Brooke POV:
The black SUV smelled of leather, dark chocolate, and ozone. Easton's scent.
The driver, a massive warrior with a scar down his jaw, drove with terrifying precision.
My phone rang. Secure video link.
Easton's face filled the screen. Shadows played across sharp features, his eyes a piercing, unnatural blue.
"You made it out," he rumbled.
"Barely. I gave him an ultimatum."
"I heard," Easton said, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. "Locking down their grid. Ruthless. I like it. You'll fit in well as my CTO."
"CTO? I thought I was a refugee."
"I don't collect refugees, Brooke. I collect assets. And you are the most valuable asset Silver Moon has. CTO of Blood River Corp. Full autonomy. Triple your salary. Highest clearance."
My heart skipped. "Why?"
"Because I smell power on you. And because watching Caleb Roy realize he threw away a diamond for a rock will be the highlight of my year."
"I accept. But I need to stop at my old apartment. The one I lived in before the penthouse. I have my server there. My backups."
"My warriors will escort you. Be quick. Caleb isn't smart, but desperation makes men dangerous."
The SUV pulled up to the run-down brick building. I hurried up the stairs, a Blood River warrior guarding the entrance.
The apartment smelled stale. I went straight to the closet where I kept my old rig-a shielded server tower hidden under the floorboards.
I booted it up. The fans whirred to life.
"Come on," I muttered, fingers flying across the keyboard.
I needed to secure the Alpha Code backups before Caleb's IT guys tried a brute force attack. I logged into the cloud admin panel.
My breath hitched.
There was an active sync occurring. Caleb's personal cloud.
"Idiot," I whispered. "You never changed your shared permissions."
Because I set up his devices, his phone automatically backed up to my secure server. I opened the latest message log.
Texts between Caleb and "K."
Caleb: Board is pushing for the merger. I need the cash.
K: Dump the bitch. She's useless.
Caleb: I can't. She holds the keys. And... I think she might be pregnant. She's been throwing up.
I gasped. He suspected?
K: Even better. If she pops out a pup, we sell it. High-ranking couples in the South pay millions for Alpha blood.
I slapped a hand over my mouth, bile rising. Sell it? Sell my baby?
Caleb: You think?
K: Solves everything. We get cash, ditch the brat, declare her mentally unstable. Make her a Rogue.
Caleb: Fine. But after the merger. Keep her docile.
Docile.
Tears streamed down my face. They weren't just leaving me. They were trafficking my child.
"Monsters," I hissed.
I quickly downloaded the logs to an encrypted drive.
I looked in the mirror on the closet door. My face was pale, but my eyes...
My muddy brown eyes were glowing. A ring of gold. And deeper... a flash of white.
White.
The White Wolf. The Moon Goddess's avenger. A myth.
The sound of a key in the lock froze my blood.
"Brooke?"
Caleb.
I shoved the drive into my bra.
He stood in the doorway, chest heaving. He'd tracked my scent. Krystal was behind him, smirking.
"We need to talk," Caleb said, stepping in. He locked the door. The click echoed like a gunshot.
"I have nothing to say to you," I said, backing up.
"Oh, but we have plans for you," Krystal laughed. "We can't have you running to the enemy with our secrets. Or with that little... complication inside you."
She looked at my stomach.
They knew.
And the Blood River warrior was downstairs. I was trapped.
