Conall’s suspicions wavered.Their responses seemed authentic—Raymond’s protective concern, Una’s emotional investment in family safety.Maybe he was seeing conspiracy where there was only legitimate disagreement about tactics, becoming paranoid about every pack member who expressed strong opinions.
Am I seeing threats where none exist?he wondered, watching Raymond settle back in his chair with the resigned posture of someone who’d lost an argument but accepted the outcome.Or am I letting my guard down at exactly the wrong moment?
How long do we have?Nick asked, pulling Conall’s attention back to the mission.
Hours,Anders replied grimly.Gregory’s been planning this for months, if not years.Every moment we delay gives him more time to implement whatever psychological warfare he has planned for his daughter.
The mate bond tugged weakly at Conall’s consciousness, a distant echo that grew fainter with each passing hour.
Which brought them back to Nadine, alone in the desert, walking into her father’s trap.She’d taken the evidence files, had the best intelligence about Gregory’s patterns and locations.Without her analytical mind, they were hunting blind.
I need to go after her,Conall said.
We can’t afford to lose more guardians to personal vendettas,Sarah said.
This isn’t personal.Conall moved to the display, highlighting locations gleaned from Gregory’s files before Nadine had taken them with her.Nadine has the most complete intelligence about Gregory’s operations.His psychological patterns, preferred tactics, likely responses.But she’s also emotionally compromised and walking into a trap designed specifically for her weaknesses.
Doubly emotionally compromised,Larissa observed.Cutting the mate bond makes you just as vulnerable.
But if we restore it,Conall continued,our mate bond makes us stronger together.Enhanced coordination, instinctive teamwork, shared awareness—everything needed for a situation this complex.
Dr.Chen cleared his throat.There’s another consideration.We can’t be sure Gregory hasn’t been manipulating Nadine through a neural implant.If he is, she may not be acting under her own free will—not to mention all the ways he’s spent her whole life manipulating her, training her to follow his orders.
Ice shot through Conall’s veins.What if her decision to leave was another layer of Gregory’s trap?All the more reason to go after her.She’s facing an enemy who’s had years to plan her psychological destruction.
And you think you’re the one who can see past manipulation?Sarah’s voice carried skepticism.After knowing her for only a few weeks?
I think I understand what Gregory’s really after.He’s not just eliminating loose ends—he’s creating a demonstration.Proof that even the strongest shifter bonds can be broken, that pack loyalty means nothing when properly manipulated.
The assembled shifters exchanged glances, a few of them beginning to nod.
If he breaks the mate bond, turns Nadine into a weapon against her mate and his pack—the pack she’s come to protect—it sends a message to every shifter community.That no connection is sacred.No loyalty is permanent.That resistance won’t help.He wants us to give up the fight before it even begins.
Psychological warfare,Anders said grimly.Destroy morale before the final assault.
Exactly.Stopping him isn’t just about saving Nadine.It’s about preserving hope that we can fight back.Conall met each alpha’s gaze.That some things are worth protecting no matter the cost.
The silence was heavy with the recognition that they faced an enemy with decades of preparation, resources beyond anything they’d encountered.
Their only advantages were the bonds between them—pack loyalty, alliance cooperation, connections that made them stronger together.
Malcolm and Larissa shared a single glance and then made the decision with alpha authority that brooked no argument.
Go.Find her,Larissa said.
Stop Gregory,Malcolm agreed.Get us the intelligence to locate whatever command center Chimera is using to launch the Omicron Protocol.
Relief flooded through Conall, mixed with terror.Somewhere in the desert darkness, Nadine walked into a trap designed by the man who’d shaped her worldview.She was brilliant, deadly, trained by the best—but emotionally devastated by Gregory’s betrayal.
And she was alone.
I’ll need equipment,he said quietly.Tactical gear, medical supplies, communications equipment that can’t be compromised.
Whatever you need,Malcolm assured him.This is priority one.
Your transportation will be ready in fifteen minutes,Anders told Conall.Full kit, communications, medical supplies.
As the meeting dispersed and pack members moved to coordinate the mission, Conall remained in the intelligence hub for a moment, staring at the maps and photographs that traced Gregory’s network across the Southwest.
