Chapter 95

Grace

I stormed into Wolfe Medical and headed down to the labs. My thoughts kept whirling, trying to remember if my father had said anything about the President. That medal of honor made me feel as though he had no problems with the President, but had he been dealing with the same President I was dealing with now?

I didn't know. I had to find out and get to the bottom of Lunar Remedies, Fenris, and the patent issue.

Goddess, why was this so hard? All I wanted was to get my pack back in order, get the drug to patent, and start producing it at large. It's not like I planned to hold the States hostage with it. I didn't even have as lofty goals as Gabriel.

My eyes popped open.

Gabriel! Did he know anything about Fenris and Lunar Remedies?

"You look pissed," Margaret said. I looked at her and Seraphina as I came into the breakroom. "What happened?" she inquired.

"Fenris Mark happened," I replied tersely, taking a deep breath to steady my emotions. "He's trying to strong-arm us into giving Luna Remedies a share of our research. Claims he has connections to the Alpha President."

Margaret's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "That slime ball? Not surprising. Did you tell him you have connections to the Lycan Kind?"

I scoffed. "Of course not."

"Shame," Seraphina said. "The little bastard would have shit his pants."

I shook my head and sank into my seat. "I can't afford the potential backlash."

"Fair, but less fun," Seraphina said. "So what's the plan?

I shook my head. "I don't know yet... Charles said to wait until he shows his hand and then cut it off."

"Typical, also more fun," Seraphina said. "Well, no sense in worrying about it right now."

The door opened, and Eason was in the doorway.

"Eason?" I frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Cecil and Richard are with Kelly at home. Chill, but you need to see this."

He opened his laptop and set it on the table. He pulled up an article on a lycan news site, the headline blaring "Mooncrest Alpha: An Enemy to Werewolves."

My heart sank as I scanned the article. It was full of everything that Devin had done, skewing it as if I had been happy to let it happen. The WSU's stamp was all over it.

"It's everywhere," Eason said. "It just got released not even half an hour ago. I've been trying to get it retracted, but there's no helping it. You're going to have to make a statement eventually about it."

"Oddly close to when you met with Fenris," Margaret said. "I guess he's really showing his hand."

"What?" Eason asked.

"Fenris told me that he has connections to the President and offered me the most insulting deal of my life for a cut of the longevity drug and a piece of Wolfe Medical."

I set my jaw, scanning through the article. "Eason, would you happen to know about Fenris?"

"Given me thirty minutes," he said and clicked on a video. "After you watch this."

Eason's fingers danced across the keyboard, and the screen flickered to life. What I saw next shook me to my core. It was a video sponsored by the WSU, and its title alone sent shivers down my spine: "Grace Wolfe: A Lesson in Lycan-Werewolf Relations."

The video was a relentless barrage of accusations, misinformation, and manipulation. They used my experiences and Devin's actions as a basis for their anti-lycan, anti-werewolf propaganda. I watched helplessly as my own words were twisted to fuel hatred and division. I felt sick.

"Based on what you said, Fenris had this prepared from the beginning, he and whatever production team he's got behind him. And he's not going to stop."

"Why would the President back this?" I asked, horrified at the way they described my relationship with Devin.

Amy was painted as this lycan seductress and me, this helpless, foolish woman who just rolled over for him.

"It gets worse," Eason said, grimacing as he changed the screen and navigated to another page. This one was even more chilling. It bore the unmistakable mark of the Anti-Lycan Terrorist Group known as the Blood Moon, notorious for their attacks on lycans within werewolf territories.

The video was a gruesome montage of violence, their actions narrated by a sinister voice promising more bloodshed and terror. My hands clenched into fists, and I felt a surge of anger and despair. The Blood Moon's message was clear: they had no intention of letting a single lycan live in peace within the Werewolf States.

"Eason, this is...this is horrific," I stammered, my voice quivering with a mixture of fear and fury.

He nodded grimly. "This is kid stuff compared to what I'm sure they're going to put out."

I looked at him and realized that he started to look feverish. Something in his ear kept flashing with a bright blue light. Then, something chimed. Eason reached forward and started to type again. He cursed. Eason's fingers raced across the keyboard, and with a few swift clicks, he opened something else.

"What is that?"

"A live stream," Eason said. "The bastard is sending out an address like he's important, and I bet it's about you."

The screen was dark. Slowly, a bit of light started to glow, illuminating a hooded figure sitting in front of the camera.

"Who is this?"

"He calls himself Alpha Shadow," Eason said stiffly. "He's the leader of Blood Moon."

The tension in the room was palpable as we watched the screen, our breaths held in anxious anticipation.

His voice was distorted and menacing but had a smoothness to it that made me think he was probably a very charming man in real life.

"Greetings," he said. "I'm sure you've all seen the disgusting lengths to which werewolf women have gone to cater to a lycan. Calling herself a werewolf, letting a pack fall to ruins? You know my feelings about lycan-werewolf relationships, and if Mooncrest didn't have such a place in the States... I would have bombed it off the map the way we've done so many tainted communities before."

My heart lurched, and I thought about Gabriel and that town that no longer exists. I thought about the attack that had been publicized. My blood ran cold, and my stomach turned.

"So, Grace Wolfe, if you're listening, I'll give you a chance, for once in your pathetic life, to do what's right: the Wolfe Family will step down from leading Mooncrest within the week, and another family will take it over."

A list of scrolling names appeared. Eason tapped something.

"I'll accept one of these families as a proper substitute. True werewolves who are dedicated to defending us against those barbarians. Grace will sign over all rights to Wolfe Medical and take her exile with some manner of Grace... That goes doubly for that gay brother of hers."

Eason clenched his jaw. "Over my dead body."

"From today on, for every day you delay, I will make another attack. Just so you know, I'm not bluffing," he declared, his tone laced with deadly determination. "The first will be today. Choose wisely."

The broadcast ended. Seraphina stood, glaring at the laptop. "That son of a..."

"He can't..." I whispered.

Fear crept into my heart like a creeping shadow.

"A-Attack? On Mooncrest?"

"Grace--"

"He's got to be joking. We-We've never hurt anyone or done anything!"

Eason said nothing, taking his laptop and sitting down to start doing whatever it was that he thought was best.

My stomach churned. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if there was anything to say. I couldn't dismiss his words as mere threats. Blood Moon had destroyed so much.

I didn't know what to think. I wanted to run. I could barely breathe. I wanted to run home, grab my children, and run as far and as fast as I could. To hell with whatever was left of my family's lineage, the legacy wasn't worth dying over. It wasn't worth having the entire pack murdered in a terrorist attack.

You're playing a dangerous game, Fenris told me.

My hands shook. "I--"

My phone rang, startling me. My heart pounded, and I stared at it, unsure of if I should answer it. Would it be Alpha Shadow on the other side?

"Answer it, Grace," Margaret said softly.

My hand shook as I picked it up.

"Alpha Wolfe, this is Lt. Blue. I'm just calling to report an incident at the water plant."

"Incident?"

"We apprehended several individuals carrying explosives. Had they gone off, the West side's water supply would have been tainted."

I dropped the phone and heard nothing else. The image of Blood Moon's crest flashed through my mind. I smelled blood. I saw fire, and I couldn't breathe. I saw that woman on the broadcast collapsing and saw Kelly doing the same, collapsing as smoke and ash filled the air. My stomach lurched, and I spun away as bile came up bitter and burning.

"Grace?" Margaret called. "Grace!"