Chapter 225
It’s strange how quickly peace slips between your fingers.
One moment you’re eating grilled salmon under a sky full of stars, trying not to blush when your mate kisses your neck between bites of cake. The next, you’re pacing the war room like a caged animal, waiting for news you’re terrified to hear.
Roman came back at sunrise, looking like he’d wrestled a hurricane and won—but barely. His jacket was torn at the shoulder, his jaw bruised, and his eyes… those eyes held too many secrets.
“Tell me,” I’d said.
He did. Not everything. But enough.
Now, standing beside him as we stared through the reinforced glass of the interrogation cell, I felt the full weight of leadership settle on my shoulders. The Blackfang scout was still unconscious, wrists shackled with silver-infused cuffs, a healing gash across his temple.
“You should’ve brought me with you,” I said, not for the first time.
Roman didn’t look at me. “If you’d been there, I wouldn’t have been focused. I’d have been distracted by every sound behind me, worried someone had gotten to you.”
“So, you don’t trust me to handle myself?”
His eyes finally found mine. “No, Iris. I trust you more than anyone. I just don’t trust the world around you.”
Damn him for being honest. I hated that logic because it was too close to what I’d do if our positions were reversed.
I ran a hand through my hair. “I want to lead the interrogation.”
Roman’s brow lifted. “He might not talk.”
“Then I’ll make him.”
“Iris—”
I stepped into him, placing a hand flat on his chest. “Roman, he infiltrated our land. He brought death pills. He came ready to die. If there’s a chance he’s one of their newer recruits, I can reach him. But you know as well as I do—if we wait too long, they’ll come back for him.”
He exhaled, tense. “Fine. But I’m staying in the room.”
“Wouldn’t dream of doing it without you.”
We entered the cell slowly. The guard on duty nodded and stepped out, leaving us alone with the man chained to the steel chair. His breathing had shifted—shallow but steady.
“He’s awake,” I whispered.
Roman crossed his arms, standing just behind me. “Let’s see if he wants to talk.”
I moved closer and crouched beside the captive. His eyes flicked open slowly—gray, unreadable, young. Maybe twenty. His lip curled faintly.
“You’re not Syndicate,” he croaked. “Too soft.”
“Soft?” I echoed. “Sweetheart, I watched my best friend die in my arms and burned the traitor who did it. I’m not soft. I’m angry.”
He smirked. “Angry people make mistakes.”
“And dead men don’t get to insult me,” I replied sweetly, sitting on the edge of the metal table. “What’s your name?”
He said nothing.
“Fine. I’ll call you Pinecone until you grow a spine.” I glanced over my shoulder. “Roman, get the silver rod.”
The captive flinched slightly. Gotcha.
I leaned in. “Tell me why you’re here.”
He clenched his jaw. “Too late.”
“For what?”
He didn’t answer.
Roman spoke up then. “Blackfang doesn’t send scouts to play hide-and-seek. You were marking our land for a reason. Why?”
“You already know,” the scout spat. “It’s a test.”
“So admit it.”
He gritted his teeth. “Doesn’t matter. You won’t stop what’s coming.”
I stood, my temper flaring. “Try me.”
The captive lifted his eyes again. There was a flicker of something in them—fear? Regret? Whatever it was, it passed quickly.
“You can’t protect them all,” he said lowly. “Especially not the children.”
That hit like a punch to the chest.
Roman’s snarl behind me was immediate. The table screeched as he shoved it aside and gripped the edge of the chair. “You so much as breathe near our children, I will bury your entire Syndicate.”
“Roman,” I said quickly, stepping between them. “Not like this.”
He backed off, reluctantly, his hands shaking.
I turned back to the scout. “You crossed into our land. You left a message. But you didn’t expect us to catch you, did you?”
“I was supposed to die,” he muttered.
“You still might,” I said softly. “Unless you give me a reason not to.”
His eyes searched mine for a long moment. Then, unexpectedly, he said, “You’re the Luna?”
“Yes.”
“You’re the one they want.”
I froze. “What?”
Roman moved forward, voice like a blade. “What do you mean?”
The captive swallowed hard. “They said the Luna has… something. A gift. Something valuable. I don’t know what. I only know they’re planning to separate the Alpha from her.”
My blood ran cold.
I backed away slowly, breath catching. Roman’s hands found my waist from behind, grounding me.
“They’re coming for you,” he said, voice low. “We can’t wait anymore.”
“I’m not running,” I snapped. “I’m not hiding like I’m prey.”
“I know. That’s not what I’m saying.”
I turned to face him fully. “Then what are you saying?”
Roman glanced once more at the captive, then back at me. “We call a council meeting. We bring the Elders in. We prepare the pack. No more secrecy.”
“And we train the females,” I added. “Every single one. No one gets left behind.”
His smile was grim but proud. “Now that’s the Luna they’re scared of.”
We left the interrogation room and stepped into the hallway, the fluorescent lights buzzing faintly above us. Neither of us spoke for a moment. Then I reached for his hand.
“You scared me last night,” I admitted.
Roman looked down at me. “I never want to do that again.”
“I know. But… Roman, if they’re targeting me, then this pack needs us both more than ever. I can’t be just your mate now. I have to be more.”
He nodded. “Then we do this together. Every move. Every meeting. Every fight.”
I leaned into his chest, breathing in the scent of him—the one thing that still calmed me after all these years. “You still owe me a dance under the stars, by the way.”
His chuckle rumbled through me. “You’ll get it. After we crush the Syndicate.”
We walked out into the morning light. The pack was already stirring, unaware that war was brushing its edges.
But we were ready.
We’d make damn sure they were, too.
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