Damien’s POV
I took the long route to my office.
Past the conference rooms. Through the executive lounge. Down the hallway that added an extra three minutes to my commute but kept far away from Emma’s desk.
Pathetic.
But I couldn’t face her. Not after last night. Not after the things she’d said.
My office door closed behind with a soft click. Finally. Alone.
I dropped into my chair and stared at the mountain of paperwork waiting for . Contracts. Budget reports. Territory disputes.
None of it mattered.
I rubbed my temples, a headache already forming behind my eyes.
*She deserved it,* Alex growled in my head. *She insulted our mate.*
A knock on the door made look up.
"Co in."
The door opened, and Lucas stuck his head in. "You got a minute?"
Relief flooded through . "Yeah. Co in."
He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. His expression was serious. Business mode.
"What’s wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing’s wrong. Actually, we might have caught a break." He moved to my desk, pulling out his phone. "Got so intel this morning. About Voss and Valerie."
Every muscle in my body went rigid. "What kind of intel?"
"Activity. Recent activity. They’re moving around. Getting visible again."
I was on my feet before I’d consciously decided to stand. "Where?"
"Eastern territories. Near the border." Lucas swiped through his phone, pulling up a map. "We’ve had scouts tracking unusual movent for weeks. Yesterday, one of them spotted what looks like a recruitnt operation."
"Recruitnt?
"They’re rebuilding. Gathering new rogues. So of them are coming from deep in human territory."
My hands clenched into fists. Three years. Three fucking years of hunting these bastards, and now they were bold enough to recruit in the open?
"How many?" My voice ca out low. Dangerous.
"Unknown. But enough to be concerning." Lucas set his phone on my desk. "They’re being smart about it. Small groups. Quick etings. Nothing that would draw too much attention."
"But our scouts noticed."
"One of them got lucky. Recognized Valerie’s scent." Lucas’s expression darkened. "She was at a eting point two nights ago. Talking to a group of strays."
Valerie. That traitorous bitch who’d helped torture my mate. The rage hit like a physical force. My vision went red around the edges. My claws extended, digging into my palms.
"Where?" The word ca out as a growl. "Where exactly?"
"Damien." Lucas’s voice cut through the fury. "Before you go charging in there, we need a plan. "
"I don’t care how dangerous they are."
"I know you don’t. But your pack does." He leaned forward, his expression intense. "We can’t afford to lose wolves on a revenge mission. We need to be smart about this."
Smart. Right. Be smart when all I wanted was to rip Valerie’s throat out with my bare hands.
I forced myself to breathe. To think. To be the Alpha my pack needed instead of the enraged mate I actually was.
"What do you suggest?" I asked.
"Surveillance first. Track their movents. Figure out their numbers, their strengths, their weak points." Lucas pulled up another screen on his phone. "Then we hit them when they’re vulnerable."
"How long?"
"Two weeks. Maybe three."
"Too long."
"Damien—"
"One week." My voice was final. "One week of surveillance. Then we move."
Lucas studied my face for a long mont. Then he nodded. "One week. I’ll coordinate with the scouts."
He turned to leave, then stopped. "There’s sothing else."
"What?"
"These rogues they’re recruiting? A lot of them are coming from the human underground." He glanced back at . "Fight circuits. Black market operations. Places where wolves go when they don’t want to be found."
Sothing cold settled in my stomach. "And?"
"And I’m thinking... maybe we should be recruiting from there too."
I stared at him. "You want to recruit underground fighters?"
"Why not? Voss is doing it. And think about it—these wolves are tough. Trained. They know how to fight dirty. They don’t have pack loyalties to complicate things." Lucas’s eyes glead with sothing that looked like excitent. "They’d be perfect for taking down rogue operations."
"They’re also unstable. Dangerous. Impossible to control."
"So are rogues. But we’re not trying to make them pack mbers. We’re trying to use them as weapons."
The word hung in the air. Weapons.
"I don’t know," I said finally.
"Just think about it." Lucas moved toward the door. "I’m going to do so digging. See what’s out there. See if any of these fighters might be worth recruiting."
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