116

116

CELESTE

Harper and I had been busy with our work, and I couldn't help the glances I stole at her and vice versa.

I turned back around, I was tired and wanted to catch a break. I relaxed back on the chair and turned to her.

She had taken her shirt off, and I couldn't help when my eyes strayed to her hard muscles, their smooth leanness. I wanted to go to her and hold it.

“What did you find?" I asked when she stopped her work for a while.

“I'm close so nothing yet." She answered. She stood up to stretch. Her body coiled together due to working in one place.

My eyes went to her bare tummy but I looked away before she could catch me.

It was then that a knock came on the door.

I looked at Harper surprised. She stood up, but I stopped her. I wasn't busy, so I would get it.

At the door, I looked out the peephole to see it was only room service. My body sagged with relief.

When I had given her what she needed, I went back to join Harper.

We worked quietly for some hours after that before Harper said “Finally"

She had finished. I turned to her.

“You're done?" She nodded her confirmation handing the decrypted file to me.

Eagerly I went to the first one, trash. Details and notes seemed more interesting but I would reserve them for last.

“THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE UNDERWOOD PACK AND THE ORGANIZATION" read the heading.

My eyes read along easily, along the lines of the said contract. It didn't take a genius to see what the deal was.

Damon Underwood will owe the organization his loyalty and finances in exchange for which we will help him take over his pack.

At the bottom of the page was his signature. Damon had killed his parents for the position he held, I remembered the day they had died. I felt slight relief, here was armor against him.

There wasn't anything else. So I moved to details.

“DETAILS OF CONTRACT AND EXPERIMENT" it read.

I wondered what it could be so I began to read quickly. Page after page about this experiment E. The gory details of the process used in creating them.

The purpose of the experiment, to create a durable army, assisting in winning wars more easily. As I read on, I learned more details and I couldn't help the sick smile I let out.

So much had been happening without my knowledge.

“What have you found?" Harper asked curiously as she came to stand beside me.

I turned the laptop so that we both could read.

When I finished with the details, I went to the notes wondering what they would hold now.

The first thing I saw was a list of names and beside them numbers. I read through them, the names of the packs surprising me. The silver crest pack.

The name at the end of the list made me freeze, the Whitemore pack. What was my pack's name doing here? Did Loras know this whole time? How had he kept it hidden?

I felt my insides twist into anger and rage. How could they have kept our involvement in this away from us?

I stood up quickly, “I have to go do something," I told Harper.

She looked at me as I packed up, surprise on her features. “Alright," she said slowly before I left.

I didn't waste any time and drove straight home calling Loras on the way.

“What?" He groggled sleepily.

“Be at the pack house before I get there. You've got ten minutes" I ended the call, no further explanations.

He would take me seriously only then.

I parked my car as I arrived, heading straight to my mom's room. The files were in a flash, and I had transferred them so I could use them on my laptop.

I knocked on her door, “It's me, Mom," before she could ask.

She came to the door, my impatience didn't let me so I asked straightaway. “What is experiment E?"

The look on her face turned to shock. She knew then that my mom had known and hidden it from me.

“How do you know-?" She began to ask but I cut her off.

“Come to Loras' office," I said, and walked away.

I saw Loras open his office before he saw me.

He turned when he noticed my presence. “What is this about?" He asked ushering me in.

I stared at him as I took a seat. Was there any way he wouldn't know about all of this? After all so much of it had happened before he was alpha.

"What do you know about experiment E?” I finally asked.

Just then the door opened, still I didn't take my eyes off Loras.

His brows furrowed in confusion at my words, as if he didn't know what I was saying. "Nothing, what is it?”

Mom walked in and sat down beside me.

"Mom, tell us. What is it?” I asked her immediately.

She gave me a stern look turning back to Loras. "How did you find out anyway?” She asked.

I handed the drive to the Loras. "Put that in your laptop, read everything in all three files,” I told him.

Mom looked confused. Loras put the drive in, going first to trash just like I had, and he began to read it.

Mom moved close to him as they both read.

Loras' face lit up the further he read. My brother and his sick mind. We had just hit a pot of gold with the Damon allegation.

When they both finished, Mom sat back down, and Loras leaned back on his chair. They both looked thoughtful.

“Mom?" I asked.

She sighed and began to explain. “It's your father, he went out of state once and came back with this deal. He thought we would benefit from it long term, and we could be far stronger." She took a breath.

“If he tried to pull back, they threatened that his stocks and shares would fall massively, we would be doomed, so there was no choice," she explained further.

“Why didn't you tell me?" Loras asked calmly.

I didn't feel as calm as he did, we had a right to know.

“I wasn't sure what you both would say, the details seemed too barbaric and ancient," a lie, but then I didn't care for the truth.

“How far has this experiment gone?" Loras asked, just what I wanted to.

“A success has been created, so it's only forward from here on," she said. I saw the smile lingering on the edge of her lips.

Loras shook his head. Now at least we have something on Damon.” He said.

I nodded, something he would have to use, unfortunately, when his precious mate was gone.

We spoke together for a while, Loras telling me that he had made new plans for Diana, all he needed was to get her out of the park.

I didn't want to tell him that wouldn't be happening yet so I said, "I'll see what I can do”

He shrugged, and we turned to Mom to explain further. She told us of the fact that the man she had been going to meet, the one I had seen her meet with was one of the members behind this experiment.

“Who leads this whole thing?" Loras asked her in curiosity, just as I felt.

“The former alpha of the Cross pack, unfortunately, he died, so I don't know the new leader," she said.

I had noticed that signed at the bottom of the Details files was a J, which could stand for any name.

I wondered if it could be Damon, but then I thought of the orders he had been receiving; it couldn't be him.

We rounded our discussion up, Loras dismissing us when we were finished.

“Take the files, but give me the drive," I told him as Mom walked out of the office.

He hummed and turned to his laptop, tapping some keys, and transferred them to his laptop.

I took the drive and went away.

I had finished writing the letters, and they were sealed in each pack's insignia.

Our box for the mail was a distance from the house, and for the first time, I was glad about that. I wouldn't be spotted.

When I arrived at it, I slid the envelope into the mail and shut it back. Nobody would ever guess I had put it there.

I made the walk back, walking leisurely. Everything I had planned was coming smoothly into place.

If everything continued like this then I knew war would be approaching and fast.

I got back to my car. I had texted her to come meet me at the spot, where I would give her the letter for Bradley, and find out more about what was happening there.

By the time I arrived, she was already waiting.

“Here's the letter, make sure it seems as normal as it can be,” I told her.

She nodded, "I have some news, Luna”

"Go ahead,” I said.

"He's found out about this experiment E, and he found the Underwood pack and yours,” she said.

I couldn't help the smile that fell on my face, so my next action wouldn't be fake or sudden.

I quickly took a picture and sent it to him along with a small caption. Then I made the call, using the voice changer, another skill of mine.

Everything was set on track even better now.

I gave her a warm smile. “You've done a
n excellent job, you'll be rewarded"

Then I drove away, and I couldn't help the wicked laugh I let out.

For how long would everything be so smooth? War was so close, I could smell it.