Chapter 37

Killian

Elena had not only become a new person, she had become a miracle-worker.

Three days of some herbal concoctions and status interviews— she refused to call it interrogation— and the prisoner was greatly improved. Elena also insisted on calling by first name, but as Alpha I would not be doing the same.

We had scheduled a team meeting again to hear her reports. I was pleased to see that others in the room were as impressed as I was, even if there was still skepticism around her tactics.

“The patient is able to hold a conversation, even when I use triggering language or criticize his lifestyle.”

The stern faces in the room nodded their understanding as she spoke.

“I have kept things light so far, gaining his trust and letting him drive the conversation and reveal as much or as little as he likes.”

“And how do you propose this will benefit our investigation?” An older wolf, Christos, asked. He was old guard, and still thought Elena was lapsing in her duties as Luna. “These Rogues live by a code of violence, and respond to force faster than empathy.”

“If you’re referring to the torture you put Graham through before I met with him, then you should just say it like it is,” Elena’s red eyes were laser-focused on her adversary. “Clearly that did nothing to open him up, and now he wonders if his fingernails will even grow back. Violence met with violence will not protect our Pack.”

There were murmurs among the members, in both agreement and dissent. Elena stood tall and proud, but a slight tremor in the hands by her sides revealed her nerves to me. In an instant I felt the need to help her.

“Luna Elena is right,” I said loudly, using my aura to quiet the room. “Though it has extra time, it is worth the delayed results if it means we get the answers we are looking for. We could all learn something from my wife about patience and creative solutions. The old ways are not always the best ways.”

I said this last line directly to Christos, who quietly huffed and looked away. When I turned back, Elena’s eyes were trained on me. Her expression was a mixture of curiosity and calm, as if my public support of her was worth noting in my case file. My pulse increased as I relished being a specimen under her microscope.

“I trust that Luna Elena will have more useful information to share with us soon,” I added.

She said nothing, but looked back out at the others. Her gaze was a challenge to anyone else who wanted to voice their doubts.

“If there is nothing else, we’ll adjourn for the morning.”

Elena was the first to make her way out, and my eyes roamed down to her backside as she walked away. I recalled her new interest in exercise, and I was grateful to witness the fruits of her labor.

I didn’t look up until Elena was out of sight.

Elena

Killian’s words were echoing in my head as I descended the stairs towards Graham’s prison cell. Though he’d be more complimentary towards me lately in private, this outward expression of support in front of elders and high-level staff was an entirely different thing.

He treated me as an equal, as a leader with a mind and opinions that mattered.

He is your partner.

I groaned as I pushed down my wolf’s interfering emotions. Thoughts of my Mate were just a distraction from the more important task ahead.

I left Tiffany at the guard desk, knowing how much she hated being in the dank lower floors of the small prison. The staff there had mixed opinions on my being there, so I made sure to look stern and controlling as a Luna should.

Color had returned to Graham’s face, telling me he’d been eating regular the past three days. Before we began treatment it was clear he’d been fasting, but it wasn’t clear whether it was by choice or a side-effect of his affliction.

“You look good, Graham,” I said as I approached his cell. “Did you sleep?”

“Yes, Luna, thank you. I feel good.”

His smile came easier and looked more at home on his face, even obscured by his ruddy beard. There was a clarity in his eyes and steadiness when he met my gaze, though in the depths of I could see something lurking. Was it guilt?

“I have upped the dosage slightly today to accommodate for your increased appetite,” I told him, watching the guard pass the vial and a glass of water through the door. “You shouldn’t feel anything different, but please let us know if anything happens.”

The guard looked at me and she turned away, and I could see her mouth moved in a silent curse. Even though my plan was working, many still seemed to hold me in disdain. Maybe they did so because my plan was working. I was choosing to ignore it.

“Cheers,” Graham said as he thew back the tincture and took a sip of water. “As bitter as ever.”

I settled on the stool I’d had them place outside his cell, pulling out my notebook.

“Let’s talk about memory,” I said, pivoting into interview mode. “Are you able to recall anymore about the days leading up to your attack on our banquet? Attempted attack, I should say.”

I gave him a playfully patronizing smile, reminding him that I was on his side. Our conversations were revealing that this man was not evil, but I needed to prove it.

“Has anything come back?”

He sighed.

“Luna Elena, I have not been completely honest with you,” he confessed.

“I expected that,” I told him, “but I appreciate your honesty.”

“I have been confused, addled, not myself,” he added in defense. “It is hard to describe, like a puppet being pulled by an unseen menace.”

“A puppet?”

“I am my own and not my own,” he said gravely. “But I remember my objective, though it never felt like it came by my devising.”

I remained quiet, the nib of my pen pressed hard to the paper as my grip tightened.

“It was you,” he said, taking a step closer to the door. It was an attempt to connect, not to threaten. “I was sent here to kill you.”

It was a few seconds before I realized I was holding my breath. I let it out slowly, my eyes narrowing at him.

“Do you remember who sent you?”

He shook his head, not because he didn’t know but because he didn’t want to say.

“This is not a wolf you want to cross, Luna,” he warned. “I am not of his kind, merely a hand to hire and blame and dispose of when he’s through.”

I swallowed hard, not sure I was ready to face the information now that I was finally receiving it.

“Where?”

“North, far north,” Graham said. “A place that is hard to find unless you know where to look. But I know the way.”

“Will you take me?”

His eyebrows went up.

“And leave the safety of this cell?” His tone was joking, but the question was real. “I’d be a fool to go back, especially having botched my mission. But, if my Luna commands, I would escort her.”

He had taken to calling me his Luna, and I never corrected him. It was like having a disciple, a pack of one to call my own.

“How could I be sure you’re telling the truth, not just saying what I want to hear?”

“My bag,” he said, nodding to the hallway as if it was casually hanging on a hook on the wall. “They have it. Inside, in a sewn-in pocket, is a document of entry. You may see for yourself.”

I left him, earlier than I’d plan, to retrieve his personal effects. Of course they had been searched, but when I looked into the large rucksack it took me a minute before I discovered the hiding place Graham told me about.

Inside was a half-sheet of paper, thick and expensive, with a short phrase granting the carrier entry into the Silverclaws Pack. I had never heard the name, but my brain sparked when I saw the seal in the corner.

It was an exact match to the one I found by Natalie’s grave.

I instinctively reached for my phone, frantically sending a message asking to meet me as soon as possible. A replay came quickly, and I felt lighter in my chest.

“I’ll be there,” Jaxon said.