Chapter 283 283
Lucas POV
“Stay off the main roads and out of towns,” I tell him. “Stick to the countryside.”
“I get it,” he replies easily. “No cameras. What’s a realistic timeline? Just so I know how to use the money.”
He speaks like an Alpha. Calm. Measured. Certain.
Is he an Alpha’s son? Maybe. Yet there’s something else about him something I can’t quite name.
“A week before we have a date,” I say. “The meeting itself will be within the month. I’ll keep you updated.”
“Understood. And this is strictly intelligence gathering? You don’t need me getting my hands dirty?”
“No,” I answer firmly. “These are Alphas from well-regarded packs. You won’t be able to deal with them the way you dealt with the rogues here.”
He huffs a quiet laugh. “You’d be surprised. But fine I get it. Data collection only.”
The casual way he says it puts me on edge.
“Can we trust you?” I ask. The question hangs heavier than intended. There’s an aura about him something tightly leashed, deliberately hidden.
“Yes,” he says calmly. “Believe it or not, I can be discreet.” His gaze flicks around the blood-soaked cell and he shrugs. “Despite appearances.”
“Very well,” I say after a beat. “You’re free to go. My men will escort you to the pack borders. I expect them to return unharmed.”
“Of course, Beta,” he replies smoothly. “I’m not a monster contrary to what this might suggest.”
“My Alpha will want your name.”
“You can’t repeat it”
“I need it for him,” I interrupt. Damien will run checks. So will I.
“Only him, then.”
“Only him,” I agree with a nod.
“Gilles.”
“Gilles,” I repeat. “And your rank?”
He studies me for a moment before answering. “To have a rank, Beta, I’d need a pack. And since you captured me as a rogue, you can see the problem. Rank means nothing without a pack.”
Because of that answer and the instincts crawling under my skin I escort him myself, flanked by two warriors.
I don’t take my eyes off him once.
He surveys the land as we drive, and I curse myself for not blindfolding him. Is he mapping routes in his head? Memorising terrain? But then again he’d already found his way here as a rogue.
He already knows.
My wolf stays restless, uneasy. The Bloodnight pack has grown fond of Darkvale, and I’m no exception. I feel protective of them now of their people, their lands.
They embody kindness. Second chances. Even after everything they’ve endured.
They don’t let the pain harden them. They keep going. They believe that good will always outweigh the bad.
“Here, Beta?” the driver asks through the mind-link as he pulls the vehicle to a stop well beyond Darkvale’s borders.
“Yes,” I reply. “This will do.”
“So this is where we part,” Gilles says as he steps out of the car, a faintly sarcastic smirk curving his mouth. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
“I’ll be expecting your call.”
“I look forward to it.”
He sounds sincere and that unsettles me more than anything else. By all logic, he should take the money and disappear.
Yet something inside me says he won’t.
The way he slaughtered the rogues. The aura he kept buried. None of it fits the story he’s presenting.
He doesn’t run. He walks away calmly, as though he knows we won’t attack. Or worse he knows that even if we tried, we wouldn’t survive it.
“Shall we head back, Beta?” the warrior asks.
I finally tear my gaze from the woods Gilles disappears into, true to his word avoiding the roads.
“Yes,” I say quietly. “We have a long night ahead of us.”
We’re out of time now.
Every trace of what happened tonight has to vanish.
Darkvale’s reputation cannot be stained.
Not a single drop of blood can remain.