“A silver claw?”
+25 BONUS
I nodded, “Yeah. The first. The only. It scared his flesh every time he used it. Every swing hurt. But he used it anyway,”
“That sounds… awful.”
“It was,” I said. “But he made that pain his purpose. Every battle, every fight he walked into–he carried the silver claw. And with it, he took down every hunter who had tried to end him. He didn’t hide from what hurt him. He wielded it.”
Aiden’s voice was a whisper “Even though it burned him?”
“Especially because it burned him.”
The room was quiet for a moment.
“That’s what Silverclaw means,” I said, my voice slow and steady. ‘It’s not about silver. It’s not about being invincible. It’s about facing what’s meant to destroy you–and turning it into something that makes you stronger.”
I looked down and found Aiden staring up at the ceiling like he could already see the stars there, like he was painting his own constellations in his head.
“It’s about making power from pain,” I said. “Fear from fire. Strength from suffering.”
Aiden didn’t say anything at first. I didn’t rush him.
He finally turned to look at
- me.
“Do you
think he was scared?”
I nodded. “I think he was terrified. I think he felt pain with every step he took. But he didn’t let it stop him.”
Aiden was quiet again, but I could see something shifting in his little face–like a weight was lifting, or maybe settling into place. “So I’m kind of like the Silverclaw wolf.”
My throat tightened.
“You’re exactly like him.”
He gave one last yawn and rolled onto his side. “Okay. But I still want stars on the ceiling.”
I laughed softly. “Done.”
He was asleep before I left the room.
***
Downstairs, the packhouse was quiet. The hour was late, and most of the staff had retired for the night. The old hardwood floors creaked under my steps as I made my way to the command room, where Joe was still up, hunched over a map a reheated coffee.
He looked up when I entered. “He settle in okay?”
I nodded. “He wants the room to look like space.”
Joe cracked a grin. “We’ll call in an artist and make it happen. Get the glow–in–the–dark stars and everything.”
Пleaned against the table. “I need you to find someone.”
Joe’s humor vanished. “Who?”
“Maggie. Elena’s friend. The rogue.”
His jaw tightened. “You think she’s involved?”
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Chapter 190
“I think she might be leading Pierce’s faction.”
He whistled low under his breath. “Shit.”
+25 BONUS
“She saved Elena once,” I said. “She’s not evil. But she’s got reasons to hate this pack. Deep ones. And if she’s leading them… I need to talk to her.”
Joe gave a slow nod. “We’ll put the intel network on it. Cast the niewide.”
“Don’t spook her,” I added. “Not yet. Just find her.”
He scribbled a note. “I’ll start with the usual contacts. See if there’s been any rogue activity in the last week that fits her M.O.”
“One more thing,” I said.
He looked up.
“Cassandra,” I said. “I want everything checked.”
Joe frowned. “You think she’s involved with the rogues too?”
“No,” I said. “I think that’s a whole different set of lies.”
Joe flipped through a folder, pulled something out, and slid it toward me. He sighed. “I’ve known Cass a long time. You know Caroline and I love her. But…you were right to be suspicious.”
My stomach turned as I looked at the contents. Fake appointment confirmations. A non–existent clinic. A name that had been scrubbed clean.
“No payment records,” Joe said. “No clinic in that location. No employee named Amy. And no medical license registered to the OB she claimed to be seeing.”
I stared at the page. The ultrasound was a lie.
“All of it?” I asked.
Joe gave me a grim look. “Every word.”
My hands clenched into fists.
Maggie might be leading a rogue uprising.
But Cassandra?
She was playing a longer game.
色
