Chapter 92
DEREK
The table in front of me was covered in ash–streaked plastic sleeves, each one holding a piece of what was pulled from the oil drum.
Burned edges. Charred ink. Some were just scraps. Others still had enough legible text to make your blood run cold..
Brock stood beside me, flipping slowly through the documents. “There’s a lot of redundancy,” he muttered. “They printed multiple copies of the same floorplans. Same layouts. Look at this–this is the east wing of the Alliance Summit grounds. Right where the rogue entered before the explosion.”
I nodded, jaw tight. I’d seen that map already. I’d gotten a copy from the Alliance Summit organizers along with my packet of Summit information detailing where check–in was, as well as meeting times and locations. But now, pulled from the ash, it told a different story.
This wasn’t just planning.
This was archiving.
“These weren’t just left behind,” I said. “They burned them because the mission was complete.”
Brock exhaled, flipping to another sleeve. This one was a printed dossier. Half the words were too blackened to read, but a Moonstone seal bled faintly across the corner, warped by smoke.
“More Moonstone files,” Brock said, eyebrows low. “That’s…what, the sixth one?”
I leaned in, squinting at the next sheet–an operations report from a Moonstone scout team. Burned around the edges, but the names were still visible.
Chad. Mason. Aiden.
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My stomach tightened.
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“They’re going after Moonstone next,” Brock said. “It’s right there in black and white. Elena’s pack is the next target.”
My hand was already on my phone.
It rang. And rang.
No answer.
I tried again. This time it skipped straight to voicemail.
The number you are trying to reach is unavailable, please try again.
I stared at the screen. A cold, familiar pressure bloomed behind my sternum. My wolf
stirred, tense and restless.
“She might’ve just lost service,” Brock said carefully.
I didn’t answer. My thumb was already scrolling through contacts. I tapped Mason’s name
and held the phone to my ear.
He picked up on the third ring. “Yeah?”
“It’s Derek,” I said, voice low. “Listen, Silverclaw has been looking into the rogue attack on the summit and some other incidents that I don’t have the full picture of yet.”
Silence on the other end of the phone while Mason obviously processed my words.
I continued to speak. “We were following up on a lead—a rogue spotted near the old train cars in the roguelands. We chased him down and found a temporary hideout. Looked
abandoned, but there was a fire drum still warm. They tried to destroy a bunch of
documents.”
Mason remained quiet, listening.
“We managed to recover some of it–scorched paper, shredded maps, tactical notes. Most
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of it’s barely legible, but my Gamma has been piecing it together.”
“All right,” Mason said cautiously. “Anything useful?”
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“That’s why I’m calling. A lot of the documents we pulled… they’re Moonstone. Movement schedules, personnel lists, even some internal reports.”
There was a pause.
“You’re sure?” Mason asked, sharper now.
“As sure as I can be. Your seal is visible on more than one. Names we recognize. Chad,
Aiden. You.”
He didn’t speak right away. I could hear the shift in his breathing. He understood what that
meant. We both did.
“I think Moonstone’s the next target,” I said. “And I think it’s already in motion.”
“Shit,” Mason swore, his voice low.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “We’re still piecing through them. But the picture it paints is not good. The rogue attacks throughout the region were just the beginning. The Alliance Summit was phase two. I think Moonstone’s next.”
Mason grunted. “Thanks. I’ll increase patrols.”
There was a beat. He was ready to hang up.
But I couldn’t let it go.
“Mason… is Elena okay?”
A pause. Not a long one–but long enough.
“She’s fine,” he said finally. “She went on vacation. Probably needed to get away from all of this. From you.”
That hit like it was meant to.
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But I didn’t bite.
I rubbed a hand down my face. “Where did she go?”
“Didn’t say.”
Bullshit. Mason knew exactly where she was.
“Is she alone?”
“She has Aiden.”
“Is she traveling with any kind of security?“.
“Why?” Mason’s voice sharpened. “What are you implying?”
Joe’s voice cut through the air behind me. “Derek?”
I turned.
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Joe stood by the printer table, holding a charred page up to the light. His expression was pale. “You need to see this.”
I crossed the room in three strides. He handed me a scorched printout sealed in a protective
sleeve. Half the text was burned away–but the header was intact.
Barbados
–
Inbound Flight Manifest.
My eyes scanned the passenger list. And there it was.
Elena Hart. Aiden Hart.
My breath caught.
“Mason,” I said, raising the phone again. My voice was sharp now. “Is Elena traveling alone? No guards? No scouts?”
“No–Derek, what’s going on?”
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I could hear the rising panic in his voice. It mirrored my own.
“The rogues may know where she is.”
There was silence. A heartbeat. Then Mason said, “You’re sure?”
I didn’t answer. Swallowed. “Where is she?”
“Barbados.”
My mouth went dry. “Barbados isn’t all wolf territory.”
“It’s half–wolf, half–human. They’ve got laws. Protection.”
“That’s not going to stop Pierce.”
Mason stiffened. “What did you say?”
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I rubbed a hand over my face, the scratch of my five o’clock shadow rasping loudly in my
ears.
“I found some evidence that the rogue attack on Elena seven years ago may have been organized and carried out by a former Silverclaw Gamma—”
Mason swore loudly, and I could hear him getting worked up.
“Listen,” I said, interrupting before he went completely off the rails. “I don’t have anything conclusive, and we’re still trying to piece it together, but almost twenty years ago, my father banished his Gamma when rumors surfaced that he planned to attack Moonstone. You and your sister specifically.”
Mason had finally shut up and was listening.
“I have reason to believe that that Gamma is still alive. And there’s a chance he’s the one leading this new organized rogue faction.”
Mason swore again.
“That Gamma’s name is Pierce.”
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“…oh no,” muttered Mason.
“What is it?” I asked.
“She mentioned a wolf there. Said his name was Pierce. From Blackwood.”
I closed my eyes.
“Mason,” I said quietly. “Blackwood was disbanded years ago.”
Another silence. This one hung heavy.
And then he whispered, “Shit.”
I turned back to the table, staring at the manifest like it might change. “Do you know anyone nearby? Someone we could call?”
“I’ll call hotel security,” he said. “And I’m getting on the next plane..”
“No!” I said. “I’ll go.”
“What?”
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“If Moonstone is the next target, you’re needed at home,” I said. “Circle the wagons and check on your loved ones. I can have my jet fueled and ready to go in less than hour. I will deal with Pierce,” I went on, thinking of just how exactly I planned to deal with him.
I’d start with ripping his face off his body and I’d go from there.
“And I will bring Elena and Aiden home safely. You have my word.”
I could hear Mason debating whether or not to trust me.
There was a long, long silence before he finally spoke.
“You’d better,” was all he said before he hung up.
