Marcus’s POV
Asher’s eyes burned into mine, searching for answers. "She knows."
"She does," I confird. "And she’s locking down the entire pack."
A cold smile ghosted across his lips. "Smart. That bastard won’t sink his teeth into anyone tonight."
The forest whispered around us, then went deadly quiet.
Voices cut through the darkness.
Asher froze like stone, his hand snapping up in silent warning.
We pressed ourselves against the ravine wall, becoming part of the shadows as two figures erged in the clearing above. The scent hit first, familiar and unwelco.
My chest tightened.
Asher’s body turned to granite beside .
"That’s Kade," he breathed, so quietly I almost missed it. "Trained that kid myself when he was barely old enough to shift."
Kade’s voice floated down, strained and bitter. "We lost them."
Another voice responded. Older, steadier. The kind of calm that cos from years of giving orders and watching others follow them. "Did they circle back?"
"They tried," Kade said. "But she changed. She snarled at us."
Silence stretched between them.
"You felt her power," the older wolf stated.
"Yes."
The pause that followed carried weight, the kind that shifts everything. "Then we retreat. This changes everything."
"Alpha Vanguard’s going to hate hearing that."
A bitter laugh cut through the night air. "Alpha Vanguard wasn’t counting on her."
My heart slamd against my ribs. Moving carefully, I slipped my phone free, cupping the screen to hide its glow. Without looking, I found the record button and angled it toward their voices.
"She wasn’t supposed to have Alpha blood," Kade said. "He promised she’d be barely stronger than a human."
"He was dead wrong," the older wolf shot back. "And you know what that ans for all of us."
New footsteps approached. Heavy. Deliberate. The kind that announced power before a word was spoken.
"Give your report."
Ice flooded my veins.
Vanguard.
"We engaged," the older wolf said. "The male got her out. Disabled one vehicle. No casualties on either side."
"And the girl?"
"She dominated us."
The silence that followed could have suffocated a grown man.
Then Vanguard let out a long, slow breath. "Of course she did."
My fingers cramped around the phone, knuckles white with strain.
"She’s nothing like what he described," Kade said. "This wasn’t so runaway rogue."
"I know exactly what she is," Vanguard’s voice cut like ice. "Which is precisely why she cannot reach Elena."
Blood roared in my ears, heat blazing under my skin like wildfire.
"Fall back," Vanguard continued. "Let them think they scared us off. I’ll control the story from here."
"What about the others?" the older wolf asked.
Vanguard’s tone turned deadly, steel sliding into every word. "Anyone who shows weakness again can join the rogues they’re so afraid of."
Cold terror crawled down my spine.
"Understood, Alpha," they answered together.
Their footsteps faded. The clearing emptied. The forest resud its normal rhythm, pretending nothing had changed.
I killed the recording and shoved the phone back into my pocket, my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest.
Asher stared at with wide eyes. "Tell you got that."
"Every single word," I said.
His expression shifted from shock to dark satisfaction, sothing dangerous and final settling in his gaze. "That’s his voice on record. No council mber can deny what they hear."
"We need to move," I said. "Before they expand their search."
Asher nodded sharply. "I know another route."
He guided us downhill toward a narrow gap in the ravine where water trickled over smooth stones, cold and constant. "Old hunting trail," he explained. "The water kills our scent. Forces anyone tracking us to split up."
We waded through the creek until my legs went numb and my jaw ached from clenching my teeth, then hauled ourselves out onto bare rock where our scent would scatter into nothing. From there, we moved like ghosts, backtracking twice and climbing steep terrain before making a wide circle.
When we finally stopped, dawn was creeping across the sky, gray light slowly bleeding into the darkness.
I reached for Elena through our bond, sending the recording like a weapon through the connection.
Her response hit instantly.
Clear. Furious. Controlled.
I have it.
Her presence pulled back, already working, already planning.
I slumped against a tree trunk, exhaustion finally crashing over , leaving my body heavy and my mind razor-sharp in the worst possible way.
"This isn’t just deception," I said quietly. "It’s ethnic cleansing."
Asher nodded, his eyes dark as midnight. "And now we’ve caught him red-handed."
Arthur away, I knew Elena was playing the recording again. Hearing Vanguard’s voice. Hearing the truth finally surface.
The war hadn’t begun tonight.
But the lies had finally shattered.
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