Chapter 30 Chapter 30
Chapter 30
DEREK
"How many wolves can we mobilize?" I asked.
"Fully? Maybe sixty combat-ready pack members. But that would leave our other territories vulnerable, and if this is a feint—"
"It's not a feint. This is Blackwood's play for power. He takes the western district, proves he can strike at me with impunity, and other packs start questioning Sterling dominance." I turned to Elena. "What's our intel on Blackwood's numbers?"
She checked her tablet. "Last count had them at around forty wolves, but that was six months ago. With the rogues they've been recruiting, could be as high as sixty now."
Even numbers, then. Not ideal, but manageable if we had the element of surprise.
"Connor," I called. "I need everything you can get me on that meatpacking plant. Floor plans, entry points, security systems—anything that might still be on record."
"On it, Alpha." His fingers flew over the keyboard.
My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. Just two words: Tick tock.
Bastards. They were playing with me, confident in their position.
They had no idea what was coming.
"Marcus, start mobilizing our forces. I want teams positioned around the meatpacking plant within the hour, but stay back, stay hidden. No one moves until I give the order."
"You're going in," Marcus said. It wasn't a question.
"Of course I'm going in. They have my wife."
"Derek." He moved closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear. "If this goes wrong, if you get killed trying to save a human you don't even—"
"Don't." The word came out as a growl, my Alpha power pushing against Marcus, making him step back. "Don't finish that sentence."
Because he was right. I didn't love Selene. Our marriage was an arrangement, an obligation, a debt repaid. But she was mine. My wife, my responsibility, under my protection.
And I'd be damned if I let Blackwood take what was mine.
"Get me those floor plans," I said to Connor. "I want to know every possible way in and out of that building. And get me a thermal scan—I need to know how many wolves we're dealing with and where Selene is being held."
The next hour passed in a blur of planning and preparation. Connor managed to pull up old blueprints of the meatpacking plant, showing a sprawling complex with multiple buildings connected by covered walkways. The main processing facility had three floors plus a basement, with the cold storage units concentrated on the lower levels.
Thermal scans showed approximately fifty heat signatures clustered in the main building—Blackwood's pack, most likely. And in the basement, isolated from the others, was a single smaller signature.
Selene.
"She's alone," I said, staring at the screen. "Why would they leave her alone?"
"Maybe she's restrained," Elena suggested. "Or sedated. They wouldn't need guards if she can't escape."
The thought of Selene drugged and helpless made my wolf rage. But it also meant she might be easier to extract if we could reach her without alerting the entire pack.
"I'm going in first," I decided. "Alone. I'll locate Selene and get her out while you keep Blackwood's pack occupied."
"That's suicide," Marcus protested. "You'd be outnumbered fifty to one."
"I'm the Alpha. I'm stronger, faster, and more experienced than any of them. And I'll have surprise on my side." I pulled up the blueprints again. "There's an old delivery entrance here, on the north side. It leads directly to the basement level. I go in that way, grab Selene, and we're out before they even know I'm there."
"And if they do know? If they're expecting exactly this kind of rescue attempt?"
"Then you and the pack create enough chaos that they're too busy to stop me." I looked around the room at my pack members, saw the doubt and concern in their faces. "I know it's risky. But Selene is human. Every hour she spends in their hands is another hour she could be dying from her injuries. We don't have time for a careful, strategic assault. We need to move now."
Slowly, one by one, they nodded their agreement.
"Alright," Marcus said. "We do this your way. But Derek—if something goes wrong, if you get in trouble, you call for backup immediately. No heroics, no trying to handle fifty wolves on your own."
"Agreed." I checked my watch—three fifteen. Selene had been gone for over three hours. "We move at sunset. That gives us two more hours to position everyone and finalize the plan."
Two more hours to prepare for what might be the biggest fight of my life.
Two more hours before I found out if my wife was still alive.