Chapter 166
Blake
"So we're looking for a female Alpha," I said, pieces clicking together. "High-ranking Eclipse Court member. Possibly the same woman who murdered Kara's parents, who's been monitoring her for years, who might be working with or controlling Konstantin."
"Boss," Cole breathed. "The one who ordered Kara taken alive. The one who wants her 'treated well.'"
Through the mental link, I felt the same realization hit all three of us. Boss wasn't Konstantin. Boss was the woman behind Konstantin—the Eclipse Court Councilor who'd been orchestrating this entire nightmare from the shadows.
And she had our mate.
"We need to move," Asher said, his black ebony scent sharpening with urgency. "Now. If this Diana or whoever she really is has been planning this for years—"
His phone buzzed. Then mine. Then Cole's.
I looked at the screen, and my heart stopped.
Devon: Pharmaceutical plant. Thermal imaging shows one life sign, second floor. Weak but present. Could be her.
"Evergreen Heights," I said, my gunpowder scent exploding with desperate hope. "They found something."
Asher was already moving toward the door. "Cole, coordinate with the other teams. Tell them to converge on the plant but maintain perimeter. No one goes in until we arrive."
"I'm coming with you," Dmitri said, grabbing his canvas bag.
"Like hell—" Marcus started.
"He's coming," I interrupted, my voice brooking no argument. "He's Kara's grandfather. He's earned the right to be there when we find her."
Victoria stood on shaking legs. "Please. Please bring her home safe. I know I don't deserve to ask, but please—"
"Save it," Asher said coldly. "You can grovel for Kara's forgiveness if we get her back alive. Right now, you're staying here under guard. If this turns out to be a trap, if there's any indication you tipped off the Eclipse Court, I'll kill you myself."
The Alpha Command in his voice left no room for doubt. Victoria collapsed back onto the sofa, her scent rank with fear and shame.
We were out the door in seconds. The garage held three armored SUVs, already loaded with weapons and equipment. Devon had sent coordinates—a twenty-minute drive at normal speeds.
We'd make it in ten.
I slid behind the wheel of the lead vehicle, Asher beside me, Cole in back with Dmitri. The engine roared to life, and I floored it before the garage door was fully open, snow spraying as we fishtailed onto the main drive.
"Blake," Asher said quietly, his hand gripping the oh-shit handle as I took a turn at seventy miles per hour. "If she's there—if she's hurt—"
"I know," I said, my knuckles white on the wheel. "I know."
Through the bond, I could feel it—that thread of connection the suppression collar couldn't quite sever. Kara was close. Closer than she'd been in forty-three hours. And she was afraid.
Hold on, baby, I sent down the bond, not knowing if she could hear me. We're coming. Just hold on.
---
Asher
The pharmaceutical plant loomed against the pre-dawn sky—five stories of crumbling concrete and shattered windows, surrounded by a rusted chain-link fence. Our headlights swept across the parking lot, illuminating two SUVs already positioned: Devon's team and the backup squad I'd dispatched from Midnight Estate.
I was out before Blake had fully stopped, my black ebony and tobacco scent flooding the area as I assessed the tactical situation. Devon approached immediately, his frame tense.
"Alpha." He handed me a tablet displaying thermal imaging. "Second floor, southwest corner. Single heat signature, humanoid, approximately Kara's size. Heartbeat is weak but steady—could be sedation or exhaustion."
I studied the image, my wolf straining against my control. The heat signature was small, curled in what looked like a fetal position. Alone. Vulnerable.
It could be a trap, I sent to Blake and Cole.
Don't care, Blake responded immediately, his gunpowder scent sharp with lethal intent. If there's even a chance it's her—
We go in, Cole finished. Carefully, but we go.
Dmitri had exited the vehicle, his aged wolf scent carrying notes of barely restrained violence. "Any other signatures in the building?"
"Three on the first floor," Devon reported. "Two stationary—probably guards. One mobile, pacing. All adult male wolves based on heat patterns."
"Konstantin's men," Dmitri said grimly. He pulled out the silver knife he'd shown Blake earlier, its blade gleaming. "The pacing one is likely the primary guard. The stationary ones could be backup or prisoners—Konstantin sometimes keeps his people chained to ensure loyalty."
"Charming," I muttered, already formulating the approach. "Devon, your team secures the perimeter. No one in or out without my direct authorization. Second team, you're with me and Blake—we're going in the front. Cole, take the third team around back. If anyone tries to flee, you stop them. Non-lethally if possible, but stop them."
"Understood." Cole's mint and ozone scent sharpened as he moved toward his assigned team.
I looked at Dmitri. "You stay with Devon. You're not combat-ready—"
"I'm going in," Dmitri interrupted, his voice flat. "That's my granddaughter up there. I've missed ten years of her life. I'm not missing this."
Blake stepped forward before I could argue. "He comes with us. He knows Eclipse Court tactics, he has that truth-compelling blade, and if Kara's hurt, she might respond better to family than to the Alphas who spent a decade making her life hell."
The words stung, but he wasn't wrong. I nodded curtly. "Stay behind us. If shooting starts, you take cover. Clear?"
"Clear."
I turned to Devon. "Thermal imaging updated every thirty seconds. Any change in the heat signatures, you alert us immediately. And Devon—" I met his eyes. "If this goes wrong, if we don't make it out, you get word to Marcus Sterling. Tell him to mobilize the entire pack. No mercy, no prisoners. Understood?"
Devon's face was grim. "Understood, Alpha. But you'll make it out. You have to."
For Kara, I sent through the pack bond, letting every wolf present feel the weight of those two words. For our Luna.
The response was a wave of unified determination.
I led the way toward the plant's main entrance, Blake at my right, Dmitri behind us, four elite warriors fanning out. The rusted metal door hung half-open, and the scent that wafted out made my wolf snarl—stale cigarettes, mildew, and underneath, the acrid chemical smell of chloroform.
The same chemical we'd found on the rooftop at Midnight Estate.
We're in the right place, I sent to my brothers.
Blake's response was wordless fury. Through the bond, I felt Cole's matching rage tempered by caution.
Second floor is directly above us, Cole sent. I can smell... fuck. I can smell her. Faint, but it's definitely Kara.
My heart slammed against my ribs. After forty-three hours of searching, we'd finally found her.
Don't engage until we're in position, I ordered, forcing my voice to remain calm. We move together.
We entered the building. The first floor had once been a manufacturing space—massive pieces of rusted equipment hulked in the shadows, concrete floor stained with God knows what. Overhead, exposed pipes dripped condensation frozen into icicles.
And in the center of the space, three men.
Two were chained to support pillars, their faces gaunt with hunger and fear. Prisoners, just as Dmitri had predicted. The third—a scarred wolf with dead eyes—stood near a makeshift table, half-eaten sandwich forgotten as he stared at us with resignation.
"Took you long enough," he said in Russian-accented English. His scent was wrong—layers of artificial musk trying to mask fear and resignation. "She said you'd come. Said the Sterling Alphas would tear apart Alaska to find their little Luna."
"She?" I asked, my black ebony scent pressing down on him like a physical weight. "Who's 'she'?"
The enforcer's laugh was bitter. "Boss. The one who signs my paychecks. The one who's been planning this for years." His eyes flicked to Dmitri. "The one who killed your daughter, old man. Though I suppose you've figured that out by now."