Chapter 87 Shadows and Whispers
Wynter's POV
I squeezed Anne's hand gently, feeling the tremor still running through her fingers despite her wolf's healing already beginning to work on the worst of her injuries. "Thank you for telling me all this," I said quietly, meaning it despite everything between us. "It takes courage to question your own family."
Anne's eyes glistened as she nodded, her grip tightening for just a moment before she let go and turned away, struggling to keep herself together.
I stood and headed for the door, my mind already racing—Lily was safe, but those shadowy figures Anne might have seen in the Bloodrock courtyard, that changed everything.
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The rest of the day's classes were a blur. I copied notes without really seeing them, my thoughts circling back to Anne's words, to those children being led through the darkness.
When the final bell rang, I'd made my decision. I needed to tell the others.
I found Rosalie at her locker, organizing her textbooks with her usual precision. She looked up, and whatever she saw in my face made her eyes widen.
"Rosalie," I said quietly, checking that no one was close enough to hear. "I need to talk to you about something important. Can you come with me to the old equipment room?"
She didn't hesitate. "Of course," she said, closing her locker and grabbing her bag. "Let's go."
We walked quickly through the corridors, weaving between students heading to their dorms. The late afternoon sun came through the tall windows, painting everything gold, and the normal sounds of campus felt strange against what I was carrying.
As we turned down the path toward the old athletic facilities, Rosalie glanced at me. "Shouldn't we let Chase and Jax know too?" she asked quietly. "Don't they need to be there?"
I pulled out my phone, already typing. "I'm texting them right now," I said as we walked. "Told them to meet us there."
The responses came back fast—Chase with On my way and Jax with What happened?
Just come, I typed back. It's important.
Rosalie and I reached the building first, pushing through the heavy door to the back corner where we usually met. The place smelled like old leather and mildew, dust floating in the dim light. I sat on one of the benches, my leg bouncing as we waited.
The door opened maybe five minutes later, and Chase walked in fast. "Wynter," he said, crossing to me and cupping my face in his hands. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," I said, leaning into his touch. "I promise. But I have information."
He sat beside me, taking my hand.
The door opened again, and Jax appeared, tension radiating off him. "Sis," he said, voice rough. "Your message—what's going on?"
"Sit down," I said, pointing to the bench across from us. "I need to ask you something first."
Jax sat, his whole body tight, questions in his eyes.
I took a breath. "Jax, the investigation into the missing Rogue children—any progress? Any new leads?"
Frustration flickered across his face. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "We've made some progress," he said, voice tight. "I had my people shift positions to avoid the leak. And we found something—tracked a black van matching the descriptions, documented its route for six hours toward the border between neutral territory and Bloodrock."
"You got evidence?" Chase asked.
"We did," Jax confirmed. "Photos, video, timestamps. We had eyes on a warehouse where the van stopped—the kind of place you'd use for transfers." His hands clenched. "But then the trail went cold. The warehouse—" He stopped, jaw working. "The lead just... stopped."
Chase turned to me. "You know something," he said. Not a question. "That's why you called this meeting. What did you find out?"
I looked at each of them. “This morning, I found Anne Kaine collapsed in the gardens,” I said, watching their faces change. I almost added how bad she’d looked—the details pressed against my tongue—then I remembered I owed her my discretion. She’d trusted me. I let it go. “I took her to the medical wing, and while Dr. Reeves was treating her, she told me some things.”
Jax went rigid, waiting.
"First—she found Lily Fletcher," I said, watching shock hit Jax. "Owen's sister. Anne got her out of one of Bloodrock's labor facilities, kept her as a personal attendant, and then before coming back here, she helped Lily escape to a safe house."
Silence. Jax stared at me, mouth open, hands shaking.
"Lily's safe?" he finally managed, voice breaking. "Owen's sister—she's really safe?"
"She's safe," I said gently. "Anne made sure."
Jax's head dropped into his hands, shoulders shaking. "Owen," he whispered. "Your sister is safe."
I gave him a moment. "There's more. Anne told me something else—about what she saw at the Bloodrock compound during winter break." I paused. "Late one night, she was walking past a window overlooking their courtyard, and she saw four labor supervisors moving through the dark. With them were three children—small, thin, wearing suppression collars. Rogues."
Jax's head snapped up, eyes blazing. "She saw them," he said, voice dropping to a growl. "She saw the missing children."
"She's not certain," I cautioned. "When she looked again, the courtyard was empty. And when she asked their head of household the next morning, the woman said they don't employ any Rogues. Anne doesn't know if what she saw was real or if her mind was playing tricks."
Jax stood fast, voice tight with fury. "That warehouse we were watching—where the van stopped—it burned down less than two hours after we set up surveillance. Professional job, multiple ignition points, accelerants. The whole building went up, and the van disappeared. Everything we'd documented—destroyed."
He turned to face us, rage burning in his eyes. "They knew we were watching. Someone tipped them off, and they cleaned up before we could move. That's why the trail went cold—they made sure there was nothing left."
His hands clenched, collar pulsing as he fought to contain his wolf. "Damn Bloodrock," he snarled, the words rough and feral. "Even if we don't have enough evidence to convict them, even if we can't prove everything—I'm going to make them pay. I'm going to cause them so much trouble they'll regret ever touching those children."
"Jax," I said carefully, standing and moving toward him. "You need to be careful. If you move against them recklessly—"
"I know, Sis," he cut me off, but his voice had softened slightly, the fury banking into something more controlled. "I have enough sense to know my limits. I won't do anything stupid." His face hardened again. "But I can't just sit here and do nothing while they keep getting away with this."