The mont I locked eyes with Whitney on that balcony, sothing inside broke.
Tears slid down my face before I could stop them. It felt like soone had reached into my chest and torn out a piece of my heart, leaving a hollow space behind. I barely knew her. We had only t a few tis. Yet the pain felt personal, deep, almost like a pack bond reacting to danger.
Why did I feel this way?
Why did a near stranger stir sothing so fierce inside ?
Theo noticed through the rearview mirror. Even without looking at directly, he could sense the shift in my breathing.
"Mrs. Riley," he said gently, his voice steady, "don’t be sad. There are many people trapped in situations they can’t escape. We can’t save them all."
I wiped my cheeks and leaned back in the seat. "You saw it too, didn’t you?"
He nodded slightly. "When Vito held her, she was resisting. Her body was trying to pull away. She didn’t want him touching her. But she’s under the Blackwell Alpha’s authority. We can’t just take her by force. That would start a pack war."
A pack war.
The words settled heavily between us.
I sighed. Was that all I could do? Just watch?
If Whitney didn’t choose to leave the Blackwells, we couldn’t take her. No Alpha could openly steal soone claid under another’s protection without blood being spilled.
When I got ho, Snowflake jumped into my arms imdiately, purring and rubbing her face against my neck. I held her close and ran my fingers through her soft fur. I rembered when we first found her wandering near the borders of our territory, thin and defensive, ready to scratch anyone who ca near. Now she was well-fed, glossy, spoiled with affection. She slept in warm places and never had to fight for food.
Every day she ca looking for comfort.
Whitney lived in luxury too. Expensive clothes. A tall building. Guards everywhere.
But she had no freedom.
What was the difference between that and a cage?
"If only she were like you," I murmured to Snowflake. "If she could just leap and run. Leave that place behind."
Snowflake owed softly, as if she understood.
The front door opened, and Lewis stepped inside. His shoulders looked heavier than usual, his expression tired. Lately, besides leading our pack affairs, he had been secretly investigating Bloodshade—the hidden organization that had vanished without a trace. Their silence gave us temporary peace, but it also ant they were planning sothing.
Lewis wanted to be ready before they resurfaced.
I set Snowflake down and took his coat. "You’re ho."
"Yeah." He opened his arms and pulled against him. "I missed you."
Today I had been at the academy all day. In the past few weeks, we had barely been apart. I thought that spending so much ti together would make things dull, like when familiarity slowly turns love into habit.
It had been that way with Julian once. After enough ti, the excitent faded and we beca more like family.
But it wasn’t like that with Lewis.
When we were apart, he beca more restless. More protective. As if the bond between us tightened when distance tried to stretch it. Just seeing seed to calm sothing inside him.
I pressed my face into his chest and breathed him in.
"Today, I went to see Whitney," I said quietly. "She drove away. But when I left, she mouthed sothing to . She told to leave. To not co back."
Lewis’s expression sharpened imdiately. "That ans that territory is dangerous. She’s afraid the Blackwell brothers will hurt you. Rember how she hid you before when she heard footsteps? Vito might be far more ruthless than he appears."
He guided to the couch and sat beside , still holding my hand. "Elena, do you want to continue digging into this?"
I looked down at his fingers, tracing them absently. His hands were strong, steady. Safe.
"Logically, I know I should stop," I admitted. "I’ve already been given a second chance at life. I shouldn’t risk it again. But every ti I close my eyes, I see her face. The way she looked at . The way she was begging to go."
Lewis sighed softly. "I knew you would feel like that." He brushed his thumb over my knuckles. "I’ll help you investigate. But you are not going back to the Blackwell Residence. Whitney sent you away for a reason. We have to respect that."
I hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. I’ll listen."
He stroked my hair gently. "Good."
After a mont, I rembered sothing and reached for the docunts he had sent earlier.
"Lewis, look at this," I said, handing him a photo. "Tell who this reminds you of."
He studied the picture carefully. "He looks a little like Vicky."
"Exactly. And they both carry the White na. That’s too much to be a coincidence."
Lewis leaned back, thinking. "If Vicky belongs to the Whites, why would she hide it? When she was here years ago, her life was hard. She broke ties with Adam. She didn’t even have the resources to save her own child. And she’s not listed in the Whites’ family records."
"Maybe she didn’t know who she was," I said. "She only had a foster mother back then, and that woman ca from Zorya. If this missing Ms. White is related to Vicky, then maybe Whitney and Vicky are connected too. By age, Vicky could even be her aunt."
I stared at the blurry photo of Alice. "But Whitney doesn’t look like the girl in this picture. Unless the image is too old. Or too unclear."
Lewis nodded slowly. "If Vicky truly belongs to the Whites, then she’s still hiding things from us."
"And she never went after the Hales directly," I added. "Maybe she still has feelings for Adam."
We both rembered the mont she sent Adam away. She never intended to harm him. Vicky was complicated. She could look cold and calculating, yet show rcy in the smallest monts. She wasn’t foolish. She was careful.
She knew how to stand between powerful forces without being crushed.
"If Alice is Whitney," I murmured, "then the Blackwells are connected to Vicky and Camilla too. This isn’t simple anymore."
"What about the Morrigans and the Hales?" Lewis asked. "Where do the Blackwells stand between them? Jake was close to the Blackwells. Could his death be tied to Vito?"
I thought about Yael. He had been kind to from the beginning. At first, I suspected hidden motives. But even after he learned I was mated, his attitude didn’t change. It was straightforward. Clean.
Which made Vito stand out even more.
The Blackwell brothers were not just running a simple business. Their territory held too many secrets.
Lewis’s voice turned firm. "For now, put Whitney aside. Stay away from those two brothers. The Morrigans and the Hales are already involved. This is bigger than we thought. Your safety cos first."
"I understand," I said quietly. "But at least we have a new lead."
"The Whites. The Hales. The Morrigans. The Blackwells," Lewis murmured. "There’s old blood between these families. Deep grudges."
With a clear direction, Lewis ordered a deeper investigation into both family lines. If there was a hidden connection, we would uncover it.
The next morning, Theo rushed in, his expression urgent.
"Alpha Lewis, we found sothing on the Whites. They used to be a powerful family in Snowville. But fifty years ago, they moved overseas."
Fifty years ago.
That was around the ti my grandmother married into the Morrigans pack and helped my grandfather build his empire.
A chill ran down my spine.
"Do the Whites and the Morrigans share so old hatred?" I asked softly.
Because if they did, then this wasn’t just about Whitney anymore.
It was about all of us.
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