Elena’s POV
The exhaustion finally caught up with after we spent hours talking through everything that had happened. My body felt heavy as I made my way down the hallway toward the bedroom, desperately needing sleep.
Asher insisted he would remain awake to keep watch over everything. He said his protective instincts were in full force, and he wanted to be right there the mont Briar opened her eyes.
Damien followed to bed, and we whispered quietly in the darkness for a little while longer before sleep finally claid us both.
The sound of voices from the other room pulled from my dreams the next morning. I recognized Asher’s deep tone imdiately, mixed with a softer female voice that had to be Briar.
I slipped out of bed carefully, noticing Damien was still deep in sleep. The kitchen called to , and I needed coffee before I could face whatever this day would bring.
"Hi." Briar’s voice was tentative as I entered the room.
"How did you sleep?" I asked, pouring the dark liquid into my mug.
"Pretty good." Her response was simple, but I could see the wariness in her eyes.
"That’s good to hear."
Asher leaned forward in his chair. "So what’s our plan for today?"
I took a long sip of coffee, feeling the caffeine begin to work its magic. "Well, I honestly don’t have all the answers right now. Corbin completely destroyed the Obsidian pack. We have no way of knowing if he’s discovered the Duskclaw Pack pack’s location. I need to reach out to Talia imdiately. She spent much more ti undercover with them than anyone else. She knows their operation inside and out, their bases, everything we desperately need to understand."
"We can’t risk taking Briar back to the Duskclaw Pack pack if there’s even a chance it’s been compromised." Asher’s voice carried the weight of his concern.
"I know that. I wouldn’t dream of putting her in danger." I assured him.
Throughout our conversation, I noticed Briar’s expression shift every ti we used her na. Her face would tighten, and she’d look uncomfortable. That’s when it hit like a bolt of lightning. She didn’t want to be called Briar anymore. She’d been raised as Dawn, lived her entire life with that identity. That na ant everything to her.
I moved to sit at the table, determined to bridge the gap between us. I wanted to understand the person she’d beco during all those years we’d been apart.
It shouldn’t have surprised to discover how similar we were. Stubborn to a fault, pig-headed when challenged, and always determined to prove ourselves when soone said we couldn’t accomplish sothing.
She was definitely my daughter in every way that mattered.
Sharp knocking at the front door sent all of us into imdiate alert mode.
"Asher, take her to the bedroom now." My command was swift and decisive.
Asher grabbed Briar’s hand and guided her quickly toward the back of the cabin while I crept toward the door. I peered through the curtain beside the window and felt my muscles relax when I saw Caleb standing on the porch with his best friend Wyatt beside him.
I opened the door and they stepped inside quickly.
"You weren’t supposed to co here." I said, though I wasn’t entirely angry about it.
"I have to see her. You know I rember everything about her, everything that happened since she disappeared." Caleb’s voice was thick with emotion.
"Asher, it’s just Caleb." I called out.
He erged from the bedroom with Briar, and I noticed Damien was awake now too, probably roused by all the commotion.
"Oh my god. It really is you." Caleb moved toward her with wonder in his eyes.
"Yeah, so everyone keeps telling ." Briar’s response held a hint of dry humor.
"She prefers to be called Dawn. That’s the na she grew up with." Asher explained, and I nodded my agreent.
"Well Dawn, it’s incredible to have you back with us." Caleb pulled her into a warm embrace.
"I wasn’t expecting any of this." Dawn admitted.
"You should start getting used to it. Wait until you et the other hellions in our family." Caleb grinned.
"He ans your brothers and sister." I clarified.
"Where are they now?" Dawn’s curiosity was evident.
"They’re back at the Duskclaw Pack pack." I explained.
"Really? I can’t wait to et them." Her excitent was genuine and warming.
"When are we heading ho?" Caleb asked.
"When we’re absolutely certain it’s safe and no one has discovered that pack’s location." Damien’s voice carried the authority of experience.
"It is safe. No one has gone anywhere near that pack. It’s completely hidden, and no one is even searching for it. They’re focused entirely on the forest around the base that was attacked, desperately trying to find Dawn." Caleb insisted.
"They’re basically running around in circles, making it look like they’re accomplishing sothing so they don’t get their asses handed to them. But they don’t have a fucking clue where any of us actually are." Wyatt added with obvious satisfaction.
"Yeah, that sounds exactly right." Damien agreed.
"I want to take her ho." Caleb’s request was simple but loaded with aning.
I looked at Damien, weighing our options carefully. I needed to ensure Dawn’s safety above everything else, and Asher would never let anything happen to his mate.
But I also had urgent business to handle regarding councilman Holloway and his involvent in all of this.
"They don’t know you’re the Alpha of that pack. If they did, they would have attacked it years ago." Damien pointed out.
"Alright. You can take her back to that pack if that’s what you want. But I can’t return there just yet." I decided.
"Where are you planning to go?" Damien asked.
"Atlanta." The word hung heavy in the air.
"That’s where the werewolf council is located." He said.
"And that’s exactly where I’ll find councilman Holloway." I confird.
"You’re absolutely not doing that alone." Damien’s tone brooked no argunt.
"We can get Dawn back to the pack safely if you need to handle this." Caleb offered.
"This will never stop until we get to the bottom of everything. Holloway is deeply involved in all of this. Just because Blackwood is gone doesn’t an Holloway will stop whatever he’s planning. He’ll just find soone else to replace Blackwood." I explained.
"Corbin will definitely volunteer for that role." Dawn said quietly.
"Yeah, I had that sa feeling." I agreed grimly.
"You guys take Dawn ho. Get her settled in properly. Make sure the entire pack knows exactly who she is, and make it crystal clear that if anyone says or does anything inappropriate, they’ll answer to personally." My voice carried unmistakable warning.
"No one will say anything negative about Dawn. Not once they understand who she really is." Damien assured .
"Won’t they have problems with being there?" Dawn asked, vulnerability creeping into her voice.
"It’s only because you were raised by the Hunters. But now you know the complete truth. Everything will work out perfectly." Caleb reassured her with confidence.
We finalized all our plans, and Caleb drove Wyatt, Dawn, and Asher back to the Duskclaw Pack Pack while Damien and I remained at the cabin.
We had serious work ahead of us before we could start our journey to Atlanta. The kind of work I didn’t want Dawn to witness, at least not yet.
I wanted her to get to know us properly before she saw the darker, more animalistic side of who we really were and how far we’d go to protect our people.
That education would co naturally after she’d lived with the pack for a while.
I didn’t want to be the first one to show her that brutal side of our nature.
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