Rune’s expression tightened.“He has both.You know he does.He always had supporters, people who wanted his brilliance more than they feared his madness.”
Victor nodded.“We think someone inside the councils is funneling him resources.Access codes, clearances, supply routes.Columbus was too clean, too organized.He had help.”
Violet swore under her breath.“Which means we’ve got a traitor.”
Liam’s jaw flexed as his gaze swept the room.“Then the circle of trust stays small.We take this to the Pride and ESE only.No one else until we know who we’re dealing with.”
Wyatt grinned, though it didn’t reach his eyes.“Finally something I agree with.Traitors bleed easy.”
Klarissa’s throat tightened.She wanted to argue, to remind them that this wasn’t about bloodlust, but the words caught in her chest.They weren’t wrong.Her father’s work was turning into something none of them could contain if they didn’t move fast.
Victor placed a map on the table, sliding it across.Red circles marked each site.“He’s either here already or fucking close.We need to move to intercept, but we need Black Ridge on board.Your Pride has reach we don’t.”
Kieran’s body seemed to swell like his other self was pushing for supremacy, but his voice was steady.“Then you’ll have us.We don’t let threats grow in our shadow.”
All around the table, dominance hummed and resolve settled like iron.Klarissa drew in a breath, her chest tight but steady.Whatever storm was coming, they would face it together.
****
The meeting splinteredfast once the map hit the table.Too many voices, too much fury, and every dominant shifter in the room wanting to lead the charge.Rune felt it like static in his bones.Warzone mode—this was what it looked like.Strategy demanded order, but the air was thick with challenge and pride.
Violet’s place had become the hub, her so-called Bat Cave repurposed into a war room.Monitors cast pale light across faces lined with tension, while the sound of weapons being prepped carried from the adjoining room.Rune cataloged it all automatically—who stood where, who bristled at whose presence, where the weakest link in the chain might snap.Years with the ESE had trained him to see patterns of fracture before they broke open.
“Pride and Enforcers split the force,” Kieran said at last, his tone iron.“One unit protects the families and the children.Noncombatants don’t leave this building until it’s safe.”
Liam nodded, his jaw tight.“We secure the lower floors.Safe rooms are stocked and reinforced.No one touches them.”
Rafe’s wolf gleamed in his eyes.“Drake brothers will run the perimeter.Anyone sniffing around who doesn’t belong—dead before they make the lobby.”
Violet snorted without looking up from her monitors.“I’ll send you a list of locals and delivery guys, just in case you two go all stabby-killy on some poor pizza kid who isn’t part of the kill-for-all.”
Rafe barked a laugh.“I would appreciate that, thank you.”
Rune’s tiger stretched under his skin, a predator straining to be unleashed.He forced his voice even, calm.“Kamon and I stay mobile.We strike where needed.Hit and run, surgical.Our mate stays here in the Bat Cave under guard, no exceptions.”His gaze cut toward Kieran, daring anyone to argue.
No one did.Not even Jackson, though his smirk said he wanted to.Rune kept his eyes on him a beat too long, making it clear—challenge me and bleed.
Beside him, Kamon rolled his shoulders.“We’ll coordinate with Klarissa on comms.She’ll keep eyes and ears on all feeds, flag threats before they breach.”
“Already on it,” Klarissa said without looking up, fingers flying across her keyboard.“Anyone so much as breathes wrong near this building or anyone on our side and I’ll light them up on screen before you smell them.”
He turned to look in Violet’s direction.“I am assuming you’ll be kicking ass and taking names in this wee shit storm of ours.”
Violet looked at him over her shoulder, not even stopping the coding she was working on.“That would be a hell, yes, B1 with cherries and a whole hand full of popping candy on the top.I will absolutely be fighting side by side with my mates.”
“What could a small, cute little thing like you do against trained killers?”Jackson said snidely, obviously unable to keep his fucking mouth shut for any length of time.“Maybe you should come fight by me, sweet thing, so I can keep you safe and close.”
Violet arched a brow, finally turning from her screens long enough to pull her twin batons from the rack beside her desk.She twirled them once, the sharp whistle of metal through air punctuating her sarcasm.“Cute little thing, huh?Tell you what, Jackson—get in my way and I’ll show you just how cute I look when I’m cracking ribs.”
Mason’s deep voice rumbled from across the room.“My mate doesn’t need anyone to fight for her.She’s already racked up a higher kill count in this war than I have.”
Jackson blinked, frowning as though trying to decide if Mason was joking.“You’re lying.”
Kieran’s stare cut like a blade.“He’s not.And I dare you to call me a liar.”
Jackson looked away, wisely keeping his mouth shut this time.
Jacob chuckled darkly.“I get the sense you three—Caleb, Jackson, Wyatt—are hoping for a Suzy Homemaker to smooth your ruffled fur.Personally, I hope you end up with the exact opposite.The kickass antithesis of Suzy Homemaker, and I can only hope I am there to see you all, especially you, Jackson, stick your size twenty feet into your mouths time after time.”
