This wasn’t just about him and Nadine anymore.It was about the asset recovery mission Sunburst had initiated.About the planted shifters like Etta.About pack survival itself.
Conall met Nadine’s gaze across the small space.Her eyes held a question, a silent communication that bypassed words entirely.The mate bond thrummed with shared understanding.
We’re stronger together.
We need time to discuss this,she said finally.
Of course.The leader gestured to his companions.One hour.Choose wisely.
They filed out, leaving them alone again.The lock clicked with finality.
Nadine slumped against the wall, sliding down to a sitting position again.
They’ve been watching me,she whispered, more to herself than to him.
For how long?
No telling.Months, maybe?Since—She stopped, unwilling to voice the timeline.
Conall moved closer and sat, too, not quite touching but near enough that his warmth could reach her.
Tell me about your surveillance,he said quietly.What did you find?
Trust.That was what he was asking for.Information she’d guarded for months, intelligence she’d gathered at considerable personal cost.
Trust the bond.
She took a shuddering breath.Two packs have gone completely dark in the last month.Cross Timbers and Blackthorn.Stardust and Ironwood are apparently up next.Her voice cracked slightly on the names.Their alphas stopped responding to diplomatic communications.Trade relationships ended abruptly.It’s like they just…vanished.
Conall’s expression darkened.That’s not normal pack behavior.
No, it’s not.She wrapped her arms around her knees, and he could feel her trying to contain the tremor that had started in her hands.I made contact with lone wolves who’d been turned away from pack territories.They all reported the same thing—increased security, armed patrols, and complete isolation from outside contact.
Chimera?
That’s what I thought initially.But the timeline doesn’t match their known operations.She met his gaze directly.The blackouts started before Etta’s neural interface was removed.Before your pack even knew Chimera existed.
Someone else is targeting the packs.
Someone who knew about Chimera’s program before it was exposed.The words scraped out, harsh and jagged.Someone with resources and intelligence networks that rival military operations.
They sat in silence for a moment, processing implications.In this moment, they weren’t enemies—they were two people trying to solve a puzzle that threatened everything they cared about.
What about your father?Conall asked.How does his death fit into this?
Her pain lanced through the mate bond at the mention of Gregory.The grief was still fresh, still raw enough to steal her breath if she wasn’t careful.
He was investigating something before he died.She forced the words out past the tightness in her throat.Said he’d found evidence of corruption within the packs.Someone working to destabilize shifter communities from the inside.
And you think that someone was us.Me and Quinton.
I thought so.The evidence pointed to the Sunburst Pack.To the new leadership’s allies.She paused, struggling with admissions that felt like betrayal.But the more I learn, the less sense it makes.
What evidence?
Dad wasn’t just Gregory Torrance,she began.He was never just Vincent’s enforcer.He was something else.Something more.
Conall went very still.What do you mean?
