We gathered around the makeshift command center in Leo’s private study. Maps and blueprints covered the massive oak table, alongside satellite images and the recovered surveillance footage Carson had managed to extract from the mining facility. The scent of coffee hung heavy in the air, a futile attempt to combat the exhaustion that had settled into our bones after the night’s discoveries.
I stood by the window, palm pressed against the cool glass, feeling something new stirring within me. Since our return from the nexus chamber, my senses had expanded in ways I couldn’t have imagined. The potted fern in the corner pulsed with quiet life-energy. The wooden floor beneath my feet retained whispers of the trees they’d once been. Every living plant, even the cut flowers in the crystal vase, seemed to hum a melody only I could hear.
"Victoria?" Leo’s deep voice pulled me from my trance. His eyes—those penetrating amber eyes that seemed to see right through me—were filled with equal parts concern and fascination. "You’ve been staring at that plant for five minutes."
I turned to face the room, aware that everyone was watching me with varying degrees of curiosity and wariness.
"I can feel them," I said softly, gesturing to the fern. "The plants. They’re... alive in a way I never understood before. They remember things. They communicate."
Lilith, seated at the far end of the table, made a dismissive noise. "Plants don’t talk, Victoria. You hit your head down in those tunnels."
Leo silenced her with a sharp look before stepping closer to me. "Your mother’s heritage," he murmured, low enough that only I could hear. "The fairiesconnection is growing stronger."
I nodded, grateful for his understanding. "It’s like a new sense has awakened. Ava feels it too."
As if summoned by her name, my wolf stirred beneath my skin, pushing forward with eager curiosity. Since our experience in the nexus chamber, the boundary between us had grown thinner, our communication clearer. We were becoming true partners rather than separate entities sharing one body.
Leo’s warm hand settled on the small of my back, grounding me. "Can this help us find Enzo and your stepmother?"
"Maybe," I replied, moving toward the table. "Plants see things we don’t. They remember."
Carson cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with talk of plant memory. "Speaking of remembering things," he said, tapping his laptop, "I’ve managed to recover about seventeen minutes of footage from the facility’s security system."
The room fell silent as he connected his computer to the large screen mounted on the wall. Grainy black and white footage flickered to life, showing the main floor of the mining facility where we’d found the bloodstains.
Aurora Howlthorne appeared first, her once-impeccable appearance now disheveled, hair hanging limply around a face gaunt with fatigue. Despite everything she’d done, my heart twisted at the sight of her obvious suffering. Four armed guards flanked her, though she didn’t appear to be physically restrained.
Then Marcus entered the frame, his imposing figure instantly commanding the space. Even through the grainy footage, his scarred face and the black eyepatch covering his right eye sent a chill down my spine.
"Where is my son?" Aurora demanded, her voice thin but still carrying that imperious tone I remembered.
Marcus laughed, the sound distorted through the damaged audio. "Your precious Enzo is receiving some... persuasion. He’s been quite resistant to signing over the pack territories."
"You promised you wouldn’t hurt him!" Aurora’s composure cracked. "We had a deal, Marcus. I helped you eliminate Dominic—"
The room collectively inhaled at this confirmation of her betrayal. Leo’s hand tightened on my shoulder.
"—and you promised we’d rule together. That Enzo would be respected as your second-in-command."
Marcus circled her slowly, like a predator toying with wounded prey. "Plans change, Aurora. Your son has proven... disappointing. Weak. Gambling away pack resources, making enemies of powerful allies. He’s a liability."
"He’s young," she protested. "He can learn."
"Perhaps. But time grows short." Marcus moved closer, brushing a finger along Aurora’s jaw in a gesture that made her flinch. "The northern packs are vulnerable. With Dominic gone, with his half-breed daughter unprotected, the time to strike is now."
My stomach churned at his casual reference to me. Ava growled, the sound rumbling in my chest.
"Victoria is of no consequence," Aurora said dismissively. "The pack will never accept her."
Marcus’s smile was chilling. "On the contrary. Victoria Howlthorne has become very consequential indeed."
Aurora’s eyes widened with genuine shock. "Impossible. Alpha Moretti would never—" Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs N()velFire.net
"Not only has he taken her in, he’s claimed her as his mate." Marcus’s voice dripped with satisfaction at delivering this blow. "The half-breed daughter of your husband, bonded to the most powerful Alpha in the territory. Quite the twist of fate, wouldn’t you say?"
The footage flickered, static cutting through the image before it stabilized again. Aurora was now seated, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"What do you want from me?" she asked, her voice hollow.
Marcus leaned down, his face uncomfortably close to hers. "I want you to write to your stepdaughter. Tell her how desperately you and Enzo need her help. How sorry you are for past mistreatment. Beg her forgiveness. Plead for her to come save her family."
Aurora’s laugh was bitter. "She’ll never believe it. Victoria hates me."
"Perhaps. But she loved her father. And she still harbors some affection for her brother, despite his... shortcomings." Marcus straightened. "More importantly, she has a savior complex a mile wide. The girl cannot resist a rescue mission. Especially one that promises to reunite her with her precious pack."
"And when she comes?" Aurora asked, her voice small.
Marcus’s smile sent ice through my veins. "When she comes, I’ll have what I’ve sought for decades. A Forest Person to bind to the Grimwood bloodline. The power of both worlds united under my control."
The footage cut to static, then black. Carson tapped a few keys, but nothing more appeared on the screen.
"That’s all I could recover," he said grimly.
The silence in the room was deafening. I felt numb, processing the confirmation that Aurora had indeed helped murder my father, that Marcus knew exactly what I was, and that he had been planning to trap me all along.
"Well," Lilith finally broke the silence, her voice uncharacteristically subdued. "I guess that answers whether Aurora is victim or co-conspirator."
Leo moved to stand before me, his eyes searching mine. "Victoria—"
"She helped kill my father," I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the storm raging inside me. "She admitted it. On camera."
I took a deep breath, centering myself. "We still rescue Enzo. He may be a terrible person, but he’s my brother. And..." I hesitated, the words difficult to form. "And we try to save Aurora too."
"What?" Lilith exploded, jumping to her feet. "After what you just saw? After what she did to your father—to you?"
"Precisely because of what she did," I replied calmly. "She deserves justice, not Marcus’s brand of vengeance. My father would have wanted her brought before the Council, not left to Marcus’s torture."
Leo studied me carefully, his expression unreadable. "You want to rescue the woman who helped murder your father and made your childhood hell."
"I want justice," I clarified, meeting his gaze steadily. "Real justice, not revenge. There’s a difference."
His jaw tightened. "Justice would be leaving her to the fate she’s chosen."
"Leo," I stepped closer, placing my hand on his chest where I could feel his heart hammering beneath my palm. "If we leave her there, we’re no better than Marcus. Than her."
"You’re being naive," he growled, though he didn’t step away from my touch. "She’ll betray us the first chance she gets."
"Then we don’t give her that chance," I countered. "We secure her, bring her back to face the Council. But we don’t leave her to die in that place."
Our gazes locked in silent battle, neither willing to yield. The room around us seemed to fade away, the tension between us a tangible thing.