Chapter 178
Cole
The tension in Sienna's shoulders eased fractionally. A genuine smile touched her lips, the first real one I'd seen from her. "Oh, I get it. Lots of people are into those shows. Nothing wrong with having something you're passionate about."
Good, I thought, feeling her guard lowering. Keep going.
Through the link, Blake caught my strategy immediately. His laugh rang out from our table, perfectly timed and just theatrical enough to sound real. "God, Cole's at it again! This is our 'little fanboy brother' everyone!" He turned to Sienna with exaggerated exasperation, playing his part perfectly. "He's obsessed with reality TV. His entire room back home is covered in posters. Can't walk two feet without stepping on some magazine with his latest favorite on the cover."
Asher joined in seamlessly, shaking his head with fond exasperation that looked completely genuine. "We've learned to live with it. Last time we passed through Los Angeles, he made us wait three hours in line at some autograph signing. Three hours in the California sun because he just had to meet some singer from one of those competition shows."
I shot them a look of manufactured embarrassment, letting color rise in my cheeks. "Guys, come on..." Turning back to Sienna, I lowered my voice conspiratorially. "See? My brothers always tease me about it. They don't understand."
Then, as if the thought had just occurred to me, casual and offhand: "Actually, my favorite is actress Scarlett Reeves. She's done some really amazing work over the years. Really unique presence on screen, you know? Something special about her performances."
Sienna's eyes flashed—recognition, alarm, something darker I couldn't quite name. Her fingers tightened on the bar rag she'd been holding, knuckles going white.
There, I thought with grim satisfaction. She knows that name. Knows it well.
Through the link, I felt my brothers' attention sharpen like blades.
Ethan's voice crackled in my ear, playing along. "Wait, has Scarlett Reeves done anything recent? I thought I saw something about her social media being active, but I can't remember seeing any actual new projects announced."
Dmitri cut in, his tone dripping with carefully crafted irony. "Oh, she 'starred' in an independent thriller that supposedly had a limited theatrical release a few months ago. But almost no one's actually seen it—mostly just online hype and a few suspicious reviews." A calculated pause. "Rather strange, isn't it? A formerly popular actress suddenly pivoting to such obscure projects. Makes you wonder what happened."
Dmitri, not too much, I warned through the link, even as I maintained my enthusiastic fan persona for Sienna. We need her to think this is innocent curiosity, not an interrogation.
"Right, exactly!" I said, letting excitement color my voice. "I heard she might be filming something new, possibly scouting locations around Seattle or the surrounding areas. So I thought, you know, maybe I could meet her. Get an autograph or something. It would mean a lot to me."
Sienna's expression grew complex, layers of emotion I couldn't quite parse. Her gaze darted to Viktor's corner before returning to me, and I saw her weighing something, deciding how much to reveal. Fear warred with something else in her eyes—sympathy, maybe. Or guilt.
I let my mint curl around her in gentle reassurance, nothing threatening or controlling, just a subtle warmth that spoke of safety and trust.
"She was here," Sienna finally said, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper. She glanced around quickly, making sure no one else was listening. "Scarlett Reeves. She actually came here. To this bar."
My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought she might hear it, but I kept my expression excited rather than predatory. "Really?! Oh my God, she actually came here? That's incredible!"
Sienna nodded, and now I could see the weight she was carrying, the knowledge that sat heavy on her shoulders. "Just a few days ago. She was with... a companion."
I leaned in slightly, all eager curiosity. "What kind of companion? Like a friend, or maybe her agent?"
"A woman." Sienna's lips thinned with obvious disapproval, and her scent shifted—anger mixing with the fear. "Very commanding presence. Beautiful, I guess, if you like that ice-cold look. But her attitude was terrible. Really aggressive, especially toward Scarlett. Treated her like..." She paused, searching for words. "Like property. Like Scarlett wasn't even a person, just something she owned."
A woman, Asher's thoughts sharpened like a blade. Beloved? Diana? Someone high up in Court's hierarchy?
Whoever she is, Blake's rage simmered hotter, she's connected to what happened to Kara. Has to be.
I pressed gently, keeping my tone concerned rather than interrogative. "That companion... did she seem dangerous? Like, should I be worried if I try to approach Scarlett?"
"Dangerous?" Sienna's laugh held no humor at all. "She treated everyone in here like garbage. The staff, the other customers, even Scarlett herself. Like we were all beneath her. Insects she could crush if we annoyed her." Her voice dropped even lower. "The way she looked at people... I've seen a lot of things working here, met a lot of scary wolves. But her? She scared me more than any of them."
Through the link, Blake's fury reached a boiling point. If that bitch is the one who took Kara, if she's hurting our mate right now—
Stay focused, Asher commanded, his control clamping down on Blake's impulse like iron. Cole's getting somewhere. Don't break his momentum.
I let disappointment show on my face, genuine emotion easy to access when I thought about how close we'd been to Scarlett, to answers, to Kara. "Oh no, she already left? I was really hoping to see her..."
Sienna looked at Viktor again, longer this time, and I saw her making a decision that clearly terrified her. Her teeth worried her lower lip—a tell of internal conflict, fear and something else. Loyalty, maybe. Or desperation to help somehow, to do something right in a situation where everything had gone so wrong.
"Please," I said softly, injecting genuine emotion into my voice—not hard when I thought about Kara, terrified and alone and probably convinced we weren't coming. "If you know anything, could you tell me? This really matters to me. More than you know."
Sienna met my eyes, and whatever she saw there—sincerity, perhaps, or the barely hidden desperation I couldn't quite mask—made her shoulders slump in surrender.
"I'm not sure if they're still in town," she admitted quietly, her voice shaking slightly. "But I know where they were staying. Where that woman brought Scarlett."
Ask for the address! Blake's mental roar nearly shattered my concentration, his wolf howling with desperate need.
Steady, Asher's control clamped down harder. Don't spook her now. We're so close.
I kept my expression grateful, hopeful, nothing that would betray the fury and fear roiling through our bond. "You do? Would you—I mean, I don't want to bother her or anything. I wouldn't want to intrude. Just maybe see if I could catch a glimpse from a distance? It would mean everything to me."
Sienna looked around one final time, then leaned closer, her voice dropping to almost nothing. "North district, near the Silver Frost Pack territory border. You know the wealthy neighborhood there? Evergreen Heights?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Number 17," she continued. "Big white modern house with a huge yard. You can't miss it—it's got these massive windows facing the street, very contemporary design. Stands out from all the traditional homes around it."
She added, almost as an afterthought: "It's really close to your Beta's family home, actually. Maybe a five-minute walk if you cut through the woods."
The information hit like a physical blow. Through the link, Asher's ebony scent exploded with shock and rage. Blake's gunpowder went incendiary, so hot and violent that wolves across the bar whimpered and pressed back against walls.
Scarlett's been right under our Beta's nose this whole time! Blake's mental voice shook with fury. Right at our territory's edge! They've been watching us, studying us, and we never fucking knew!
I forced my expression to remain grateful, excited, nothing that would betray the murderous intent flooding through our bond. "Thank you so much! You really, really helped me out. I can't tell you how much this means."
Perfect, Asher's thoughts came cold and absolutely lethal. We have a location. Now we move.