Chapter 92

Three days later, I returned to the forest clearing with Kane trailing behind at his characteristic professional distance. The pattern of meetings we'd discovered suggested tonight might yield more concrete evidence, and despite the deterioration of our partnership, I needed his tactical expertise.

We positioned ourselves in the dense undergrowth surrounding the clearing, our equipment carefully concealed among the natural vegetation. Kane worked with mechanical precision, placing cameras and microphones with the skill of someone who had done this countless times before.

"Audio check," he whispered into his comm unit.

I adjusted my own equipment, testing sight lines. "Visual confirmed. Clear field of view to the center point."

It was the most professional conversation we'd had in weeks, reduced to technical specifications and tactical requirements. The easy banter that had once characterized our operations was gone, replaced by cold efficiency.

At exactly midnight, figures emerged from the treeline. My breath caught as I recognized Giana's distinctive silhouette moving toward the center of the open space with confident, predatory grace.

Kane went rigid beside me, his professional composure cracking slightly as we both realized we were about to witness direct proof of Giana's betrayal.

The man who met her was familiar—one of the rogues from my car crash. The same scar cutting across his left cheek, the same predatory stance, the same cold eyes that had watched my vehicle burst into flames while Raymond chose to save Giana instead of me.

"Here's the latest intelligence," Giana said, her voice carrying clearly in the still night air. She handed him a thick envelope with practiced ease. "Guard rotations, supply schedules, and the Alpha King's representatives' travel plans."

My heart hammered against my ribs as the implications hit me. She was selling information about Kane and me to enemy forces. The travel plans she mentioned could only have come from Raymond's private files—documents that were supposed to be classified at the highest levels.

Kane's entire body tensed beside me. I could feel the rage radiating from him as he listened to Giana casually discuss our movements with people who wanted us dead.

"The Alpha suspects nothing?" the rogue asked, counting what looked like a substantial payment.

Giana laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "Raymond is completely under my control. The magical conditioning has made him paranoid and suspicious of everyone except me."

The casual admission of magical manipulation made Kane's hands clench into fists. His protective instincts were warring with his professional training.

"What about the Luna?" the rogue continued.

"Aurora is being handled," Giana replied with chilling confidence. "Raymond has her under constant surveillance now. She's been isolated from any potential allies and will soon be declared mentally unstable. Once that happens, she'll be removed from the equation permanently."

The casual way she discussed my destruction made my blood run cold. This wasn't just about money or power—Giana was systematically destroying everyone who posed a threat to her plans.

"Permanently?" the rogue asked with interest.

"Accidents happen to unstable people," Giana said with false sympathy. "Especially ones who take unnecessary risks trying to prove paranoid delusions."

Kane's breathing became carefully controlled beside me, the kind of measured response that meant he was fighting the urge to violence.

I started to move closer, hoping to document more of their conversation, but Kane's hand shot out to stop me. His grip on my wrist was firm but gentle, sending familiar sparks through both of us despite his emotional walls.

Our eyes met in the darkness, and for a moment, the professional mask slipped completely. I saw the man underneath—worried, protective, struggling with instincts that demanded he keep me safe.

"We need proof, not just witness accounts," I whispered urgently.

Kane's response was coldly professional, but his grip on my wrist remained protective. "We need evidence, not martyrs."

Giana's conversation continued, revealing more details about the conspiracy. She discussed plans to eliminate "problematic pack members"—a list that clearly included me and several pack elders who still questioned Raymond's increasingly erratic behavior.

"The Alpha King's interference is becoming problematic," Giana said. "His representatives are too close to the truth."

"We can handle them," the rogue replied with confident brutality. "Accidents happen on the road between territories."

Kane's composure cracked completely at the direct threat. His hands clenched into fists, and I could feel the barely leashed violence radiating from him. Someone was planning to kill us both, and his protective instincts were warring with his determination to stay emotionally detached.

When a branch snapped under my weight, the sound echoed through the clearing like a gunshot. Both Giana and her contacts spun toward our hiding spot, their conversation dying instantly.

Kane immediately pulled me deeper into the shadows, his body shielding mine as we pressed against the massive tree trunk. His arms encircled me protectively, his professional distance temporarily forgotten in the face of immediate danger.

"What was that?" Giana asked sharply.

"Probably just an animal," the rogue replied, but his hand moved to the weapon at his belt. "These woods are full of deer and wolves."

We remained frozen in place for what felt like hours. Kane's heart was racing against my back, his breathing carefully controlled but slightly too fast. Whatever emotional walls he'd built, his body still responded to mine, still recognized our bond.

His familiar scent surrounded me—pine and leather and something uniquely Kane that had once brought me comfort and peace. Being held by him again, even in these circumstances, reminded me of everything we'd lost.

When Giana and her contacts finally departed, we waited another twenty minutes before moving. Kane released me immediately, his professional mask sliding back into place, but I'd felt the tremor in his hands as he let me go.

"Did you get the recording?" I asked.

Kane nodded curtly. "Audio and partial video. Enough to prove her guilt beyond any reasonable doubt."

But as we made our way back to pack territory, I couldn't shake the feeling that evidence alone wouldn't be enough. Raymond was too far gone, too completely under Giana's magical influence to accept proof of her betrayal.

"You still care," I said quietly as we reached the edge of pack lands. "So why are you pretending you don't?"

Kane stopped walking. In the moonlight, I could see the struggle playing out across his features—love warring with fear, protective instincts battling emotional self-preservation.

"Caring gets people killed," he said finally, his voice rough with suppressed emotion. "My parents cared about their cause too. Look how that ended."

The pain in his admission broke my heart. Kane wasn't just pushing me away out of fear—he was carrying the guilt of his parents' deaths, believing that their love for their cause had made them vulnerable.

"Your parents died because evil people killed them," I said softly. "Not because they cared too much."

Kane's eyes closed briefly, as if my words caused him physical pain. "You don't understand. Love makes you weak. It makes you take risks you shouldn't take. It makes you vulnerable."

"It also makes you stronger," I countered. "It gives you something worth fighting for."

But Kane was already walking away, his emotional walls firmly back in place. The brief glimpse of vulnerability was gone, replaced by the cold professional who had been my constant companion for weeks.

As we approached the pack house, I realized that having evidence of Giana's guilt might not matter if Kane refused to stand with me when I presented it. His fear was going to cost us everything—possibly including our lives.

The conspiracy was real, the threat was immediate, and I was facing it essentially alone.