Damien’s POV
The mont Caleb stepped through our front door, I seized both his phone and Wyatt’s device. My fingers moved with urgent precision as I downloaded the horrific images onto my computer. The werewolf council needed this evidence imdiately. They would handle the grim task of identifying every single body in those photographs by cross-referencing the Alpha’s pack records.
I studied Caleb’s pale face. "You holding up okay?"
He collapsed into the nearest chair, his hands trembling slightly. "There were so many bodies, Damien. I’ve seen death before, seen wolves fall in battle. But this was different. This was systematic. They herded them together like cattle before the slaughter."
The weight of his words settled heavily in my chest. "This is Hunter work. They’ve escalated their thods recently. I never imagined they’d push this far into our territory."
"How long has this been happening?" The question ca out strained.
"We discovered the first massacre about a year ago. The council issued warnings, but these attacks seed isolated, far from our borders. Nobody can predict their next target. They strike without pattern or logic."
Caleb’s jaw tightened with sudden understanding. "That randomness is their strategy. Keep the packs isolated and terrified. No ti to call for backup when you don’t know death is coming."
"Exactly." The confirmation tasted bitter.
His voice dropped to barely a whisper. "How’s Elena handling this?"
"She’ll manage. She’s with the children in the dining room. Dinner’s ready."
Caleb shook his head firmly, pushing himself up from the chair. "Can’t stomach food right now. Those images keep replaying." He headed for the stairs without another word.
I found Elena in the dining room, surrounded by our children’s chatter and the normalcy I desperately wanted to preserve. The tension between us hung thick as morning fog. Her conversation with had been limited to necessities since she’d overheard my doubts about her Briar theory. Maybe I had sounded dismissive, like I thought grief was clouding her judgnt.
But I refused to build hope on uncertain ground. Not until we had absolute proof.
Dinner passed in strained silence. Elena focused entirely on the children, cutting their food and wiping faces with chanical precision. When the al ended, she gathered them for their bedti routine while I cleared the table alone.
Two hours later, she finally appeared in our bedroom. The bathroom door clicked shut behind her, followed by the sound of running water. I pretended to read while she showered, but my mind kept circling back to those massacre photos.
She erged in her nightgown, damp hair falling around her shoulders. Without acknowledging my presence, she settled on her side of the bed and opened her laptop. The familiar glow of the dark web illuminated her determined features.
"The Golden Falls Pack is gone," I said quietly. "Every last mber."
Her fingers froze above the keyboard. Fear flickered across her face before hardening into sothing more dangerous. "They’re only hours from here. What brings Hunters this far south?"
"I wish I knew. But they’re definitely moving in our direction."
She turned to face fully. "They attacked us first, then wiped out an entire pack. Why spare us when they clearly have the capability for total destruction?"
The sa question had been gnawing at . "I assud our pack size intimidated them."
Elena’s expression suggested I was missing sothing obvious. "Hunters don’t attack blindly, Damien. The dark web is full of testimonies. The few survivors only lived because they hid exceptionally well or weren’t present during the assault. These killers research their targets ticulously."
Her words sparked a troubling realization. Why hadn’t they co with enough firepower to eliminate us entirely? They’d launched a coordinated assault while that girl attempted to infiltrate our packhouse. Elena had been the only thing standing between her and whatever she sought.
We debated possibilities until exhaustion forced us to sleep, but no explanation felt complete.
I woke to an empty bed soti after midnight. After checking on the children, I searched the main floor without success. The basent door stood ajar, drawing downstairs.
Elena knelt beside a stack of storage boxes against the far wall, papers and old belongings scattered around her like debris from an explosion.
"What are you looking for?"
"That girl wasn’t random, Damien. I’ve been studying the surveillance footage from the attack. While the others created chaos outside, she headed straight for our packhouse with surgical precision." Elena’s voice carried the weight of revelation.
Understanding began to dawn. "You think she ca for sothing specific."
"Only one thing could justify that risk." She reached the bottom container and tore it open, tossing aside newspapers and forgotten ntos with desperate urgency.
Her fingers closed around a smooth, dark orb that seed to absorb the basent’s dim light. We’d hidden it here years ago after agreeing that the ancient artifacts were too dangerous to keep together. Alone, they were powerful. Combined, they could destroy entire werewolf bloodlines.
The pieces clicked into place with terrifying clarity. They hadn’t tried to kill us because they needed sothing from us first. The girl had been sent to retrieve this orb, but Elena’s instincts had stopped her.
"They’re using Briar as bait," Elena said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. "They know she’s the only person who could distract enough to lower my guard."
Her theory no longer seed far-fetched. The calculated nature of everything suddenly made perfect sense, even if accepting Briar as a Hunter felt like swallowing glass.
I pulled Elena against my chest, feeling her heartbeat against mine. "I’m sorry. I should have trusted your instincts from the beginning."
"I recognized her imdiately, Damien. Don’t ask how, because I can’t explain it. I just knew." Her arms tightened around .
"You think the old stories about maternal bonds transcending everything might be real?"
"My life has been full of impossible things. This would just be another mystery to add to the collection." Her laugh held no humor.
"Caleb said if anyone could prove those legends true, it would be you." I pressed my lips to her hair, inhaling her familiar scent.
Her grip on tightened like she was afraid I might disappear.
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