Chapter 105
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My hand shot out, clamping tight over Cassie’s mouth–my wolf claws pricked at her skin in my urgency, but !
reined them in just in time.
I practically dragged her into the elevator.
My gaze blazed with the ferocity.
A low vibration rumbled in Cassie’s chest–she was holding back a laugh.
I could smell the amusement in her wolf aura, tangled with a hint of regret–she was definitely kicking herself for missing the show.
“Mmph, mmph…”
She nodded frantically, flashing an OK sign, her wolf’s eyes glinting with a promise to stay quiet.
I finally let go, my claws retracting slowly, the soft fabric of her shirt still lingering on my palms.
When the other three stepped into the elevator, Gideon’s aura shifted in an instant.
He looked the same on the surface, but I could feel the wolf in him coiling beneath his skin: His spine was rigid, even the faint hum of his wolf’s fur radiating distance.
The big wolf’s presence sucked all the air from the elevator.
Outside the building, the night wind carried the howls of other night wolves, and in the distance, the faint scent of pack patrols lingered.
Cassie, touched that we’d come for her specifically, let her wolf’s bold, unapologetic side shine–she insisted on buying us late–night food.
But Gideon just shook his head, his voice cold as ice:
“Not hungry.”
He turned and left with Caleb.
“He’s pissed,”
Cassie whispered in my ear.
I snapped back,
“I can see that–no need to state the obvious!”
Ever since the resort trip, Gideon’s wolf mind had been off. Whatever–let him brood. I quickly changed the subject, tapping her arm:
“You said food, right? He’s gone, but Sabrina and I are still in. You still buying?”
Cassie’s face lit up, her wolf’s eyes sparkling.
Chapter 105
“Hell yeah I am!”
She drove us to a late–night diner, Sabrina and I in the backseat.
*Meng
We ate and talked, and I could smell the fresh sweetness of the veggies on Sabrina’s plate, mixed with the
herbal wolf aura unique to the Cross family.
Sabrina hadn’t known Cassie well before, but now she saw her for who she truly was: bold, sharp. Even when
Cassie got a little dramatic, Sabrina loved that raw honesty–no pretense, no masks.
“Cassie, did you dig up anything to take Vanessa down?”
Sabrina nibbled at a twice–rinsed veggie. Cassie frowned, a bitter smile tugging at her lips, her fingers brushing the edge of her beer glass–I could see the faint shadow of her claws beneath her nails.
“That old fox Lydia’s too slippery,” she said, tilting her glass back and chugging.
Her throat bobbed with suppressed fury.
“I thought after two setups and today’s push, she’d finally crack. But nope–she’s still hiding all the real dir
same as always.”
“Not surprised,” Sabrina said softly, shaking her head.
“Villains stay villains because they’ve got a million excuses for their garbage. Those TV redemption arcs? Total crap. They don’t think they’re wrong–they just think anyone in their way deserves to disap
“Sabrina, you read wolf hearts like they’re open books,” Cassie said, a hint of admiration in ner voice
Sabrina smiled, tapping her glass against Cassie’s.
“Call me Sabrina. And can I call you Cassie, like Vivian does?”
“Absolutely!”
Cassie fished a business card from her bag and slid it across the table to Sabrina, her wolf’s eyes sharp with
ambition.
“Sabrina, if you ever get stuck with legal trouble–hit me up. Twenty percent off, just for you.
Sabrina froze for a second, then laughed behind her hand,.
Sabrina tucked the card into her bag, approval glinting in her eyes.
“Nice. I’ll send some friends your way later.”
Cassie beamed, thanking her.
Outside the diner, Sabrina’s driver waited by a black car–sleek and quiet as a resting wolf in the dark.
She waved goodbye, her hips swaying with the graceful, fluid motion unique to she–wolves, her dress brushing the pavement like a soft pelt.
I snatched Cassie’s keys–she’d had beer, and even a wolf’s healing couldn’t sober her up enough to drive
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safely–and started the car, heading for her apartment.
The second we walked in, Cassie grabbed my arm, yanking me onto the couch.
She pulled out her phone and opened an app, her wolf’s eyes glowing like embers.
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“Guess what this is?”
“Not guessing. Spit it out.”
I leaned back, my fingers digging into the couch cushion–my wolf’s intuition screamed she had good news.
Cassie pouted, feigning annoyance.
“You’re no fun.”
But then her face lit up again, and she held the phone out to me.
“This is the key to locking Vanessa up in the pack’s prison.”
She tapped the screen, and my eyes widened–there, glowing on the display, was the signal of a tiny bug. tuned to a frequency only wolves used, shielded from other supernatural interference.
“You hid a bug in that relic you sold Lydia?”
I asked, grinning
. I knew Cassie too well–this kind of excitement meant she’d scored big.
“How’d you-”
Cassie stopped, then gasped, realization dawning.
“You were listening next door?”
I raised an eyebrow, admiration in my voice.
“Your game of secrets is getting too good. I’m impressed.”
Cassie laughed, leaning back into the couch as she thought about it.
“That old fox is too smart–small tricks wouldn’t work. I knew she might not crack today, so the last two setups were just beginnings. I hid the bug in that vajra pendant, and when I sold it to her? I told her to make Vanessa wear it. It’s her ‘protective charm,‘ right? Vanessa’ll never take it off.”
“They can’t keep their mouths shut in private. Not forever.”
I gave her a thumbs–up, hope flickering to life in my wolf’s heart.
Then a question hit me, and I leaned forward.
“Wait–how’d you even catch wind of what Lydia was hiding?”
Cassie’s face darkened, her aura turning cold, sharp with rage.
“Vanessa’s slipped through my fingers twice. That’s a slap in the face for my career. I have a healer friend
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< Chapter 105
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who reads minds–he said Vanessa’s twisted, dark wolf nature didn’t just pop up overnight. Her tricks? They’re not beginner moves. A spoiled she–wolf might be a brat, but pulling off something this vicious on her first try? Impossible.”
“So I started wondering–had she done this before?”
Cassie’s fingers dug into the couch arm, her nails leaving little indentations.
“I split my search two ways: I tracked down the healer who faked her alibi, and I dug into her past. That’s when I found it–five years ago, the pack enforcers questioned her about a missing pup.”
My heart dropped, my wolf’s blood turning cold in an instant.
Cassie’s voice softened, heavy with grief.
“That pup was a good kid–top of his class in the pack, gentle, cute as a button. His wolf aura was as clean as a newly shifted cub.
He vanished five years ago… never found. You wanna know why the enforcers talked to Vanessa? He was last
seen with her.”
A chill crawled up my spine, cold enough to make my tail twitch.
At first glance, it could’ve been a coincidence–but with what Lydia said today…
no matter how I looked at it, it felt terrifying. Even my wolf’s instinct was screaming danger.
Cassie kept going, her voice quieter now, weighted with sorrow.
“I also found out Lydia’s insanely superstitious. I followed her once, watched her go to The Halcyon to see Mistress Zephira. After she left, I talked to the old she–wolf–I gave her a juicy secret about Lydia, something to help her make more money. That lady only cares about cash, so we hit it off. You gotta admit, her mind games are better than any healer or enforcer’s. Two sentences, and Lydia’s eating out of her hand, treating her like a living saint.”
“Enforcers don’t know how to fight shadows, but Mistress Zephira calls them out in one breath. How could Lydia not worship her?”
I agreed, but my chest still felt tight.
Cassie smirked, a hint of pride in her voice.
“Which is why today’s show worked.”
I frowned, a thought niggling at me.
“But the pup just vanished, and Vanessa’s a suspect. Didn’t his family push for answers?” Cassie’s face clouded over, her aura turning gray and heavy.
“I talked to his neighbor–he only had his mom, a single–parent pack. After he disappeared, she went to the Quinns‘ house a few times, screaming for answers. Then one night… her house blew up in a gas explosion. She’s gone too.”
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I couldn’t speak
My hands and feet felt like they were dipped in ice, even my wolf’s blood seeming to freese 1 finally forced the
words out, my voice shaky.
“Adrian came to see me. He’s forcing me to sign a forgiveness pact for Vanesss you know, the kind that’s basically an insult to any wolf *
“I was gonna tell you at the firm.”
Cassie exploded. She kicked the coffee table, sending it scraping across the floor with a shrill noise She paced the living room, cursing, her wolf’s eyes glowing scarlet.
“That bastard Adrian! He’s not even worth being a stray dog! Hooked up with that twisted she wolf Vanessa, and now he’s a monster too! A forgiveness pact? They can eat dirt! I’ll send them a bag of garbage instead
“Cassie, I..”
My face went pale, my voice trembling.
I could handle Adrian’s threats–I could fight back, use my wolf’s strength. But thinking about that pup’s mom, dying in an explosion… fear coiled around my throat, tight and cold. Cassie stopped pacing, seeing the terror in my eyes. Her tone softened, but the fire was still there. “Afraid of what? Don’t back down.”
“I’m scared… scared something will happen to my parents. To you.” My voice cracked, the pack protecti instinct making my chest ache.
“I can’t lose anyone else.” Cassie stared at me, speechless.
Her chest heaved with frustration, tears glistening in her eyes.
“This is all Adrian’s fault! He started this mess, and now you can’t even have peace after breaking the mating bond! Why can’t some wolf spirit just take both of them away?”
Just then, the doorbell rang. Sharp. Loud.
It cut through the silence like a claw.
Cassie frowned, still fired up.
“Who the hell is that, this late?”
She took a step toward the door, but I lunged, grabbing her arm.
My claws shot out, half an inch long, sinking into her sleeve. My nose burned with the scent from outside- strange, rank wolf musk, tangled with the metallic tang of blood.
And under it all, a hint of malice. A scent I’d never smelled before.
“Don’t.” My voice was tight, my wolf ears flattened against my skull, hidden in my hair. “Don’t open that door.”
