Chapter 13 The Rogue's Interest (Grimm's POV)
The motel room smelled like stale cigarettes and desperation. I'd stayed in worse.
My laptop sat propped on the sagging mattress, playing the footage for the third time. One of my pack members who worked cafeteria duty at Thornfield had sent it twenty minutes ago, and I couldn't stop watching.
The Silver Wolf.
She stood in the center of the cafeteria, surrounded by chaos, looking more pissed off than powerful. Dark hair, athletic build, claiming marks visible on her pale throat. Nothing about her screamed legendary prophesied destroyer.
But those eyes. Even through grainy cell phone footage, her silver eyes burned with something that made my wolf sit up and take notice.
"You watching that again?" Cade leaned against the doorframe, my second-in-command and the closest thing I had to a friend. "Getting a little obsessed, boss."
"Shut up." I hit replay, watching the sophomore wolf; Daniel Frost, according to our intelligence—drop to one knee. "This changes everything."
"How? She's still bonded to Ravencrest's golden boy. That pretty much puts her off-limits."
"Mate bonds can be broken." I paused the video on her face, studying the fury and fear warring in her expression. "Especially new ones that haven't fully settled."
Cade pushed off the doorframe, moving to look over my shoulder. "You're seriously considering claiming Trey Jarred's mate? The future Ravencrest Alpha will tear you apart."
"Let him try." I zoomed in on her face. "Besides, she's scared," I said quietly. "Terrified and completely alone despite being surrounded by people."
"So?"
"So a scared, isolated wolf is easier to approach than a confident one." I closed the laptop, standing to stretch muscles cramped from hours of surveillance work. "She doesn't want to be a pawn for Ravencrest or Silvermoon. She wants freedom. I can offer her that."
"Along with what? Life on the run with a pack of rogues?" Cade's skepticism was clear. "Real appealing alternative."
"Better than being controlled by packs stuck in the past." I moved to the window, pulling back the stained curtain to look at the parking lot below. "The old ways are dying, Cade. Everyone knows it. That's why the young wolves at Thornfield are ready to follow her. She represents change."
"Or destruction. The prophecy's pretty clear about the fire and ash part."
"Only if she's raised wrong. Taught wrong." I turned back to face him. "What if we could get to her first? Before Ravencrest poisons her against us. Before Silvermoon tries to use her as some kind of breeding mare for their restoration plans."
Cade was quiet for a moment, processing. "You want to take her."
"I want to offer her a choice." The distinction felt important. "Come with us willingly, help us build something new. Or stay with the traditional packs and watch them destroy her trying to control her."
"And if she says no?"
I smiled, feeling my wolf rise closer to the surface. "Then we make the choice for her. For her own good."
"That's kidnapping, boss."
I grabbed my jacket from the chair. "The old packs will kill her the moment she becomes too powerful to control. Or they'll keep her pregnant and compliant, turning her into a glorified incubator. At least with us, she'd have agency. Purpose."
"And you'd have the Silver Wolf as your mate." Cade's expression was knowing. "Let's be honest about what this is really about."
"It's about both." No point denying it. "Yes, claiming her would give me legitimacy. Having her children, strong, prophesied children would cement our pack's place in the new order. But it's also about saving her from the fate every other pack has planned."
"You don't even know if she'd survive having her bond with Jarred broken."
"She'd survive." I said it with more confidence than I felt. "New bonds are fragile. Another alpha claiming her would override Ravencrest's mark, especially if she's willing."
"Big if."
"That's what courtship is for." I pulled on my jacket, checking my phone. "We've got time. She just completed the bond recently. It'll be weeks before it fully settles. Months before she's pregnant if things follow the normal pattern."
"And Jarrod?"
"Will be dealt with when the time comes." I pocketed my phone. "Right now, we focus on gathering intelligence. I want to know everything about her... her schedule, her friends, her weaknesses. Where she feels safe and where she's vulnerable."
"You want me to send scouts?"
"Already in place. That sophomore who knelt to her? Daniel Frost?" I grinned. "He's one of ours. Has been for six months."
Cade's eyebrows shot up. "You planted someone at Thornfield?"
"Planted three someones. Daniel's just the first to reveal himself." I moved toward the door. "The old packs are so busy watching each other they forgot to watch for infiltrators from below."
"Clever."
I opened the door, gesturing for him to follow. "Come on. We need to check in with the others. Make sure everyone knows the plan."
We walked across the parking lot to where my truck sat rusting in the evening light. Fifteen rogues scattered across three vehicles, all waiting for orders. Young wolves who'd rejected pack life, who'd found me and followed because I offered something their birth packs couldn't: freedom to choose their own path.
"Boss." A female voice called out. Ash, my best tracker, jogged over. "We've got a situation."
"What kind of situation?"
"Hunter situation." She pulled out her phone, showing me a grainy photo of a man in his forties, weathered face and cold eyes. "This guy's been spotted in three locations over the past week. Always asking questions about Thornfield Academy."
My blood ran cold. "You're sure he's a hunter?"
"Positive. I've seen his weapons cache when he stopped at a gas station. Silver bullets, wolfsbane extract, the works." She swiped to another photo—this one showing a car trunk loaded with hunter gear. "He's not here for tourism."
"Marcus." I studied the photo, committing the face to memory. "You get a last name?"
"Working on it. But boss, there's more." She hesitated. "He's asking specifically about female students."
"He's hunting the Silver Wolf. Fuck. How close is he?"
"Last sighting was this morning. Town diner, five miles from campus." Ash's expression was grim. "He's narrowing his search."
Cade swore. "If a hunter gets to her before we do..."
"He won't." I cut him off, my mind already racing through options. "We move up the timeline. I want surveillance on her 24/7. Every movement documented. And I want to know the second this Marcus makes a move toward campus."
"You think he'll try to take her from the school?" Ash looked skeptical. "That's bold even for a hunter."
"He's been tracking her this long. He's not going to stop now just because she's surrounded by other wolves." I pulled up a map on my phone, studying the area around Thornfield. "The school's in the middle of nowhere. Lots of forest, limited security. If he's smart, he'll wait for her to be isolated. Then strike."
"So we make sure she's never isolated." Cade's voice was firm. "One of ours watching her at all times."
"Exactly." I looked at Ash. "Pull Daniel and Reid off their current assignments. Put them on Ember Thorne detail. They're not to let her out of their sight."
"What about Jarred? He's not going to appreciate us stalking his mate."
"Jarred can't protect her from what he doesn't know is coming." I closed the map, meeting her eyes. "And he definitely can't protect her from a hunter who's been planning this for God knows how long."
Ash nodded, already texting instructions to the others. "What about you?"
"I'm going to town. See what I can learn about our hunter friend." I tossed Cade my truck keys. "You're in charge while I'm gone."
"And if the hunter makes a move?"
"Stop him." The words came out flat, final. "I don't care what it takes. Marcus doesn't get near the Silver Wolf."
Cade caught the keys, his expression serious. "Be careful, boss. Hunters don't work alone. If this one's here, there could be others."
"I know." I started toward Ash's car. "That's what worries me."