Chapter 8
594words
"Victor," I breathed.
Derek nodded. "My father had been investigating him for months. He believed Victor was conducting forbidden experiments, trying to enhance his own power."
The pieces were falling into place. "My father's research—"
"Was likely part of Victor's plan," Derek finished. "Your father's healing abilities, combined with whatever Victor was developing..."
"He could create an army of enhanced wolves," I realized. "Wolves that could heal from silver wounds."
"Exactly." Derek's thumb traced circles on my hand. "Our fathers may have been working together to stop him."
The thought that our fathers had been allies gave me a strange comfort. "So this isn't just my fight anymore."
"It never was." Derek's eyes softened as he looked at me. "You're not alone in this, Lena. Not anymore."
Something shifted between us in that moment—a deepening of the bond we'd formed under the moonlight. We were connected not just by the Mate bond, but by shared loss, shared purpose.
Derek reached out, his fingers gently brushing a strand of hair from my face. "I've never felt this way about anyone before," he said softly. "This need to protect, to be near. Even before I knew you were my Mate, something drew me to you."
My heart raced at his words. He leaned closer, his eyes dropping to my lips. I could feel his breath on my skin, the magnetic pull between us growing stronger.
Our lips were inches apart when the door burst open.
"Alpha!" Marcus stood in the doorway, breathing hard. "We have a problem."
Derek pulled back, his expression shifting instantly from tender to alert. "What is it?"
"Victor knows." Marcus's eyes darted to me. "About her silver wolf. He's calling an emergency council meeting."
Cold dread washed over me. If Victor knew my secret, he would stop at nothing to control me—or eliminate me if he couldn't.
Derek stood, his face hardening into the mask of the Alpha. "When?"
"Tomorrow at dawn."
"Then we have tonight to prepare." Derek turned to me, his eyes fierce with determination. "He won't touch you, Lena. I swear it."
As he and Marcus left to make plans, I stared out the window at the rising moon. The game had changed. My secret was out, and the time for hiding was over.
Tomorrow, I would face the man who killed my father. And this time, I wouldn't be facing him alone.
Dawn broke with a blood-red sky. I stood at my window, watching the sunrise with a knot in my stomach. Today, I would face the man who had murdered my father. Today, my secret would be exposed to the entire pack.
A soft knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. Derek entered, already dressed in formal Alpha attire—black pants and a deep blue shirt that brought out the amber in his eyes. His face was a careful mask of calm, but I could feel his tension through our growing bond.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
I smoothed down the simple gray dress I'd chosen. "As ready as I'll ever be."
He crossed the room and took my hands in his. "Remember, you're not alone anymore. Whatever happens in that council chamber, I'm with you."
His touch sent the familiar electric current through me, steadying my nerves. "What if they side with Victor?"
"They won't," he said with quiet confidence. "But even if they did, it wouldn't matter. You're my Mate. No one can change that—not Victor, not the council."
