Chapter 231
Lynette's POV
I woke up at five in the morning.
Today was the day.
The plan ran through my head one more time. 7 AM, arrive at the factory. 7:30, the Alpha shows up. 8 AM, I trigger the cooling system failure. Chaos. Distraction. Kael's mother makes her move while his father is stuck dealing with a factory disaster.
Simple.
Except nothing about today was simple.
I sat up. Swung my legs off the bed and pulled on my work clothes. Jeans. Plain gray shirt. Work boots. The disguise of Carter, the competent new technician nobody paid attention to.
My fingers brushed the small device in my pocket. The remote trigger. I'd installed it yesterday, hidden behind the cooling system's main control panel. One press, and the whole thing would cascade into failure.
I took a breath.
My hand was steady.
Good.
---
I headed downstairs at 5:30.
Figured I'd grab coffee, maybe some toast, then slip out before anyone woke up.
But when I walked into the kitchen, Dad was already sitting at the table.
Fuck.
He looked up. Saw me. Broke into this huge, tired smile.
"Couldn't sleep either?" he said.
I stopped in the doorway. "Yeah. Early shift."
He nodded. Gestured at the chair across from him. "Sit with me for a minute."
I didn't want to. Every second I stayed increased the risk of him seeing through me. Seeing the truth in my face.
But I sat down anyway.
Dad pushed a mug of coffee toward me. His hands were shaking slightly. Not from fear. From excitement.
"Today's my first day," he said. His voice cracked a little. "Chief technician. At Morrison's Auto Repair, across town. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and it'll all be a dream."
My chest loosened slightly.
Morrison's. That was good. Far from the Harrington factory. Far from today's shitstorm.
"You earned it, Dad," I said quietly.
He shook his head. "No. You earned it, Lynette. You kept this family going when I couldn't. You worked those awful jobs, you dealt with your uncle's charity bullshit, you—" He stopped. Swallowed hard. "I'm going to make it up to you. All of you. I promise."
I wrapped my hands around the coffee mug.
It was warm.
I wanted to tell him the truth. That Kael had arranged this job specifically at Morrison's—a small independent shop with no connection to the Harrington operations. A safety net in case today went to hell.
But I didn't.
"I know you will," I said instead.
We sat there in silence for a while.
Dad checked his watch. "I should get going. Don't want to be late on my first day."
He stood up. Walked over. Put his hand on my shoulder.
"Be safe today, sweetheart."
I looked up at him.
His eyes were wet.
"You too, Dad."
He squeezed my shoulder once. Then he left.
I sat there alone in the kitchen.
Stared at my coffee.
My phone buzzed. Text from Kael.
Ready?
I typed back: Yes.
---
I was halfway to the front door when Elara came flying down the stairs.
"Lynette!"
I turned.
She looked like hell. Pale. Dark circles under her eyes. Hair messy.
She grabbed my wrist. Hard.
"I had the dream again," she said. Her voice was shaking. "You were standing somewhere high. Fire everywhere. And you were—"
"Elara." I kept my voice calm. Steady. "It's just a dream."
"No." She tightened her grip. "It's not. You know it's not."
Fuck.
The soul bond. Even though we'd switched back, even though she was in her own body now, she could still sense things. Feel things.
I looked at my little sister.
She was terrified.
"Listen to me," I said quietly. I crouched down so we were eye level. "I made you a promise yesterday. I'm coming back. You understand?"
Her eyes searched mine.
"What are you going to do?" she whispered.
"Something dangerous," I admitted. "But necessary."
"Lynette—"
"No." I grabbed her shoulders. Gently but firm. "You remember what I told you? No matter what happens, you take care of yourself. You take care of them."
She bit her lip. Nodded.
I kissed her forehead.
Then I left before she could say anything else.
---
The factory looked different when I arrived at 6:50.
More guards. Way more guards.
I counted at least six wolfborn standing at various entry points. All of them alert. All of them watching.
I pulled my work cap lower. Walked toward the employee entrance.
One of the guards—a guy with a buzz cut and a scar across his jaw—stopped me.
"ID," he said.
I pulled out my fake badge. Carter Mills. Technician.
He looked at it. Looked at me. His nostrils flared slightly.
Shit. He was scenting me.
But I'd prepared for this. Rolled in machine oil and metal shavings this morning. Masked my natural Alpha scent under layers of industrial grime.
He handed back my badge. Waved me through.
I didn't let myself relax until I was inside the building.
The factory floor was chaos.
Workers rushing around. Supervisors yelling. Equipment running at maximum output.
I spotted Blythe near the main production line. He was on his phone, pacing, looking stressed as hell.
Good.
I headed toward Station 3. The cooling system I'd sabotaged yesterday was humming along normally. For now.
I pulled out my phone. Checked the remote trigger app one more time.
Signal strength: strong.
Range: fifty meters.
Battery: full.
Everything was ready.
I just had to wait.
---
At 7:30, the factory-wide intercom crackled to life.
"Attention all personnel. Alpha Harrington will be conducting an inspection tour beginning at 8 AM. All employees are to remain at their stations and demonstrate peak performance. That is all."
The effect was immediate.
Supervisors started screaming orders. Workers picked up their pace. The noise level doubled.
I stayed at Station 3. Pretended to check gauges.
Through the window, I saw three black SUVs pull into the parking lot.
My heart rate didn't change.
My hands didn't shake.
I was ready.
---
At 7:45, the factory floor doors opened.
Blythe walked in first. Behind him was a man I'd never seen in person but recognized instantly.
Alpha Harrington.
Kael's father.
He was tall. Broad-shouldered. His face was all hard angles and cold authority. He moved like someone who'd never been challenged in his life.
The entire factory seemed to hold its breath.
He walked slowly down the main aisle. Blythe beside him, talking rapidly, gesturing at the equipment.
I kept my head down. Focused on the control panel in front of me.
But I tracked his movement in my peripheral vision.
He stopped at Station 2. Inspected something. Asked a question. The supervisor stammered through an answer.
Then he moved to Station 3.
My station.
I didn't move. Didn't look up.
"And this is our newest technician," Blythe was saying. "Carter Mills. He's been instrumental in optimizing our cooling efficiency."
I felt the Alpha's gaze land on me.
Every instinct I had screamed at me to meet his eyes. To challenge him.
But I didn't.
I kept my posture neutral. Submissive. Like any other low-level worker afraid of their boss's boss.
"Look at me," the Alpha said.
His voice was cold. Commanding.
I looked up.
Our eyes met.
For a second—just a second—I saw something flicker across his face. Confusion. Like he was trying to figure out why I felt wrong.
Because I was an Alpha. A stronger Alpha than him, if we're being honest.
But he couldn't sense it. Not fully. Not with all the industrial smell masking my scent.
"Good work," he said finally.
Then he moved on.
I waited until he was ten feet away.
Then I slipped my hand into my pocket.
Wrapped my fingers around the remote trigger.
The Alpha stopped in front of the main cooling control panel. Blythe was explaining the output numbers.
This was it.
I pressed the button.
---
Nothing happened for three seconds.
Then I heard it.
A soft pop from inside the control panel. Like a firecracker going off in a metal box.
The cooling system warning lights started flashing.
Three seconds later, the alarms went off.
Loud. Piercing. Impossible to ignore.
Steam suddenly exploded from one of the equipment joints. Workers screamed and scattered.
"Cooling system failure!" someone yelled. "Shut it down! Shut it down!"
The supervisor at Station 3 ran for the emergency cutoff switch.
But I'd sabotaged that too. When he hit the switch, nothing happened.
More steam. The temperature gauges started climbing.
Alpha Harrington's face went from annoyed to furious in half a second.
"What the hell is going on?" he roared.
Blythe looked like he was about to pass out. "I—I don't know, Alpha, the system was functioning perfectly—"
"Get your technicians on this NOW!"
The factory descended into chaos.
Workers running. Supervisors shouting. Guards trying to establish a perimeter.
I backed away slowly. Blended into the crowd of panicking employees.
No one was watching me anymore.
I reached the side exit.
Pushed through the door.
Outside, I could still hear the alarms blaring.
I pulled off my work cap. Kept walking.
By the time I reached the street corner, I was just another person heading to work.
I allowed myself a small smile.