But why would they be working with the team following her now?That made no sense.
Unless it was all an elaborate setup.Make it look like they were targets too.Create plausible deniability.
She led the team away from pack territory altogether, toward the abandoned mine shafts that dotted the region.Perfect place to lose pursuit.
The scent of the operatives—gun oil, synthetic fabrics, sweat, and something chemical—made her nose itch.Not shifters.Humans with specialized equipment.
Chimera, maybe?
Her father had warned her about them before his death.A shadowy organization with military connections, hunting shifters for reasons unknown.
But that still didn’t explain why they’d target Conall if he was working with them.
Unless he isn’t.
The unwelcome thought crept in, undermining her certainty.She’d spent the last two weeks building a case against the Sunburst Pack, against the Stewart twins specifically.
Her evidence was circumstantial but compelling.
And yet…
The way Conall had moved to protect her when the team appeared.Instinctive.Immediate.He’d taken the dart meant for her.
Adrenaline reaction.Nothing more.
Her wolf wasn’t convinced.The mate bond vibrated beneath her skin, tugging at something deep within her.
She refused to be ruled by it.
It was biology, chemistry—nothing more than animal instinct without reason or logic.
Nadine reached an abandoned mine entrance and slipped inside, moving through the darkness with confidence.The tactical team hesitated at the entrance—their night-vision equipment was good but no match for a wolf’s natural abilities.
She found a hidden observation point, settling in to watch.The team conferred briefly, then split up—two entering the mine, the rest establishing a perimeter.They were thorough, professional.
Definitely not Sunburst Pack members.This was military precision.
Time stretched as she watched them from her hiding spot.After twenty minutes of fruitless searching, the team leader made a call on his radio.
Area clear.Targets have likely moved beyond the eastern perimeter.No signs of the tranquilized male or the female shifter.Falling back to secondary positions.
Targets.Plural.
So they weren’t just after her.They wanted Conall too.
That complicates things.
Nadine waited until the team was completely gone before moving, taking a circuitous route back toward where she’d hidden the unconscious Stewart twin.Her mind raced through possibilities, scenarios, connections.
The Stewart twins were enforcers for the new Sunburst leadership—the so-calledcoalphas,Malcolm and Larissa.A ridiculous concept.A pack needed one alpha, not a committee.
But if Conall truly was a target of this team, that suggested the twins weren’t working with whoever had killed her father.
Or it’s misdirection.A clever ruse.
She approached the hiding spot cautiously, scenting the air.The tranquilizer would keep Conall unconscious for at least another hour, even with the counteragent.
Plenty of time to secure him somewhere for questioning when he woke up.
