Chapter 231 231

Chapter 231 231
Nova's POV

Caden was quiet for a moment in a way that told me he was deciding where to start rather than whether to answer.
He pushed off the wall and came to stand beside me, close enough that his shoulder brushed mine. He didn't move away. Neither did I.
"At the start of the war, Garrett was commanding one of our strongest units. They were experienced fighters, well trained, completely loyal to him." He kept his voice low, eyes on the window and the dark grounds beyond it. "We were stretched thin on multiple fronts in the early months, with not enough men to cover the territory and beyond. My father gave Garrett broad operational authority, which in hindsight was the worst decision he ever made."
"What did he do with it?"
"What he always wanted, probably." His jaw worked, expression turned to flint as he continued. "He started targeting smaller packs. The ones with no real military strength, no capacity to fight back. He'd fabricate a reason, claim he had intelligence suggesting they were colluding with our enemies, and then he'd move in." He paused. "The men and stronger women, he killed. But the weaker women…the omegas..."
He stopped, lost in whatever memory he was recalling.
My stomach turned over quietly as I filled in the blanks.
"He assaulted them?” I asked quietly.
Caden's laugh held bitterness, running a hand through his hair. "’Assaulted’ is a nice way to put it."
"How did you find out about it?" I leaned closer, my shoulder pressing closer to his, offering silent support.
Caden sighed and reciprocated the move, until we were practically leaning against each other.
"I almost didn't." The muscle in his jaw worked. "My men and I were moving through contested territory, maybe four months in. We came across a woman running alone through the woods in the middle of the night, half dressed, cradling an infant. Both of them were in a terrible state, the baby was burning with a fever and the girl, an omega…his older sister had wounds on her body. They were from a small pack about twelve miles east of our position and had been running through the night, with Garrett's men in pursuit. Frankly, I don't know how she managed to outpace those warriors, but I guess they were letting her believe she could get away." He glanced at me briefly. "When we met her, the moment she realized we were Shadowcrest, she lost it completely. Fought like she was going to die fighting, all while holding onto her crying baby brother. It took us twenty minutes just to convince her we weren't going to hurt her."
I didn't say anything. I was watching his face and I could see what it had cost him, even then, even in the retelling.
"She thought because we wore the same colors as Garrett's unit that we were there to finish what they'd started." His voice was flat in the careful way that meant the opposite of calm. "Once she understood we weren't, she told us everything. Her pack was gone. Most of them were dead, killed by the Shadowcrest pack. The ones who weren't, she didn't know where they were or what state they were in. She'd run when Garrett's men were distracted and she hadn't stopped until she met us."
The lamp on the table flickered slightly in a draft from somewhere. Neither of us moved to fix it.
"I went straight to Garrett." Caden's shoulder pressed a little more firmly against mine, something unconscious in it, like he was grounding himself. "He didn't deny it. That was the thing that got me. He just stood there and explained it to me like I was the one being unreasonable. Said the packs were a liability, that they'd have turned on us eventually, that he was just being efficient." He let out a short breath through his nose. "He used that word. Efficient."
"What did you do?"
"Stripped his command on the spot and told him he'd answer for it when the war was over." His mouth flattened. "He was gone by morning. Took a handful of his most loyal men with him and disappeared. I spent six years telling myself that was a better outcome than whatever the alternative would have been."
"And now he's back."
"Now he's back." He turned his head and looked at me properly for the first time since he'd started talking. This close I could see how tired he actually was, the particular exhaustion that came from carrying something heavy for a very long time. "And he's being very careful. Very reasonable. Very interested in making himself useful."
"Which means he wants something."
"He always wants something." His eyes held mine for a beat, then moved away. "But I don't think it was him behind the attack. The timing is wrong for Garrett, too soon, too obvious. He'd let the dust settle first then find a way to make himself indispensable and before making his move." He paused. "Plus, he's no fool. He knows I'd immediately suspect him if something like this happened so he'll be more cautious."
"Which brings us back to Lucas."
"Which brings us back to Lucas." He exhaled. "I've known him for a long time, since we were kids, and one thing I'm sure of about him is once he sets his target, he'll do everything to destroy that person. And currently, he's been hiding somewhere for months with nothing to do but decide whether loose ends bother him. Plus, car accidents are sort of his preferred means of attack."
I thought about the security footage. Lucas pacing on that balcony, phone to his ear, the timestamp frozen on my mother's laptop screen. I recalled mom's words, "he'd fled on a private plane and no one knows his whereabouts."
The fact that he'd had all this time and all this distance and apparently still hadn't felt safe.
"He went to a lot of trouble," I said. "Just to hurt me. He probably believes I was the one who kept him detained at the bureau.” I shook my head at the thought. " That wasn't my doing and neither was it Harper's."
When Caden didn't respond immediately, I leaned forward to peer at his face. His expression was tight, lips pressed in a thin line.
"What is it?” I asked, giving him a nudge with my elbow. “Was it you?"
"No." Caden's voice was quiet and held just a hint of irritation. “That was Windsor's doing."
It took me a moment to understand. Then my eyebrows nearly flew off my face. “Noah?"
Caden muttered something under his breath that sounded that ‘that fucking meddler.’
Wow! This was news to me. The realization that Noah had done that for me, and had never mentioned it, made my chest tighten with guilt when I remembered him telling me about his feelings for me. I still hadn't given him an answer, and as promised, he hadn't tried to put pressure on me, even though our plans for the trip had fallen through. I also remembered I still hadn't returned his calls since the accident.
Shit. I'm a terrible person.
"You're thinking about how to thank him, aren't you?"
There was a sour note in Caden's voice that made me smile. "I was just calling myself a terrible person, that's all."
He raised an eyebrow, looking disgruntled. “Let's just focus on Lucas and how to find him."
I nodded, inwardly amused at Caden's petulance. It was kinda cute and sexy at the same time.
“Yeah, sure." I cleared my throat and nudged him again playfully. “So, any clues on where he could be hiding?"
Caden shook his head. “He's not at his usual haunts. I've had people check all his properties and favorite hangouts abroad, but so far no one has seen him."
"Maybe the burner phone can give us a clue."
"Yes," Caden said. "That's what I'm hoping for."