Chapter 174
Cole
"Introduced her to blood magic," Dmitri said, his voice hollow. "To the substances that make it possible. Connor tried to stop her, tried to pull her away. But by then, Celeste was addicted. And when you're addicted to that kind of power..." He trailed off, unable to finish.
"You'll do anything to keep it," Blake finished, his voice hard. "Even abandon your daughter."
Ivan's blue eyes studied Blake with something like sympathy. "They didn't want to leave her, boy. They were terrified. The people they owed—Konstantin and his Boss—were closing in. They thought leaving Kara with Victoria would save her life."
"Instead, it destroyed it," I said softly, thinking of all the years Kara had spent believing she'd been abandoned because she wasn't worth keeping.
"Tell us about this Diana," Asher said, pulling us back to the tactical. "Everything you know."
Ivan leaned back, his expression grim. "Beautiful woman. Gold hair, green eyes, perfect in every way. But her scent—" He shuddered. "Like ice and blood. Like something that should be dead but keeps moving anyway. She recruited for Court, brought in wolves with potential for blood magic. Celeste wasn't her only victim."
"Was one of them Scarlett Reeves?" I asked, pieces starting to click together in my mind.
Ivan's eyes widened slightly. "You know about Scarlett?"
"We know she's been missing for over a year," Asher said. "We know Court has been using a substitute to impersonate her. We know that substitute was watching our mate."
"Your mate," Ivan repeated, and his gaze sharpened. "Kara. Connor and Celeste's daughter. She's your—" He looked at Dmitri. "All three of them?"
"Yes," Dmitri confirmed. "Which makes her even more valuable to Court. Not just for her bloodline, but for her connection to three Alphas."
Ivan swore in Russian, a long string of words I didn't need to understand to get the gist of. "Diana will want her. If she's anything like her mother—"
"She's nothing like her mother," Blake snarled, his wolf surging forward. "Kara is—"
"Everything good that Celeste could have been," Dmitri finished quietly. "If Court hadn't destroyed her first."
Ivan pulled out another photograph, this one more recent. It showed a woman I recognized from Drake's files—Scarlett Reeves, the actress, the woman whose substitute had been watching Kara at that party.
"Scarlett came to me six months before she disappeared," Ivan said. "She was terrified, said she'd gotten mixed up with the wrong people. Said a woman named Diana had recruited her for something called the Eclipse Court, promised her fame and power. By the time Scarlett realized what she'd signed up for, they owned her."
"Did she say where Court was based?" I asked, my mind racing. "Where they might be holding people?"
"She mentioned a compound," Ivan said slowly, as if trying to remember exact words. "Somewhere in Washington, near Seattle. Said it was called the Sanctuary, but it was anything but. Said they kept people there—wolves who'd outlived their usefulness, or who knew too much to be allowed to leave."
My heart stuttered. "Connor and Celeste. Are they—"
"I don't know," Ivan said, but his expression was sympathetic. "Scarlett disappeared before she could tell me more. But if Court has been using her substitute, that means she's still alive. They need the original to maintain the copy."
Which meant Kara's parents might still be alive too. Imprisoned, probably. Suffering, certainly. But alive.
We had to tell her. When we found her—when—we had to tell her that her parents might not be dead after all.
"This Diana," Asher said, his voice tight with controlled fury. "Where can we find her?"
Ivan shook his head. "She disappeared from public view years ago. But I've heard rumors—whispers in the right circles—that she's risen high in Court's hierarchy. Some say she's on the Council itself. Some say she's the one pulling Konstantin's strings."
"Beloved," Dmitri breathed, his silver scent turning acrid with recognition and fear. "The woman who killed my daughter. It has to be her."
The pieces were falling into place now, forming a picture that made my blood run cold. Eclipse Court, led by a woman who called herself Beloved. Diana, who'd recruited Kara's mother and destroyed her. Konstantin, who'd taken Kara on orders from above.
And somewhere in all of this, a Sanctuary where Court kept its prisoners.
"We need to find this Sanctuary," I said, my voice steady despite the chaos in my chest. "If Kara's parents are there—"
"Then Kara might be too," Blake finished. "Or she will be. Court likes to keep families together, doesn't it? Easier to control them."
Through our bond, I felt Asher's mind working, putting together a plan. "Ivan, do you have any contacts in Seattle? Anyone who might know more about this Sanctuary?"
Ivan considered for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "There's a wolf—Marcus Finch. He's a journalist, likes to dig into stories others won't touch. He's been investigating Court for years. If anyone knows where the Sanctuary is, it's him."
"How do we find him?" Asher asked.
"I'll make a call," Ivan said, pulling out a phone. "But you should know—Finch is paranoid for good reason. Court has tried to kill him three times. He won't meet you unless I vouch for you personally."
"Then vouch," Blake said, his voice hard. "Whatever it takes."
Ivan studied us for a long moment, his blue eyes seeing too much. Then he nodded and dialed.
While Ivan spoke in rapid Russian to whoever was on the other end, I let my mind wander through the possibilities. If we could find the Sanctuary, if we could confirm Kara's parents were there, we'd have leverage. Information. Maybe even allies, if Connor and Celeste were willing to fight.
But first, we had to find Kara herself. And that meant following the trail from Konstantin to Beloved to wherever they were keeping our mate.
We're getting closer, I sent through the mate bond, even though I knew she couldn't hear me. Hold on just a little longer, Kara. We're coming.
Ivan ended his call and looked at us grimly. "Finch will meet you. Tomorrow, noon, at a diner in Seattle. He'll give you one hour. Don't waste it."
"We won't," Asher promised, already standing. "Thank you, Ivan. For everything."
"Don't thank me yet," Ivan said. "Court is more dangerous than you know. If you go after them, you'll be starting a war."
Blake's smile was all teeth and promise of violence. "Good. We're ready for one."
As we made our way back through the restaurant, I felt eyes tracking us—wolves who'd heard enough of our conversation to know we were hunting something big and dangerous. Some looked sympathetic. Others looked afraid.
Most just looked away.
The night air hit me like a slap when we emerged from Northern Fang. Blake was already striding toward the SUV, his gunpowder scent sharp with renewed purpose. Asher pulled out his phone, already coordinating with Devon, arranging travel to Seattle.
And me? I stood there for a moment, looking up at the stars barely visible through Fairbanks' light pollution, and sent one more message through the bond.
We know where to look now, Kara. We're coming for you. And we're bringing your parents home.
The bond remained silent, muted by whatever Court had done to block it.
But I swore I felt something—a flicker of hope, of desperate prayer, of a girl who'd spent her whole life believing she'd been abandoned finally daring to believe someone might be coming to save her.
We would.
Or we'd die trying.