“Two nights ago, six Cheslem wolves attacked my mate and me near the territory boundary.” I keep my voice level,reciting facts without emotion. “I killed four of them. Two escaped. Before one of them died, he told me who sent them and why.”
James Morgan leans forward in his chair with his brow furrowed deep. “Cheslem? We dealt with them years ago. Luna and Nic broke their power structure. Most of the survivors were cleansed and integrated into packs across the region.”
“Most. Not all.” I look around the room, making sure I have everyone’s attention before I continue. “Some of them couldn’t be cleansed because the corruption had gone too deep. Others chose not to be. They scattered after the purification and went underground, where they hid in remote territories and abandoned pack lands. My unit spent years hunting them down, picking them off one cell at a time.”
“You mean the Black Ops division you were part of?”
“That’s right. We tracked Cheslem cells across three regions and eliminated most of their leadership. Six months ago, I killed a wolf named Lance during a raid on one of their strongholds. He was organizing the survivors, trying to rebuild their numbers and their influence. Taking him out was supposed to end the threat for good.”
“But it didn’t,” Nic adds with a grunt.
“No. Lance had a brother. Rafe. Also, a son of Matthias, the Alpha that Luna and Nic defeated during the purification.” I pause to let that sink in, watching the recognition dawn on the faces of wolves who remember that battle. “Rafe stayed hidden while we were focused on Lance. He let his brother draw our attention and take all the risks while he built his own network in the shadows. By the time we realized he existed, my unit had already been dissolved.”
“So this Rafe has been out there this whole time, gathering strength and making plans, and nobody thought to warn us?” Dylan asks with a scowl.
“The agency didn’t know he was a threat until this attack. And I didn’t know he was tracking me until his wolves showed up ready to kill.”
“At Skylar’s door, you mean.” Ruby’s voice carries from the back of the room, and several heads turn toward her. She’s standing with one hand on Skylar’s arm, protective despite her smaller stature. “She’s the one they went after. Not you.”
Ruby has every right to be angry on her friend’s behalf, and I have no defense that would satisfy her.
“You’re right,” I concede. “The wolf who talked before he died made it clear. Rafe isn’t just trying to kill me. He wants me to suffer first. He wants to destroy everything I care about and make me watch it burn. That includes Skylar.”
The room erupts into overlapping voices. Questions, accusations, and demands for more information all compete for dominance, creating a wall of sound that presses against my skull. Nic lets it go on for about ten seconds before he raises a hand, and the noise dies down like someone turned off a faucet.
“We’re not here to assign blame,” the Alpha states. “What’s done is done. We’re here to figure out how to protect our pack from this threat. Bryan, what else can you tell us about Rafe’s capabilities?”
“He’s smart. Patient. Willing to sacrifice his own wolves to achieve his goals without hesitation or remorse. The attack two nights ago was a test. He wanted to see how I’d respond, how fast I could take down his fighters, and whether Skylar would be easy to separate from me.” I convince myself not to look at her as I continue, though the bond tugs at me constantly. “Now heknows the answer to all three questions. The next attack will be different.”
“How do you mean?” Connor asks. His arm is wrapped protectively around Fern’s shoulders, and I notice how his body angles to shield her rounded belly from the room.
“Bigger. Better planned. More wolves, better coordination, and probably some kind of distraction to split our defenses. He’ll probe for weaknesses in our borders and hit us where we’re most vulnerable. Rafe doesn’t fight fair, and he doesn’t fight clean. He’ll use whatever tactics give him an advantage, including targeting civilians if he thinks it will draw me out into the open.”
James stands, and his authority as Head of Security fills the space around him like a cloak. “Then we increase patrols. Double coverage on all borders, with a focus on the eastern and northern approaches, where the terrain provides the most cover for incoming hostiles. I’ll restructure the rotation to ensure we always have experienced wolves on duty.”
Dylan nods his agreement. “I can coordinate with Connor on protection details for high-value targets. Anyone Rafe might go after to hurt the pack or flush Bryan out into a trap.”
“That includes the medical center,” Connor adds with a glance toward his mate. “Skylar works there, and so does Fern. If Rafe’s wolves are willing to target mates, those two are sitting ducks during work hours when they’re focused on patients instead of watching their backs.”
I let myself look at Skylar then. She’s holding onto the edges of her chair with both hands, and her knuckles are pale against the dark wood. She works her jaw, but she doesn’t interrupt or demand to speak for herself. She’s listening, filing away information for later, building her own mental map of thethreat we’re facing. I recognize the look because I’ve seen it on her face a hundred times—back when we used to talk through problems together, and she trusted me enough to let me help carry her burdens.
That feels like another lifetime now.
Luna stands now, drawing attention away from the security discussion. “I can strengthen the territory wards. The ones my parents originally created have weakened over time, and the patches we’ve added over the years aren’t as cohesive as they should be. If I work with Ruby, we might be able to create an early warning system that alerts us the moment any Cheslem wolf crosses our borders.”
“How long would that take?” Nic asks his mate.
“A few days to design the spell work and gather the materials we need. Another week to implement it properly across the full perimeter. In the meantime, we’d be relying on traditional patrols and our own senses to catch any intrusions.”
“Do it. Work with Ruby and let me know what resources you need. The pack treasury is at your disposal.”
A voice speaks up from the middle of the room, quiet but steady enough to cut through the background noise. “I might be able to help with something else.”
Heads turn toward a young man I don’t recognize. He’s lean and dark-haired, with the kind of watchful stillness that comes from learning early that drawing attention to yourself can be dangerous. Something about the way he holds himself tells me he knows what it’s like to be hunted.
Nic gestures for him to continue. “Go ahead, Caleb.”
“As most of you know, I was Cheslem. Before the purification. I grew up in that pack, trained under their methods,and believed what they taught me to believe about strength and dominance and the weakness of mercy. When Luna and the others cleansed us, I chose to stay in Silvercreek and build a different kind of life.”
