Instead, Quinton found himself paralyzed at the thought—a mate bond insisting this woman belonged to him, directed at someone who believed he was his twin brother.
Dylan stopped just outside personal space, her expression cycling through relief and something deeper as she studied his face.You look tired.That drive from Sunburst is brutal when you’re carrying news this sensitive.
Her emotional state blazed through their connection with startling clarity—stress from weeks of crisis management, exhaustion from maintaining alpha authority while dealing with threats she didn’tfully understand.And underneath it all, genuine affection for the man she believed had come to help her pack through this crisis.
Affection for Conall.
Tell her the truth.Explain the mistake.
But the words wouldn’t come.Not when the bond sang with recognition of home, of partnership, of everything he’d never known he wanted.Not when her relief at seeing him—seeing who she thought he was—carried such genuine warmth.
Dylan,he said, testing her name and finding it fit perfectly despite the circumstances.We need to talk.About Chimera, about the assets Gregory placed in your pack.
Of course.She gestured toward the building.I’ve been waiting for a full briefing since your message.The preliminary intelligence suggested multiple compromised pack members, but the details—
Well, well.Look who finally decided to show up.
Quinton turned to find a man approaching from the training grounds—middle-aged, stocky build, moving with aggressive confidence that immediately set Quinton’s wolf on edge.The newcomer’s scent carried dominance, assertion, and hostility, markers suggesting someone accustomed to getting his way through intimidation.
Eliot Reeves.The psychological profile had been accurate.
Eliot,Dylan said, her voice shifting to deliberate neutrality.I wasn’t expecting you until the evening briefing.
Eliot’s gaze fixed on Quinton with uncomfortable intensity, studying him like a potential threat.Didn’t want to miss the famous Sunburst guardian’s presentation.Some of us have questions about this intelligence you’ve been sharing.
The challenge was subtle but unmistakable.Dylan’s tension spiked—not surprise, but familiar frustration with an ongoing conflict she’d been managing.
A second-in-command questioning the alpha’s judgment.Undermining her authority while maintaining plausible deniability.
Questions?Dylan’s voice carried an alpha’s authority, but she was clearly tired of fighting this particular battle.
Questions about relying so heavily on outside intelligence,Eliot replied, never breaking eye contact with Quinton.About allowing other packs to dictate our security protocols.About whether we’re being manipulated by people who might not have our best interests at heart.
The accusation was carefully crafted—reasonable concerns about pack independence wrapped around what felt like personal hostility.But there was something else in Eliot’s manner that made Quinton’s instincts sharpen.
He knows something.Or thinks he does.
The Chimera threat is real,Dylan said firmly.The evidence Malcolm and Larissa shared—
Evidence that could have been fabricated to serve Sunburst’s agenda,Eliot interrupted, stepping closer with deliberate aggression.Evidence conveniently provided after months of deteriorating communications between our packs.
Dylan’s growing frustration with Eliot’s persistent undermining pulsed through their connection.But so did her uncertainty about how to handle a subordinate who challenged her authority while maintaining just enough pack loyalty to avoid open rebellion.
What are you suggesting?Quinton asked Dylan’s second-in-command, keeping his voice level despite his wolf’s bristling response to Eliot’s confrontational stance.
I’m suggesting,Eliot said,that the Stewart twins have been playing a longer game than anyone realized.That maybe the real threat to pack security isn’t some shadowy organization but the people claiming to protect us from it.
The accusation hit almost as hard as the mate bond had—not just because of its implications, but because of how Eliot delivered it.With absolute conviction, as if he possessed information justifying his suspicions.
Just like Nadine had.
That’s enough,Dylan said, alpha command bleeding into her voice.Conall risked his life to gather this intelligence.I won’t tolerate baseless accusations—
Baseless?Eliot laughed sharply.Dylan, you’ve been so focused on external threats that you’ve missed what’s happening right under your nose.The communications disruptions, the strategic intelligence leaks, the way certain information reaches the wrong people at exactly the wrong time.
Dylan’s growing alarm crashed through their bond as Eliot’s accusations struck legitimate concerns she’d been trying to ignore.The timing of security breaches, patterns of compromised operations, details suggesting someone with inside knowledge had been working against pack interests.
But Eliot’s focus remained fixed on Quinton with an intensity suggesting personal animosity.
