Chapter 183
Blake
The inside of Jasper's house looked like the physical manifestation of a conspiracy theorist's fever dream—or maybe just what happened when someone spent too long staring into the abyss and the abyss started staring back. Papers and photographs covered every available surface, connected by lengths of red string that crisscrossed the room like a demented spider's web. Newspaper clippings, printed articles, and hand-drawn diagrams papered the walls, creating layers of information that would take hours to parse through.
But it was the photographs that made my breath catch. Not because of what they showed—though the images of serpents, eclipses, and mysterious figures were disturbing enough—but because of how organized it all was. This wasn't random paranoia or the ravings of a madman. This was methodical investigation, years of careful research compiled into a physical database that would make Ethan's digital systems look amateur.
Asher's discomfort was palpable through our bond, his need for order and control rebelling against the chaos like oil and water. Cole and Ethan maintained polite expressions, though I could sense their shock rippling beneath the surface. Only Dmitri seemed at ease, nodding with what looked like professional appreciation as his gaze swept over the walls.
"Professional investigator," he murmured, and I had to agree. Whatever else Jasper Rook might be—paranoid, isolated, living in a literal health hazard—he was dedicated to his work with an intensity that bordered on obsessive.
"Sorry for the mess," Jasper said, though he didn't sound particularly sorry as he gestured to a clear spot on a threadbare couch that had seen better decades. "Please, sit. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water? I have some protein bars somewhere, I think, unless I already ate them, but I could—" He trailed off, seeming to lose his train of thought as his gaze snagged on one of the photographs on the wall.
Cole stepped forward, his diplomatic skills kicking in automatically, that gentle warmth he used to put people at ease sliding into his voice. "We're fine, thank you. We appreciate you seeing us on short notice. We just want to ask you about Connor, and about—"
"I've been waiting for this!" Jasper interrupted, practically bouncing on his feet with sudden manic energy. "I knew you'd come! The news is everywhere—three Alphas lose their mate! Luna Kara missing! Unprecedented in modern pack dynamics! I've been tracking it all, making timelines, cross-referencing with Court activity patterns and known abduction methodologies. Do you want to see? I have everything organized by date and probability of connection. The patterns are fascinating from an investigative standpoint, really, the way they—"
"No," I said quickly, before Jasper could dive deeper into whatever rabbit hole he was about to disappear down. "We don't need to see the fucking news coverage. We're living it. We just need information about Connor. About what he was involved in before he disappeared ten years ago."
But Jasper was already moving, pulling down a thick folder stuffed with printouts and photographs, his pale eyes bright with the kind of enthusiasm that came from finally having someone to share his obsession with. "Your story is fascinating from a pattern-analysis perspective, you understand. Three triplet Alphas, shared mate bond with a single Luna, the Luna herself from a debt-servant background raised in isolation—it's unprecedented in modern pack dynamics. The power structure implications alone are—and now she's missing, taken by the same organization that's been active in this region for at least fifteen years, possibly longer if you count the preliminary scouting phase. The Eclipse Court connections are undeniable once you map the—"
"Jasper." Asher's voice cut through the rambling with Alpha authority that made even Dmitri straighten slightly, the air in the room suddenly heavy with dominance. "We appreciate your research. We do. But our priority right now is finding Kara before something happens to her that can't be undone. Anything you know about Connor, about Court, about where they might be holding her or what they want from her—that's what we need. Everything else can wait."
Jasper blinked, seeming to surface from whatever mental deep-dive he'd been spiraling into. His expression shifted, the manic energy draining away to leave behind something raw and grieving that made him look older, more human, more real.
"You want to know about Connor," he said slowly, and the lightness had completely left his voice, replaced by something heavy and aching. "You want to know about ten years ago. About what happened."
Through our bond, I felt Asher's sharp focus, Cole's gentle encouragement, and my own desperate hope that this strange, paranoid man might finally give us the answers we needed to bring Kara home.
"From the beginning," I said, forcing myself to speak calmly despite the way my hands wanted to shake, despite the way my wolf wanted to howl and tear and hunt. "Tell us everything you know."
Jasper's pale eyes met mine, and for the first time since we'd arrived, I saw something other than paranoia or manic energy in them. I saw loss. Deep, aching loss that mirrored what we'd been feeling since Kara was taken, the kind of grief that never really healed, just scarred over and learned to live with.
"Connor was my best friend," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "My only friend."
The simple statement hit harder than it should have, landing like a punch to the gut. Through our link, Cole's thoughts echoed my own: He's alone. Just like Kara was alone for so long. Like she is right now, wherever they're keeping her.
"I'm so sorry," Cole said softly, and I could hear the genuine sympathy in his voice, that capacity for empathy that made him the gentlest of us. "Losing your best friend must have been—"
"I'm sorry too!" Jasper interrupted, and his eyes were suddenly bright with unshed tears that he blinked back furiously. "About your Luna Kara! She shouldn't be going through this! She's a good person, from everything Connor told me. She doesn't deserve what they're going to do to her. Connor always worried about her, you know. Talked about her constantly, wondered if she was okay, if Victoria was treating her well, if she remembered him at all or if she'd forgotten what he looked like. He loved her, even though he knew leaving her behind was the worst thing he'd ever done. But he thought—we both thought—it was the only way to keep her safe from Court, from what they wanted, from—"
"Wait." Dmitri's voice cracked like a whip, sharp and sudden, and I turned to see the old wolf had gone pale, one hand pressed to his chest like he was trying to hold his heart in place. "She's not dead! Kara's not dead! We're going to find her! We have to find her, she's—"
"Grandfather." Cole was there instantly, one hand on Dmitri's shoulder, the other rubbing soothing circles on his back in that automatic caretaker way he had. "He didn't mean Kara was dead. He's just worried about her being kidnapped, about what Court might do. Right, Jasper?"