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I close the folder. Open it again. "The weapon," I say, through a mouth that barely works. My fangs are half-bared. My tiger already lurking beneath my skin waiting to snap a neck. Any neck.

"That's the other thing." Georgy pulls out a second sheet. "The weapon wasn't Mordecai design. They bought it. Refined it. The man who built it his name is Linc. Not a lot of information on him. He’s a ghost, hiding behind a web of dark-net routers. He’s a shadow with no digital footprint and no real name. He didn’t even sniff at our bait. Still, our sources tracked him to a lab in Khabarovsk."

"And the traitor," I say. "Who broke the treaty?"

"Pavel." Georgy spits the name like it tastes rotten. "Pavel Kozlov. He ran the capture teams. Sold the bile. Kept the profits and let the Mordecais believe the whole clan was in it. When Yermack's people came looking for answers, Pavel pointed them at Alex. He gave them Alex's patrol route. The schedule. He—" Georgy's voice cracks. "He set Alex up, Ivan. And when it went wrong, he ran. Three days running. We have his crew."

My brows shoot up. "More of my men? How many more?"

"No. They know better than to disrespect you. He went outside. Used humans. A North Korean group of four brothers who were probably too desperate to pass up the opportunity."

"Detain them. Separately. I want to know what Pavel promised them, what they knew about the bears, and who else paid for this operation. They talk before anyone delivers them to the Mordecais." I shove the photographs back into the folder. I have hunted since I could hold a rifle, but carving up living shifters for profit turns my stomach. "If they knew what they were doing, Yermack can have them. If they didn't, I want the names of the men who did."

Georgy nods. "I'll have them brought to the holding cells."

"And Georgy? Make sure they understand why they're still breathing. I have questions. They have answers. I expect all of them."

"Where's Konstantin?" I ask.

"He's on his way with--"

"Do not say his name," I warn.

"The doctor," he says.

"When he gets back tell him to find Linc. Bring him back alive. I want him breathing when Alex wakes — Alex decides what happens to the weapon maker. Konstantin doesn't touch him before then. Not a scratch. That privilege belongs to Alex alone."

"And Pavel?"

"You bring him to me. Once we have the truth from the accomplices, we will give Yermack proof the Brusilov clan does not sanction the hunting of bears. But Pavel—" My claws rake into the desk, sharp and hungry. "Pavel is ours. He broke the treaty. Betrayed his clan. Sold my brother's life for profit. We punish our own, Georgy. That has always been the law."

He doesn't argue or flinch. He takes his folders and sets off. Through the window grim faced men mobilize. Preparing to set off on a journey of blood and bones and the price of betrayal.

The door bursts open again but this time Cienna flies into my office. Still wearing Dr. Roger's lab coat, eyes wild. "It's marrow," she pants.

"What?"

"It's marrow, Ivan. Bone marrow. That's what I was missing." She paces in front of my desk, her hands flying, curls sticking up in every direction. I haven't seen her this excited since she first examined Aleksej's X-rays. "The lattice is doing its job, but his body doesn't recognize it as bone. I've been so focused on replacing what he lost that I forgot what makes shifter bone different. The marrow, Ivan. That's where the regenerative cells are." She stops pacing and grabs my arms. "If we can get those cells into the graft, give his body something of his own to recognize, we might be able to save it."

I stare at her. Yesterday she could barely look Dr. Roger in the eye. Now she's standing in my office with an idea and enough fire in her to make me believe it might work.

She glows. She trembles. So fucking gorgeous it steals my breath.

"Can you do it?" I ask.

Her smile falters. "I think so. But I need help."

"The doctor," I say, because I refuse to give the bastard the satisfaction of hearing his name from my mouth.

"Steven. He's done more cellular biology work than I have. I need him to help me figure out whether this can actually work."

My tiger snarls at the name. The bastard isn't even here yet, and already I want him gone.

"His plane lands in an hour," I remind her.

"I know, but—"

"Cienna." I take her hands before she can start defending herself. "I gave you my word. He comes. He helps you save Aleksej. Then he leaves."