Chapter 49 In Twelve days
By dawn the entire estate was on lockdown with new guards at every entrance and security protocols that required ID verification every two hours.
Elara hadn't slept, instead sitting with Adrian and replaying Victoria's words—among others, there are quite a few people interested in seeing you removed.
"How many people want us dead?" she asked Kai when he brought breakfast.
"Too many," Kai admitted. "Victoria is being interrogated but she's not talking yet."
"What about federal agents?" Elara asked. "Can't they make her talk about Mandivus's escape?"
"They're trying," Kai said. "But she lawyered up immediately and her attorney is blocking most questions."
"So we're no closer to knowing who else is involved," Elara said.
"We know Derek Blackwood is connected to my father," Kai said. "The financial records prove payments between them."
"Connected how?" Elara asked.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Kai said and pulled out files. "Derek challenged for territories the same week my father was arrested, timing that convenient usually isn't coincidental."
"You think Darius told Derek to challenge as a distraction," Elara said.
"Or as part of a larger plan," Kai said. "If Derek wins those territories, they'd border directly with Blackwood land creating a continuous territory that cuts Silvercrest in half."
"That would cripple your pack," Elara said.
"That would destroy my pack," Kai corrected. "We'd lose access to water resources, trade routes, everything that makes Silvercrest viable."
"So Derek isn't just opportunistic," Elara said. "He's actively working to dismantle Silvercrest."
"Which benefits who?" Kai asked. "Derek gets more land but not enough to make up for the political cost of attacking a neighboring pack during crisis."
"Unless someone promised him something else," Elara said. "Access to other territories, protection from regional council sanctions, something worth the risk."
"My father," Kai said slowly. "He could have promised Derek support for future expansion if he helped destabilize my leadership."
"But your father is in prison," Elara pointed out.
"My father has connections and resources hidden in places we haven't found yet," Kai said. "And he's clearly still pulling strings."
Elara's phone buzzed with a news alert and her stomach dropped when she saw the headline: "Dangerous Alpha Spotted Near Crescent Falls."
The article described Mandivus's sighting thirty miles south with witness accounts of him traveling with armed associates.
"He's coming here," Elara said.
"I know," Kai said. "I've already coordinated with local authorities and tripled border patrols."
"That won't stop him," Elara said. "He got through your security before, he'll do it again."
"Not this time," Kai said. "I've hired private security with military backgrounds, people who specialize in handling threats like Mandivus."
"How much is that costing?" Elara asked.
"More than I can afford," Kai admitted. "But less than losing you and Adrian."
Before Elara could respond, Maya and Liam arrived looking exhausted from driving through the night.
"We came as soon as we heard about Victoria," Maya said. "Is she talking yet?"
"No, but we know she was coordinating with Darius and Mandivus," Kai said.
"And probably Derek," Liam added. "I did some digging into his finances and found payments from an offshore account linked to Darius's holdings."
"How much?" Kai asked.
"Two million over six months," Liam said. "Paid in increments that match Derek's territorial preparation timeline."
"So Darius funded Derek's challenge," Elara said.
"And Derek is supposed to deliver destabilization in return," Maya finished. "The question is what happens after Derek wins the territories."
"He hands them back to Darius," Elara guessed. "Or whoever takes over Silvercrest after Kai is removed."
"I'm not being removed," Kai said firmly.
"Your probationary status makes that uncertain," Maya pointed out. "One major failure and the council will vote you out."
"Like losing a third of pack territories to Derek," Liam said. "That would definitely qualify as major failure."
"Then we make sure Elara's bloodline claim succeeds," Kai said. "If she controls those territories, Derek's challenge becomes irrelevant."
"Unless Derek challenges her claim too," Maya said. "Which he probably will given that he's invested two million in this scheme."
"Can he do that?" Elara asked. "Challenge both Kai's authority and my bloodline claim?"
"Regional council rules allow competing claims to be heard simultaneously," Liam said. "So yes, Derek could argue that neither Kai nor Elara have legitimate rights and his ancestral claim supersedes both."
"That's insane," Elara said.
"That's politics," Maya said. "And Derek has enough money to hire the best pack lawyers in the region."
"So do we," Kai said.
"Do we?" Liam asked. "Because Silvercrest finances aren't exactly healthy right now, and hiring top legal counsel costs hundreds of thousands."
"Then I'll sell personal assets," Kai said. "My car collection, investment properties, whatever it takes."
"That'll take weeks to liquidate," Liam said. "The hearing is in twelve days."