Damien’s POV
I glanced at my watch. 5:47 PM.
Still had ti to pick up Sera from the training facility. She’d be done by six. Maybe we could grab dinner on the way ho. The kids would like that.
I reached for my jacket when my office door opened.
Emma stepped in. Her expression was serious. Professional.
"Damien, sorry to interrupt." She held up a folder. "The reports from the northern border just ca in. You said you wanted to see them imdiately."
Right. The border situation. Rogue activity had been increasing. I’d told Marcus to send updates as soon as they had intel.
"Thanks." I took the folder. "Just leave it. I’ll review it tonight."
"Actually..." Emma hesitated. "They marked it urgent. There’s been another incident. Three rogues crossed into our territory this morning."
My jaw tightened. "Anyone hurt?"
"No casualties. But they’re getting bolder."
Fuck.
I opened the folder. Started scanning the first page. Incident report. Tiline. Patrol responses.
This was bad. Not catastrophic. But bad enough to need imdiate attention.
"Give ten minutes," I muttered.
Emma nodded and left quietly.
I pulled out my phone. Typed quickly.
**: Sothing ca up. Can’t pick you up today. Will be ho late. Take care of the kids.**
Sent.
Then I dove into the reports.
Border breach at 0800 hours. Three rogues. Male. Mid-twenties. Aggressive but not attacking. Just... watching.
That was worse than attacking. Watching ant reconnaissance. Planning.
I flipped to the next page. Patrol response tis. Engagent protocols. Marcus’s notes scribbled in the margins.
*They’re testing us. Looking for weaknesses.*
I grabbed a pen. Started making notes. Increased patrols. Double shifts on the northern periter. Maybe move so of the trainees up there for real-world experience.
My phone buzzed.
**Sera: What happened? Are you okay?**
I stared at the ssage. Should probably explain. Tell her about the border situation. Let her know I was fine.
But the reports demanded attention. Three more pages of intel. Maps. Possible entry points. Suspected rogue pack movents.
I’d explain later. When I got ho. When I had actual answers instead of just problems.
I set the phone down and kept reading.
By the ti I finished, forty minutes had passed.
I looked up. Emma was standing in the doorway again.
"Sorry," she said. "But there’s soone here. Says it’s urgent. About the border situation."
I frowned. "Who?"
"An informant. He wouldn’t give his na. Just said he has intelligence about the rogues. Critical information that can’t wait."
An informant? We had a few. People on the fringes who traded information for money or protection.
"Where is he?"
"Conference room B. Downstairs."
I stood up. Grabbed the reports. "Let’s make this quick. I need to get ho."
Emma led the way. Down the hallway. Into the elevator. Neither of us spoke.
The elevator dinged. Third floor. Emma stepped out first.
Conference room B was at the end of the hall. The door was closed.
Emma pushed it open.
The room was empty except for one person.
Gabriel.
My half-brother. Sitting at the conference table like he owned the place. That familiar smirk on his face.
I stopped in the doorway. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Emma looked between us. Confused. "I thought... he said he had information about the rogues."
"He doesn’t." I kept my eyes on Gabriel. "He’s lying."
Gabriel held up both hands. Innocent gesture. "Whoa. Calm down, brother. I really do have information. Just not about rogues."
"Then why—"
"Because I knew you wouldn’t co otherwise." He gestured to the empty chair across from him. "Sit. Please. This is important."
Every instinct I had scread to walk out. To tell him to fuck off and never co back.
But sothing in his expression stopped . Sothing that looked almost... genuine.
"You have five minutes," I said.
I sat down. Emma moved toward the door.
"Actually," Gabriel said, "Emma should stay. This concerns her too."
Emma froze. "?"
"Five minutes," I repeated. Harder this ti. "Start talking."
Gabriel leaned back in his chair. That smirk fading slightly.
"I got a ssage from Valerie," he said.
I went rigid. "Valerie?"
"Your sister-in-law. Well, ex-sister-in-law." He shrugged. "She reached out. Wants to talk. Says she wants to... reconcile."
The word hung in the air like poison.
Valerie. Sera’s sister. The woman who’d helped drive Sera away. Who’d spread lies and caused chaos.
My chest tightened. "You’re lying."
"I’m not." His expression was serious now. "Look, I know we have history. I know you hate . But this is real. Valerie knows things. Things that could help you understand."
"Tell ," I demanded.
"I can’t. Valerie needs to tell you herself. Face to face." Gabriel pulled out his phone. Started scrolling. "She’s scared, Damien. Really scared. But she wants to make things right."
"Valerie doesn’t do anything unless it benefits her."
"Maybe." He set his phone down. "But what if she’s telling the truth? What if she really does have information that could help Sera? Help your family?"
Our eyes locked. I searched his face for the lie. For the manipulation. For any sign this was another one of his sches.
All I could think about was Sera. About her wolf. About what Valerie might know.
Then I slled it.
Sweet. Too sweet. Like artificial flowers and sothing else. Sothing chemical.
"Do you sll that?" My words ca out slurred. Wrong.
Emma’s face shifted. "Damien? Are you okay?"
The room tilted. My legs felt weak.
"I don’t..." I reached for the table. Missed. "Sothing’s wrong."
Emma’s voice got distant. Echoing like she was speaking underwater.
"Damien!"
My vision blurred. The fluorescent lights too bright. Then too dark.
The floor rushed up to et .
Or maybe I fell.
I couldn’t tell anymore.
Everything was spinning. Fading. Disappearing into a sweet-slling darkness that I couldn’t fight.
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