ice still formed in her limbs.We?
The Prometheus Group.Former Chimera researchers who recognized the limitations of their original mandate.Pride colored his voice.Where Chimera sought to manage individual assets, we envision something far more ambitious.
He moved, and she turned her head to follow him with her gaze to equipment she hadn’t noticed before—multiple screens showing organizational charts, financial flows, deployment schedules covering half the continent.
Coordinated activation of embedded assets across all major pack territories,he said with genuine enthusiasm.Not just intelligence gathering but complete behavioral override.Pack leaders reduced to puppets, traditional hierarchies replaced by proper leadership.
And that leadership would be you.
Under those with vision to make necessary decisions.Under leadership that prioritizes results over popularity.His sharp smile went winter cold.So yes.Under me.
There it was.The truth behind all his betrayals, all his manipulations spanning decades.
Gregory Torrance didn’t just want control over his old pack—he wanted to rule every shifter community, to impose his vision of authoritarian hierarchy on every wolf who’d found happiness under democratic systems.
You’re insane.
I’m practical.The current system is unsustainable—multiple alphas pursuing conflicting objectives, resources wasted on territorial disputes, pack loyalty preventing necessary cooperation.His voice carried true believer fervor.It’s a recipe for extinction when we face enemies with unified command structures.
Enemies like you?
Gregory’s expression hardened, the patient teacher disappearing behind Vincent’s former enforcer.I’m trying to save our species.Someone has to make the hard choices.
You mean someone has to sacrifice everyone else for your personal empire.
