Haven POV:
Three days. That's how long it took the private investigator to find the dirt.
I stood in the underground level of the Apex Pack's clubhouse, a space reserved for interrogation. It smelled of damp stone and fear.
In my hand was a file. Gemma wasn't just a fragile orphan. She was a grifter. She had been kicked out of the Southern territory for fraud. But the worst part was the phone records.
Calls to the George Pack. Our sworn enemies.
"Let me go!" Gemma shrieked.
She was waist-deep in the water tank—a holding cell designed to prevent wolves from shifting. The water was cold, but not freezing.
"Who are you reporting to?" I asked, my voice echoing off the stone walls. I paced around the edge of the tank.
"I don't know what you're talking about! Connor will kill you for this!" She splashed water, her wet shirt clinging to her body. She wasn't looking fragile now. Her eyes were sharp, calculating.
"Connor isn't here," I said. "You've been feeding our patrol routes to the George Pack. That's why the Rogues knew exactly where to ambush us at the factory. You set it up."
"You're crazy!"
"Am I?" I threw the photos of her meeting with a George Pack lieutenant onto the dry concrete. "Explain these."
Gemma's face paled. Then, a slow, malicious smile spread across her lips.
"It doesn't matter," she sneered. "He won't believe you. He sees what he wants to see. And right now, he sees a victim."
"Shift," I commanded, using my Luna tone. "Show me your wolf. If you're really too weak to shift, then the water won't bother you. But if you're suppressing your wolf with wolfsbane to appear weak... you'll drown if you don't turn."
I pressed a button on the wall. The water level began to rise.
"Help! Connor!" Gemma screamed, her voice piercing.
I watched her cold-eyed. My hand went to my stomach unconsciously. I was doing this for the safety of the Pack. For my child. A spy could not remain in our midst.
Suddenly, the heavy iron door at the top of the stairs blasted open. The hinges shrieked as metal tore.
Connor stood there, chest heaving, eyes glowing a furious amber.
"HAVEN!"
Gemma immediately dipped her head under the water, then resurfaced, sputtering and choking theatrically. "She's trying to kill me! She's drowning me!"
"Get her out," Connor roared, rushing down the stairs.
"She is a spy, Connor! Look at the evidence!" I pointed to the scattered photos.
Connor snatched up one of the photos. "This?" He shoved it in my face. "Gemma already told me about your 'investigator.' She showed me the metadata. These are deepfakes, Haven. Created by the very man you hired. She was in therapy during this timestamp. I saw the doctor's note myself."
My blood ran cold. "She forged the note, Connor. Use your brain!"
"Enough!" he yelled, tossing the photo aside like trash. "You're so consumed by jealousy you're fabricating evidence to justify torture."
He didn't look at the floor. He looked at Gemma, who was now feigning a seizure in the water.
"I said, get her out!"
"No," I stood my ground. "Not until she confesses."
Connor's aura exploded. The air in the room became heavy, crushing. It was the weight of the Alpha, the power that forced submission from every wolf in the pack.
"STOP!"
The command hit me like a physical blow. It was the Alpha's Command.
My body betrayed me. My knees locked. My arms fell to my sides. My tongue glued itself to the roof of my mouth. I was paralyzed, trapped in my own flesh by the sheer force of his order.
Tears of frustration and humiliation welled in my eyes. He used the Command on me. On his Mate. On his Luna.
Connor jumped into the tank, splashing water everywhere. he scooped Gemma up in his arms, cradling her like she was precious glass.
He climbed out, dripping wet. He paused in front of me. I was still frozen, shaking with the effort to fight his command.
"I am disgusted by you," Connor hissed, his face inches from mine. "You have let your jealousy turn you into a monster."
He kicked the file on the floor away without even looking at the contents.
"We are done, Haven. As soon as she is safe, I am stripping you of your title."
He walked away, carrying the woman who was destroying us.
The moment he left the room, the Command lifted. I collapsed to the concrete, gasping for air. The stress hit my body instantly. A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my abdomen.
"No," I whispered, curling into a ball on the wet floor. "Please, no."
