Chapter 35 The graving truth
Tasha:
“Say it again,” Neel said. “Slowly. I want to hear exactly how bad this gets.”
I stayed seated at the dining table, my fingers wrapped around a mug I didn’t need for warmth. The coffee had gone untouched. Across from me, Dr. Harris hesitated, eyes flicking between Neel and the others, as if weighing how much truth a human heart could take before cracking.
“It’s not speculation anymore,” Harris finally said. “It’s documentation.”
My demon stirred at the back of my mind, pleased.
Hear that? it purred. Now that our lie turned out to be an ugly truth actually,we can see where it goes now.
Neel exhaled sharply. “Documentation of what.”
“Blood,” Raj answered. “Human blood. Collected, stored, sold. Not as emergency reserves. Not as medical aid.They are literally feeding on us and selling the blood for business!”
Moreno leaned forward. “As product.”
The word landed hard.They all grimaced,I smirked.
Neel’s jaw clenched. He dragged a hand through his hair and paced once, then stopped in front of the window, staring out into a street that suddenly felt far too ordinary for what we were discussing.
“And the Snow Pack?” he asked. “You’re sure it’s them?”
Harris nodded. “Distribution routes trace back to clinics under their protection. Shell companies. Front charities.”
Neel let out a hollow laugh. “So when Tasha told me they were feeding on humans—”
“I didn’t say actually feeding,” I cut in softly.
He turned to look at me.
“I said they were more like..... harvesting,” I finished.
The room went quiet.
My demon laughed inside me, low and indulgent.
Look at them swallowing it. You always knew how to choose the right words.
Neel came back to the table, slower this time, and sat beside me instead of across. His knee brushed mine. I felt the tension in him, tight and coiled.
“And the attacks?” he asked. “The ones the police wrote off as animal maulings?”
Moreno nodded once. “Some were feeding incidents. Some were silencing.”
“Silencing,” Neel repeated,frowned. “For what.”
“For seeing too much,” Raj said. “Or being in the wrong place.”
Neel’s hands curled into fists on the table. “And Alexandra signed off on this?”
Harris hesitated.
“That’s a yes,” Neel said flatly.
No one corrected him.
Something twisted in my chest then. Not pain. Not grief. Something uncomfortable. Seeing her name pass his lips like this....stripped of ceremony, of illusion...felt like watching a statue crack.
My demon leaned closer to my thoughts.
See? Even now, they hesitate to say her name. Power is such a fragile lie.
Neel looked at me again, searching my face. “You’ve been carrying this alone.You knew this much that's why they don't want you among humans in the exposure...but you still came back to me.”
I lowered my eyes, letting silence do the work. Letting him fill the gaps with guilt.
“I didn’t want to poison you against them,” I said quietly. “I just wanted you safe....and just wanted to be with you”
His expression softened immediately. “Tasha…”
Raj cleared his throat. “There’s something else.”
Our heads whipped at him.Neel straightened. “Go on.”
“If this comes out publicly,” Raj said, “it won’t stay contained to Snow Pack.”
Moreno nodded. “Humans won’t ask which pack did it. They’ll ask how many knew.They will them as a threat on the whole” She looked at me twice.
I see...
“And how long they were allowed to,” Harris added.
Neel leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a moment. “So this turns into a war.”
“A political one,” Moreno corrected. “At first.”
My demon hummed.
Wars always start that way.
Neel dropped his gaze back to them. “What are our options.”
Raj folded his hands. “Controlled exposure.”
I tilted my head,my brows furrowed.“You mean bleeding the truth slowly.”
“Yes,” he said. “Enough to panic the guilty. Not enough to start a purge.”
Neel frowned. “You want to scare them into making mistakes.”
Moreno met his eyes. “Predators always do when they think they’re being watched.”
I smiled faintly. “Alexandra especially.”
Neel looked at me sharply. “You think she’ll react?”
“She can’t help it,” I said. “Her power depends on appearing untouchable. Clean. Above suspicion.”
Harris sighed. “Which means she’ll try to destroy the source.”
Silence followed that.
Neel’s shoulders squared. “Then she’ll come for me.”
“For the data,” Raj corrected.
“For you,” I said softly, my hand sliding over Neel’s wrist. “You’re human. You’re visible. You’re inconvenient.”
His fingers tightened around mine. “I’m not backing out.”
“I know,” I said.
And I meant that too.
Moreno stood, gathering her tablet. “If you release the blood trade records anonymously, human oversight boards will step in.”
“And when they do,” Harris added, “werewolf autonomy becomes conditional.”
Neel swallowed. “Registration. Surveillance.”
“Restrictions,” Raj said.
Neel glanced at me again, searching for doubt.
I gave him none.
“They’ve been hunting without consequence for decades,” I said. “Let them feel watched.”
My demon purred its approval.
Yes. Put a leash on them. Just long enough for us to tighten it.
The scientists left shortly after, the weight of their footsteps lingering long after the door closed. Neel stayed standing by the counter, unmoving, as if the house itself needed time to settle around this new reality.
“I hate that you were right,” he said finally.
I stood and moved to him, resting my forehead against his chest. His heart was racing. Fast.....alive human.
“I don’t,” I murmured.
He let out a weak laugh. “Of course you don’t.”
His hand came up, cupping the back of my head. “Promise me something.”
I looked up confused. “What.”
“That if this turns ugly… you won’t disappear.”
Something cold slid through me at that word.
Disappear.
I forced my expression to soften. “I’m here.”
“You were gone once,” he said quietly. “I can’t do that again.”
My demon recoiled at the plea, then smiled.
He’s afraid. Good. Fear binds better than love.
I brushed my thumb over his knuckles. “I won’t leave you.”
He nodded, relieved, and kissed my forehead.
As he held me, I stared past his shoulder, already imagining Alexandra reading the first report. Imagining her smile faltering. Imagining Snow Pack scrambling to plug a wound they never saw coming.
This wasn’t revenge yet.
This was positioning....I was just starting.
And when the world finally tipped, I would be standing exactly where I wanted to be....over the ashes of her reign....claiming the rank that always belonged to me.