Something had happened.
"Everyone," Cole said. "We need to talk."
The room went quiet. Ash paused with Alexandra on his hip. The twins stopped their argument mid-sentence. Even Luca emerged from the kitchen, dish towel over his shoulder, brow furrowed with concern.
"What is it?" Rae asked.
"The council moved. Faster than I expected." Cole crossed to stand by the fireplace, positioning himself so everyone could see him. "Enforcers detained Twilson three hours ago."
The silence that followed was absolute.
"Detained," James repeated slowly. "You mean arrested?"
"I mean detained. There's a difference—technically. But yes, he's in custody." Cole's jaw tightened. "They searched his office. Found things."
"What kind of things?" I asked.
Cole looked at me. Through the bond, I felt the weight of what he was about to say. The anger underneath his composure. The grim satisfaction.
"Evidence," he said. "Tying him directly to the feral experiments."
The room erupted.
Everyone spoke at once—questions overlapping, voices rising. Rae held up a hand for silence, but it took three tries before the noise died down.
"Start from the beginning," she said. "Tell us everything."
Cole nodded. Took a breath and looked at Vince who nodded for him to continue.
"After the hearing, the council convened privately. Vince's questions about the historical record—about what happened to the Omegas—apparently struck a nerve with some of the older members. They started asking questions of their own."
"Questions about Twilson?" Neal asked.
"Questions about Emory. About her inner circle. About what really happened thirty years ago." Cole's expression darkened. "Twilson was always positioned as her protégé, but no one knew exactly how deep that connection went. The council decided it was time to find out."
He pulled out his phone, scrolled to something.
"The documents Kane and Kade brought back from Europe—they weren't just about Omegas. There were references to an experimental program. A project designed to..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Enhance certain wolves. Make them stronger. More controllable."
"The feral experiments," Stone said quietly.
"The precursor to them, at least." Cole met Stone's eyes. "The European documents were fragmented, but they mentioned transfer authorizations. Wolves being moved from academies toresearch facilities. Treatment protocols that didn't match any known medical procedures."
"And they found more in Twilson's office?" Rae's voice was tight.
"Much more."
Cole held up his phone. On the screen was a photograph of a document—official letterhead, signatures at the bottom.
"Transfer authorization forms. Dating back decades. Signed by Twilson." He swiped to the next image. "Treatment notes. Detailed descriptions of procedures performed on wolves at a facility that officially doesn't exist."
"Jesus," Kade breathed.
"There's more." Cole's voice hardened. "Subject numbers. Names that were later redacted. Outcomes recorded in clinical language that makes your skin crawl." He looked at Stone again. "I think we found Stone’s records."
Stone went very still.
I reached for his hand without thinking. Found it clenched into a fist at his side. I wrapped my fingers around it anyway, felt him slowly, gradually unclench.
