Chapter 168: The Warehouse
Felix
The warehouse smelled of rust and blood—my blood, because the wound on my forehead hadn’t stopped bleeding, and no one had bothered to give me anything to treat it. My hands were bound behind my back with zip ties that cut into my wrists with every movement, and I sat on a concrete floor so cold that my teeth chattered.
Two guards stood at the door. Men I didn’t know. Men who looked at me as if I were just a package that had been delivered. They didn’t speak to me and didn’t answer any questions. After the tenth time I asked where Soren was, I stopped asking, because the silence was more bearable than their indifference.
The warehouse held only old crates and a table with a single lamp that threw long shadows across the floor. I had been here for hours, maybe days. I couldn’t tell. No windows. No clock. Just that yellow light that never changed.
The door opened.
I expected Georgina or one of her people.
Instead a woman walked in whom I had never seen before.
Tall, slender, dark hair, sharp features. A coat that looked completely out of place in this building. She set a folder on the table and looked at me as if she were appraising an object she might decide to buy.
“Felix Dimitri,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Who are you?”
“Someone who wants to help you.”
She sat down, crossed one leg over the other, and rested her hands calmly on her knee.
“My name is Elena. I’ve been watching you. I left the letter on the clearing. And I’m the one who’s going to get you out of here.”
I studied her, searching for the crack in her face.
“Why?”
“Because your mother is making a mistake. Georgina thinks she can control the people she’s working with. But she can’t. They’re going to use her and then drop her. And when they’re finished, they’ll come for you and Soren and everyone who matters to you.”
“And you’re different?”
“I’m the only one who knows how to stop them.”
She pulled a small knife from her coat. My body tensed, because I didn’t know whether she was going to cut me or cut my restraints. She stepped behind me. The blade touched the plastic ties, and then I was free.
Blood rushed back into my hands.
“Get up,” she said. “We don’t have much time.”
I rubbed my wrists and looked at the guards. They hadn’t moved. Hadn’t spoken. Hadn’t even glanced our way.
“Your people?”
“People I paid. They won’t see anything for the next five minutes. After that, everything’s fair game.”
She walked to the door and opened it. I followed her down a narrow hallway to a loading dock at the back of the building. A car sat there, engine running, headlights off.
“Get in.”
I got in.
Elena drove off, and the warehouse disappeared in the rearview mirror.
\---
She didn’t speak until we were on the highway.
“Your mate is in Georgina’s house. She’s safe for now, but that won’t last. Georgina wants something from her. And she won’t stop until she gets it.”
“What does she want?”
“She wants Soren to convince you to step down. For you to hand over the pack without a fight so Georgina can take over without a war.”
“She’s not getting that.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But you need to get to Soren before Georgina loses her patience.”
I looked at Elena. Her calm hands on the wheel. Her face that gave nothing away.
“Why are you helping us?”
“I told you. I want to stop Georgina’s allies. They’re dangerous, Felix. More dangerous than you can imagine. They’ve been planning this for years. And if they win, it won’t stop at Elsbridge. They’ll take every pack in the region.”
“And you’re the only one who can stop them?”
“I’m the only one who knows their names. Their faces. Their weaknesses.” She gave me a brief glance. “I’ve been watching them for a long time. I’ve been waiting.”
“For what?”
“For the right moment.”
“Why now?”
“Because Georgina made a mistake. She pulled you into this. And you’re the only one who can turn the pack against her. The Council doesn’t trust her. They trust you even less. But if you come with proof, they’ll have to act.”
The Council.
Morrison.
The elders who had been trying to tear me apart for months.
“They won’t believe me.”
“They will with proof.”
She handed me a USB stick.
“Everything I’ve gathered. Names, dates, locations. Enough to put Georgina and her people away for years.”
I held the stick in my hand. It felt heavier than it should have.
“What do you want for it?”
Elena smiled. For the first time it looked real.
“That you remember I helped you. When you’re Alpha. When you have power. I want you to remember that I was on your side.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
We drove on in silence. Trees slid past the window like dark strips of shadow.
“Where are we going?”
“To an old friend of yours. Someone who can get you to Soren without Georgina’s people noticing.”
“Who?”
Elena took an exit and drove down a gravel road until a small house appeared at the end.
“Noah,” she said. “He’s been waiting for you.”