Chapter 198

Grace

Consciousness bled back slowly, like dawn filtering through the dense canopy of a forest. Sounds, muted and blurry at first, sharpened into the rhythmic whir of helicopter blades and the sharp barks of Enforcers. My vision, blurred by sleep and a grogginess I couldn’t explain, gradually focused on the scene before me.

Charles was sitting nearby, silhouetted by the coming dawn, looking at a tablet, his jaw clenched tight. A small, warm body was pressed against my bare chest. I looked down, and so much tension I hadn’t realized was still there bled out of me.

Cecil was curled up against me, nuzzling me like she did when she was a baby.

I blinked slowly. It was over?

I looked past him into the growing sunlight. The scent of rain and blood lingered in the air.

“Hey,” he said. “Care to get dressed?”

I frowned and nodded. He reached out an arm and looked at me. He glanced down at Cecil. Everything in wanted to keep her closed. I wanted to snark at him, but I didn't.

“Don't go far,” I said, slowly giving Cecil to him.

He settled her against his broad chest and didn’t even move. She let out a soft sigh of relief and snuggled closer to him. A twinge of jealousy went through me. I set my jaw, frowning at the way my emotions seemed to be disjointed, jumping around, but mostly angry.

I tugged on some pants and a shirt that was under the seats quickly, and as soon as I was dressed, he put Cecil back in my arms and draped a blanket over her. A bit of the anger subsided.

Beyond him, I saw a Mooncrest City coroner working, leaning over a headless body and talking in low tones with an Enforcer.

"What..." I croaked, my voice a rusty rasp. "What happened?"

Charles, his gaze heavy with a million unspoken emotions, knelt beside me. "Cecil's safe, Grace," he said, his voice gruff but tender. "It's over."

Over. The word echoed in my mind, hollow and unreal. The chase, the fear, the raw, primal terror of hearing that Cecil had been taken– it all felt distant, like a nightmare fading with the light. But the metallic tang of blood in the air, the crimson stain seeping into the earth, felt too real. I looked at Charles, but he wasn’t looking at me.

Why wasn’t he looking at me?”

Just then, a sleek black helicopter with the crest of the Inter-Pack Police Unit descended and came closer. The sound of the blades cutting through the air was enough to make my ears ring. The copter landed, and Charles tutted, standing and closing the jeep’s door behind him, leaving us inside. Two figures, stiff and formal in their black uniforms, emerged from the helicopter. One, a woman with a severe bun and piercing blue eyes, approached Charles, her expression a mask of barely concealed disapproval. I drew closer to the other side, straining to hear what was said, but I didn’t need to as a radio from the front seat of the jeep came alive with the woman’s voice.

"And who are you?” She asked curtly. "More importantly, what are a bunch of Enforcers doing here around a dead body? That’s not a treaty we signed.”

“Commander Blackwoods,” Charles said stiffly. “I’m head of the unit assigned to Mooncrest. Every person involved with the kidnapping and attempted murder of Alpha Wolfe and her child are under Enforcer jurisdiction.”

I frowned. Was he really going to get away with that?

“That’s just not how we do things,” her partner snarled. “The crimes were committed on States soil–”

“No one is arguing that, but the spread of the crimes and who they’ve affected fall under Clan jurisdiction, specifically Enforcer jurisdiction.”

The woman scoffed. “You’re full of shit.”

“We have reason to believe that the men and women involved with this attack are connected to Alpha Shadow of Blood Moon. That makes it Enforcer jurisdiction.”

She snarled. “How’d come up with that bullshit? Mooncrest is States territory; even if she is a half-breed, she’s a States’ citizen, an alpha, not a chief.”

“Alpha Wolfe’s Parentage is not under question,” Charles said calmly. “As a matter of curiosity, how is it that the Inter-Pack Police showed up so quickly for this incident when Blood Moon wreaked havoc over Mooncrest for a solid week and no one was to be found?”

She growled. “You don't have the power to question the Inter-Pack Police, lycan.”

“But I do have the power to declare a jurisdiction. Blood Moon’s attack on Mooncrest directly endangered The labs of every enforcer station here, as well as several interested parties that directly fall under the King’s jurisdiction. A Miss Amira Light is affianced to an Enforcer, which puts her under our jurisdiction, and the investigation of the Blood Moon Incident a matter between the Enforcers and Mooncrest. You’re not needed here.”

“That’s bullshit!”

“Read the treaty a bit more closely,” Charles said airly and turned to an Enforcer. “Do you have an update?

“Headless Nick’s name is Weiss Torrent; I know and associate with the previous WSU leader and a well-known werewolf supremacist. We found plans on the body regarding Alpha Shadow’s next attacks, including notes about the attack on the Duncan Pack.”

“While he might not be Alpha Shadow proper, it seems at least he's in on the plan,” Charles said. He glared over his shoulder at the Inter-Pack Police Officers. “Get them back in the air within the next ten minutes.”

He turned away, leaving the air crackling with an unspoken threat.

“That's bullshit. One person doesn't guarantee jurisdiction!”

“If you would like a comprehensive list of all the people who live in Mooncrest and fall directly under clan jurisdiction, that can be provided. But for now, I suggest you get back in your copter and go away,” one of the Enforcers said. “Feel free to report up your chain of command. I'm sure our king will be happy to discuss it with them.”

The Inter-Pack officers' faces flushed crimson, but under the unwavering gaze of the Enforcer, they conceded. With a curt nod, she and her companion retreated to their helicopter, and they were back in the air a few moments later.

A few moments later, the enforcers drove us back to the Mooncrest Pack House. Cecil slept the whole ride back, and Charles was silent. When we arrived, Eason was at the door, bandaged and a little bruised but already drafting a formal statement for me about the chase and the arrest. He looked at me with eyes that seemed to know something I didn’t.

It irritated me.

“It's going to spread like wildfire,” Eason said. “ Get some rest tonight. I have a statement for you done in the morning.”

“Shouldn't you be resting, too?”

“I'm actually not supposed to be resting because I hit my head. I think this is the only time nearly having a concussion works in my favor.”

I didn't argue with him. But I carried Cecil upstairs to my room, climbed into bed, and slept for who knew how long.

When I woke up, it was the afternoon, and I was certain I only woke up because Cecil moved. I sat up, clutching her to my chest.

“Mommy, it’s lunchtime!” Cecil said, pouting up at me. “Uncle Charles made those pickles again.”

I blinked down at her. I nodded, carrying her downstairs. Eason was fully dressed, looking at his laptop and eating. He grinned at me.

“The tide of press is turning,” he said. “For the better.”

I set Cecil in her high chair as plates floated out to the table. Charles leaned in.

“You’re up… How are you feeling?”

I nodded stiffly. I thought I was hungry, but I wasn’t sure. He offered me a seat and put platters of food in front of me. I ate. I ate a lot more than I usually would, and slowly, the day started to blur together.

I remembered giving the address that Eason had written for me. I remembered reading Cecil a bedtime story and cuddling with Richard on the couch. I remembered eating more. I remembered sleeping comfortably for what felt like days, but it all felt so distant. Charles knocked before entering my bedroom. Cecil had gone back to sleeping in her own room.

Was that yesterday?

“How are you feeling?”

I frowned. “I’m fine.”

Charles searched my face before sighing. “I’ve been putting this off, but I don’t think it’s doing anyone any good.”

I narrowed my eyes, going stiff and waiting for what he had to say.

“Putting what off?”

He sank onto the edge of the bed and met my gaze. “It’s about Alpha Shadow.”

“The dead man?”

His lips twitched. “It’s far more complicated than that.”

I scoffed and laughed. A heady, free feeling rushed through me.

“Some complicated law about how you kill terrorists?” I snickered. “Do we have to send part of him to Magnus? I’m sure he’s got a place for it.”

“No, Grace,” he met my gaze. “Alpha Shadow isn’t dead.”