“I don’t give a damn about legally.” His hands had curled into fists, claws pricking his palms. “Pack law is clear. Betrayal?—”
“Is handled by the Alpha. I know.” She stepped closer, sliding her hand up to cup his jaw, and the touch helped calm him. “But you can’t just execute an Elder without proof the whole pack will accept. Howard has supporters. Friends. People who agree with his traditionalist stance even if they don’t know about his methods.”
“Are you telling me to let him walk?”
“I’m telling you to be smart about this,” she said firmly. “You catch him the wrong way, and he becomes a martyr. ‘The Alpha killed an Elder for speaking his mind.’ That’s the story his allies will tell. That’s how you fracture the pack.”
He forced himself to breathe, to think past his wolf’s fury. She was right. He hated that she was right, but she was.
“Then what do you suggest?”
“We need ironclad evidence. Something that proves his guilt beyond any possible doubt.” She turned back to her screens.“The data I have is convincing to me, but it won’t mean anything to people who don’t understand how network forensics work. We need something simpler. Something even the most technophobic Elder can’t dismiss.”
“Such as?”
“A confession would be nice.” She tapped her fingers against the desk. “Or physical evidence. The actual devices he used to launch the attacks. Transaction records showing what he planned to do with the money he was trying to steal.”
“You think you can find those?”
“I think I can find enough.” A fierce smile curved her lips. “People like Howard always underestimate people like me. He probably thinks his cyber tracks are completely covered because he hired some ‘city expert’ to set up his VPN. He doesn’t realize that every time he logs in, he leaves fingerprints all over the digital landscape.”
Pride swelled through him—pride in his mate, in her brilliance, in the sharp tactical mind that lived behind those oversized glasses.
“How long?”
“Not long now that I’ve found him. I can set up some monitoring tools, wait for him to make another move.” She hesitated. “There’s a risk, though.”
“What risk?”
“If he realizes I’m watching, he might destroy the evidence. Or escalate to something more direct.” Her hand found his again, squeezing tightly. “He’s already shown he’s willing to useunderhanded methods. I don’t want to think about what he might do if he feels cornered.”
His jaw tightened. The thought of Howard targeting Harper?—
“You’ll be with me,” he said flatly. “At all times. Until this is resolved.”
“Adrian—”
“No arguments.” He turned her chair to face him, leaning down until their eyes were level. “You’re my mate, kitten. My Luna. If Howard or anyone else threatens you, they will answer to me.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can.” He brushed a strand of pink hair back from her face. “But you don’t have to. Not anymore.”
He watched her struggle for a moment, knowing her fierce independence warred with her longing to be protected, but he made himself give her time.
“Fine,” she said finally. “But I reserve the right to take care of you in return.”
“I look forward to it.”
After a brief discussion with Derek, they decided to return to Moonstone that afternoon. Not only was his wolf determined to confront the traitorous male, the longer they waited, the more chance of another attack.
He spent most of the drive strategizing, turning the situation over in his mind while she worked on her laptop in the passenger seat. Just as they reached the base of the mountains, she closed the laptop with a satisfied sigh.
“Got him.”
“More evidence?”
“Yep.” She turned sideways in her seat, tucking her legs beneath her in a way that made her look impossibly young. “I found his digital trail leading back almost three months. He’s been building to this for a while.”
