Chapter 49 THE BONFIRE BOMB

Chapter 49 THE BONFIRE BOMB
Joyce's POV

Vane had planted a bomb at the Christmas Eve bonfire site and we had less than twenty-four hours to find it.

I stood over his wounded body on the fire tower platform. Blood pooled beneath him and mixed with rust. Nine people were dead because of this man. Nine families destroyed right before Christmas.

Rage burned in my chest. I wanted to kick him. Wanted to make him hurt the way he had hurt so many others.

But grief was there too. For Emma. For the broken boy who had become a monster trying to fix something that could never be fixed.

Taylor knelt beside Vane and checked his pulse. "He is stable enough to move. We need to get him down before he bleeds out."

Two other team members climbed onto the platform. They had rope and a makeshift stretcher. Getting Vane down those rusted stairs would be difficult but we had no choice.

My radio crackled. Victoria's voice came through but it was breaking up.

"Joyce, the packhouse is lost. Blackwoods took it. Dalton ordered a retreat. Fifteen wolves are missing or dead."

The world tilted sideways. I grabbed the railing to steady myself.

Fifteen. Gone. And the packhouse burned.

"Is Dalton alive?" My voice came out hoarse.

"Yes. He is setting up a temporary camp two miles northeast of town. In the old Miller property."

Relief hit me so hard my knees almost gave out. He was alive. Hurt probably. Broken definitely. But alive.

"I am on my way," I said.

Taylor looked at me. "We need you here to secure the prisoner."

"You can handle it. I need to see him."

I did not wait for permission. Just started down the tower stairs and left them to deal with Vane.

The climb down was faster than the climb up. My boots clanged on metal. Wind whipped my hair into my face. By the time I reached the ground my legs were shaking.

I ran through the forest toward the Miller property. Branches grabbed at my jacket. My lungs burned. But I kept moving.

The camp came into view twenty minutes later. Makeshift shelters made from tarps and branches. A few small fires for warmth. Pack members huddled together in groups and looked lost.

Then I saw Dalton.

He stood near the largest fire talking to his father. His shirt was torn and soaked with blood. Deep claw marks crossed his ribs. His face was bruised and one eye was swollen.

But he was standing. Still fighting.

He turned and saw me. Something in his expression cracked.

I ran to him. He met me halfway and pulled me against his chest. We held each other without speaking. His heart beat against my ear. Fast and hard and alive.

Words would not fix what was broken. Would not bring back the dead or rebuild the packhouse. So we just held on.

Former Alpha Grey approached us. His face was grim. "We need to talk. All of us."

We gathered around the fire. Marcus was there with his arm in a makeshift sling. Sarah had bandages wrapped around her head. Victoria joined us via radio since she was still at the hospital coordinating the rescue efforts.

"Fifteen wolves are confirmed dead," Former Alpha Grey said. "Another eight are missing. Could be captured. Could be dead. We will not know until we can negotiate with the Blackwoods."

Dalton's jaw clenched but he said nothing.

"The packhouse is a total loss," Grey continued. "Even if we retake it, the structure is too damaged. It will take months to rebuild."

"We do not have months," I said. "We have less than a day to find the bonfire bomb."

Marcus leaned forward. "What do we know about it?"

"Vane said it is bigger than the others. Set to detonate tomorrow night during the Christmas Eve bonfire. If it goes off it will kill everyone in the town square."

Sarah made a small sound of distress. "The bonfire draws hundreds of people. Families bring their children. It is the biggest celebration of the year."

"Which is exactly why Vane chose it," Victoria said through the radio. "Maximum casualties. Maximum impact."

Dalton finally spoke. His voice was rough. "Where is Vane now?"

"Taylor is bringing him down from the fire tower. They should reach the old sheriff station in about an hour. We can interrogate him there."

"Then that is where we go."

Former Alpha Grey shook his head. "You need medical attention. Those wounds are serious."

"They can wait."

"Dalton, you are barely standing."

"I said they can wait!" Dalton's shout echoed through the camp. Pack members stopped talking and stared.

He took a breath. Forced himself to calm down. "I am sorry. But we do not have time for me to sit in a hospital bed while people die. We find that bomb first. Then I will get stitched up."

No one argued. We all knew he was right.

An hour later we stood in the old sheriff station. It smelled like mildew and mouse droppings. The building had been abandoned for years after Pine Ridge built a new station closer to town.

But it still had holding cells. Still had interrogation rooms.

Taylor and his team brought Vane in on a stretcher. A medic had bandaged his shoulder but blood was already seeping through.

They dumped him in a chair in the interrogation room. Cuffed his hands to the table.

Dalton and I entered together. Vane looked up at us and smiled through his pain.

"The happy couple. How touching."

Dalton slammed his hands on the table. "Where is the bomb?"

"Somewhere you will never find it in time."

"We can make you talk."

"Go ahead and try. Torture me. Beat me. It will not change anything. The bomb is on a timer and there is no remote deactivation. Even if I wanted to help you I could not."

I stepped forward. "You wanted to honor Emma's memory. Is this how you do it? By killing innocent children?"

Vane's smile faltered. Just for a second.

"Those children will grow up to be victims of the mate bond system," he said. "Better they die quick than suffer slow."

"You do not believe that."

"I believe the world is broken and someone needs to fix it."

Dalton leaned in close. "Tell us where the bomb is or I will make sure you live long enough to watch everyone you ever cared about die slow."

Vane laughed. It turned into a cough that sprayed blood on the table. "You think finding the bomb will save you? I have already won. The Blackwoods have claimed your territory. Your pack is broken. And even if you find the bomb, even if you stop it, David Jesse still has the Collar and he is going to use it to destroy every mate bond in this region. You have lost everything, Grey. Just like I lost everything."