Chapter 165
Blake
"The Eclipse Court was hunting me, not her," Dmitri interrupted. "You used them as an excuse to justify your own cruelty. Admit it."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
"You're right," Victoria finally whispered. "You're right. I was cruel. I was... I was so angry at Celeste, at Connor, at myself for failing them. And Kara was there, looking at me with Celeste's eyes, and I couldn't... I couldn't separate my rage from my duty to her."
"Then you failed," Asher said flatly. "You failed as a Luna, as an aunt, as a guardian. You took a traumatized child and made her trauma worse. And now she's been kidnapped by the same people who killed her parents, and she's facing that horror alone because you made sure she never learned to trust anyone."
Victoria's scent turned acrid with guilt.
"That's not fair," Marcus said quietly. "We didn't cause her kidnapping—"
"Didn't you?" I challenged. "You kept her isolated, weak, unaware of her own heritage. You made sure she had no allies, no knowledge of the Eclipse Court or Konstantin. If she'd known—if Dmitri had been allowed to teach her about her mother's world—maybe she'd have been prepared. Maybe she'd have seen the danger coming."
Through the mental link, I felt Cole's agreement and Asher's cold fury.
"There's something else," Dmitri said, his voice taking on a harder edge. "Something you need to explain, Victoria. In 2016, a woman came to see Marcus. Called herself an 'Observer' for the Eclipse Court. Asked questions about Kara—whether she showed magical aptitude, unusual markings, reactions to blood."
Marcus went very still.
"You told me this woman's scent was strange," Dmitri continued, watching Marcus's face. "Mixed. Artificial. Like someone wearing multiple perfumes to mask their true scent."
"I remember," Marcus said carefully.
"And you took her money. Took payment from the Eclipse Court to monitor my granddaughter. To report on her development."
The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Through the mental link, I felt Asher's black rage and Cole's horrified disbelief.
"You spied on Kara," I said slowly, my gunpowder scent turning acrid. "For the same organization that killed her parents. You took their money and agreed to watch her, report on her, treat her like a fucking asset to be evaluated."
"It wasn't like that," Marcus said, but his oak scent carried the sour note of guilt. "The woman said she just wanted to ensure Kara was safe, that she hadn't inherited dangerous abilities—"
"And you believed her?" Asher's laugh was vicious. "You're an Alpha, Father. You've dealt with political manipulation your entire life. You expect us to believe you couldn't smell a threat?"
Marcus's silence was damning.
"How much?" Cole asked quietly. "How much did they pay you to betray an eight-year-old orphan?"
"Fifty thousand," Dmitri answered when Marcus didn't. "Fifty thousand dollars to keep an eye on Kara Sterling, report any unusual developments, and ensure she remained... accessible."
The word 'accessible' hung in the air like poison.
"You sold her out," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "You took money from the people who murdered her parents and agreed to keep tabs on their daughter. What were you planning to do if she 'developed unusual abilities'? Hand her over?"
"No!" Marcus's composure finally cracked. "I would never—the money was for the pack, for improvements we needed, and I thought—I thought if I could monitor the situation, I could protect her if they came back—"
"Protect her?" Asher's black ebony scent exploded through the room, making Victoria gasp and Marcus stumble back. " You didn't protect her when the entire pack called her 'debt slave.' You didn't protect her when she was locked in a storage room for eight years. But you want us to believe you'd protect her from the Eclipse Court?"
"We did our best—" Victoria tried.
"Your best was shit," I snarled. "Your best left our mate broken and terrified, convinced she was worthless, unable to trust anyone including herself. Your best contributed to her being exactly where she is now—in the hands of monsters, wearing a suppression collar, possibly pregnant with our children and facing God knows what kind of torture."
The mental image broke something in me. My wolf surged forward, claws extending, fangs dropping. I wanted to tear into them, make them bleed for every tear Kara had cried.
Cole's hand on my shoulder stopped me. Through the bond, his mint and ozone scent wrapped around my gunpowder, cooling the rage just enough.
Not yet, he sent. We still need information.
They deserve to suffer, I sent back.
They do, Asher agreed. But Kara needs us focused. We can make them pay after we get her back.
I forced my wolf down, forced my claws to retract. But I didn't step back. Didn't let them see anything but the promise of retribution in my eyes.
"Here's what's going to happen," Asher said, his voice carrying absolute authority. "You're going to tell us everything. Every contact the Eclipse Court made with you. Every piece of information about Konstantin, about this 'Observer' woman, about any safe houses or operations you might know about. Everything."
"And if we don't know anything else?" Victoria asked, her voice small.
"Then you'd better pray we find Kara before I decide you're more useful as an example than as parents," Asher replied coldly.
Marcus's oak scent flared with indignation. "You would threaten your own—"
"You stopped being our parents the moment you sold out our mate," Cole interrupted, his usual gentleness completely absent. "Right now, you're witnesses. Potentially accomplices. And if you want any chance of redemption, you'll tell us everything you know."
Victoria looked up at Dmitri, her tear-stained face a mask of misery. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I just... I couldn't let go of my anger at Celeste, and Kara paid the price."
"Your apology means nothing to me," Dmitri said flatly. "Save it for Kara—if she ever forgives you enough to listen. Right now, I want answers. Starting with the Observer."
Marcus sagged, the fight going out of him. "Her name was Diana. At least, that's what she called herself. She came in early 2016, maybe February. Said she represented 'interested parties' who wanted to ensure Celeste's daughter was safe and well-adjusted."
"Describe her," I demanded.
"Late thirties, maybe forty. Dark hair, pale skin, expensive clothes. Her scent was... wrong. Like she was wearing multiple perfumes at once, but underneath I could smell wolf. Strong wolf. Alpha-level, maybe."
Dmitri's eyes narrowed. "Did she have any distinguishing marks? Tattoos, scars?"
"A tattoo. On her wrist. I only saw it when her sleeve rode up. It looked like... like a serpent eating its own tail, with a crescent moon inside the circle."
"Ouroboros," Dmitri breathed. "Eclipse Court inner circle. She wasn't just an Observer—she was high-ranking. Probably a Councilor."
"She asked about Kara's health, her education, whether she showed any signs of magical ability or unusual strength," Marcus continued. "I told her Kara seemed completely normal. Just a regular wolf child, nothing special."
"And the money?" Asher pressed.
"She said it was a 'thank you' for taking in Celeste's daughter. A gesture of goodwill. She asked me to keep her informed if anything changed—if Kara developed abilities, if she showed signs of the 'family gift,' whatever that meant."
"The family gift," Dmitri repeated, his voice hollow. "Blood magic. The ability to manipulate life force, to compel truth, to bind wills. Celeste had it. Strong. If Kara inherited even a fraction of that power..."
He didn't need to finish. We all understood. Kara wouldn't just be valuable as leverage against us—she'd be valuable in her own right. A potential weapon, a source of power, a prize worth killing for.
"Did this Diana ever come back?" Cole asked.
Marcus shook his head. "No. I sent her a few reports over the years—just basic updates that Kara was healthy, attending school, showing no unusual abilities. The last one was six months ago. She never responded."
"Six months ago," I said slowly. "Right around when we found out Kara was our mate."
The implications hung heavy. The Eclipse Court had been watching Kara for years, waiting. And when three Alphas claimed her as mate—when she became tied to one of the most powerful packs in North America—that something had apparently happened.
"The woman at the 2015 crime scene," Asher said, looking at Dmitri. "The one who stole the antidotes and let Celeste, Connor, and Scarlett die. You said her scent was artificial too. Mixed perfumes."
"Yes," Dmitri confirmed. "I couldn't identify the base scent—it was too well masked. But the artificial overlay was the same technique. Multiple perfumes, carefully blended to confuse olfactory tracking."