Novel-novel oleh Ssally

Alina’s POVThe interrogation room where they had taken Tommy looked like something straight out of a crime TV show. It had cold, bare concrete walls and a single metal chair fixed to the floor, with a drain in the center that I tried not to think about. Tommy was sitting in that chair, hands cuffed behind him, and his face was already starting to swell from where Jaxon had hit him.I stood behind a one-way mirror with Maddox and Chloe, watching as Ronan and Jaxon questioned Tommy. They wanted me to take it easy after my head injury, but I couldn’t. I needed to hear this and understand what was going on.“Let’s keep it simple,” Ronan said, his voice steady and controlled. “How long have you been betraying the club?”Tommy let out a bitter, broken laugh. “Betraying? I was trying to save it. Save it from you three and your obsession with that girl.”“Answer the question,” Jaxon said, h

Ronan’s POVThe main hall was packed by seven AM—every available Serpent crammed into the space, sitting on chairs, standing against walls, perched on tables. The energy was tense, filled with anticipation. Word had spread that this was an emergency meeting about “critical club business,” which in Serpent-speak meant someone was about to get seriously fucked.Tommy stood near the front, looking relaxed and confident. He had no idea what was coming, which was exactly how we’d planned it.“Thank you all for gathering on short notice,” I said, moving to stand at the head of the room with Jaxon and Maddox flanking me. Alina sat in the front row beside Chloe, both of them surrounded by security. “We’ve called this meeting to address a matter of utmost importance to the club’s integrity and safety.”“This about Nick?” someone called out. “Because I still think we should’ve

Alina’s POVChloe was reading in bed, curled up with a thriller novel that seemed eerily fitting given everything happening around us. When I knocked, she looked up and noticed my worried expression.“Hey,” she said, setting the book aside. “Everything okay? You look stressed.”“I need to tell you something,” I said, sitting on the edge of her bed. “And you’re probably going to panic, but I need you to stay calm.”Her expression shifted immediately. “What happened?”“Tommy’s planning to relocate you tomorrow,” I said. “He’s framing it as a safety measure, but we have evidence he’s the real traitor. He’s been selling information to the Vultures, stealing from the club, framing innocent people. And we think moving you is part of a bigger plan to sabotage our leadership.”Chloe went pale. “Relocate me where?”

Ronan’s POV All three of us plus Blade sat around the table, reviewing the evidence. Financial records, communications, photographs of documents, audio recording of Tommy’s conversation. It was damning. Absolutely, unquestionably damning.“He’s been stealing from us for over a year and a half,” I explained. “Selling information to the Vultures, pocketing the profits. He Used his position to feed them information about our movements, our vulnerabilities. Framed Nick to cover his tracks when Nick got too close to exposing him. And now he’s planning to move Chloe tomorrow as part of a larger plan to sabotage our authority.”“So we arrest him,” Jaxon said. “Right now. Tonight. Before he can do more damage.”“We can’t do that,” Blade replied slowly. “We need to get the club’s agreement first. Tommy is part of the senior leadership, and we can’t just imprison him without discussing it with everyone.”“Even with all this evidence?” Alina questioned, pointing at the screens filled with proof

Alina’s POV Tommy’s office was located on the second floor, nestled between two important rooms—one for strategy discussions and the other for storing weapons. This placement allowed him to keep an eye on operations while still having quick access to any weapons if needed. According to Ronan, who was watching the place closely, Tommy had left the compound two hours ago to meet with some of his connections. He wouldn’t return until the next morning.That gave us a brief opportunity to search his office without him knowing.“Cameras are looping now,” Ronan’s voice came through our earpieces from the security room. “You’ve got twenty minutes before the next guard comes around. Make it count.”Jaxon and I slipped through the dimly lit hallway, our footsteps muffled by the carpet. He had insisted on joining me even though Maddox would have been a better choice for this kind of stealth mission. “Someone needs to watch your back,” he had said. “I’m not letting you do this alone.”The lock o

Alina’s POV Eventually, we moved to the gym mats, lying side by side and talking about everything and nothing. His childhood in the cartel, the violence he’d escaped, the family he’d lost. My mother’s death, the years of searching for truth, the moment I’d realized my father was the villain all along. “We’re both orphans,” I said quietly. “In different ways, but still.” “Yeah,” he agreed. “But we found each other. Found this fucked up family that’s held together by violence and loyalty and really questionable life choices.” “That’s one way to describe it,” I said, smiling despite everything. “You got a better description?” “Home,” I said simply. “It’s home. Chaotic and dangerous and probably destined for disaster, but home.” He pulled me closer, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Then let’s fight to keep it. Whatever it takes.” “Whatever it takes,” I agreed.

Calla’s POVThe interrogation—because that’s what it was, regardless of how gently we framed it—took place in the same conference room where we’d confronted Leo about his initial betrayal three days earlier.But this time, Leo wasn’t a suspect. He was our informant, and the information he was providing about Councilwoman Gray’s operation was both more extensive and more disturbing than any of us had anticipated.“She has files,” Leo said, spreading photocopies across the table. He’d managed to photograph several documents during his last meeting with Gray when she’d briefly left him alone in her office. “Not just on me, but on at least eight other pack members with human families or vulnerable connections.”I picked up one of the photos, my stomach sinking as I recognized the name. Daniel Torres—one of our newer members, former Blood Fang like Leo. The file contained photos of his elderly mother in a nursing home, detailed medical records, financial information showing she was depende

It was the first time Leo had addressed Kane as Alpha instead of just using his name, and the significance wasn’t lost on anyone in the room. It was acknowledgment of hierarchy, yes, but also of genuine loyalty reestablished through the opportunity for redemption.After everyone dispersed to their assigned tasks, Kane and I finally had a moment alone in his private quarters.“You handled that well,” I said, settling onto the couch and pulling him down beside me. “The thing with Leo. The balance between discipline and mercy, consequences and second chances. That was good leadership, Kane.”“It was your idea,” Kane pointed out. “Turning him into a double agent, relocating his family, using the betrayal to our advantage instead of just punishing it.”“It was Jake’s idea initially,” I corrected. “I just helped refine it. And you’re the one who made the final call, who took the risk of trusting someone who’d already betrayed us once. That took courage.”“Or stupidity,” Kane said. “Still un

Calla’s POV“She threatened my family again at the end,” Leo said quietly. “Said she hoped I’d keep in mind what was at stake if I decided to get ‘creative’ with the information I was sharing. It took everything in me not to tell her that my family was already safe, and that she had no power left.”“That’s exactly what we need you to do,” I said firmly. “Let her think she still has control over you. Make her believe her threats are having an effect. That overconfidence will ultimately be what brings her down.”Kane quickly pulled out his phone and sent a text. “Just checked in with Jake—your family is secure in the safe house. Maria and the kids are managing, all things considered. Miguel wants to know when you’ll be able to visit.”Leo’s calm demeanor wavered slightly. “How long do I have to keep this up? When can I see them?”“Until we gather enough information to deal with Gray as a threat,” Kane explained. “It could take weeks or even longer. I know it’s tough, Leo. But your famil

Calla's PovSo there I was, sitting in a van a few blocks away from the coffee shop where Leo was meeting Gray, using binoculars to watch and listening in through a hidden microphone Jake had placed in Leo’s jacket.“This feels like something out of a police drama,” Luna said from beside me. “Are we really doing surveillance from a van?”“Would you rather we do it from a more obvious spot?” I responded dryly.“Fair point,” Luna admitted.Through the binoculars, I saw Gray arrive—always professional, carrying a leather folder that likely held the fake evidence she was using to pressure Leo. They ordered coffee and engaged in what seemed like casual small talk, but it was really Gray trying to establish comfort and control.Then she leaned forward slightly, and even from this distance I could see the shift in her body language as the real conversation began.“&helli

Calla’s POVWatching Leo say goodbye to his family was harder than I’d expected.His wife Maria was understandably confused and scared. She had only been told they had to leave right away for safety reasons, without any explanation that might put them in danger. Their daughter, Sofía, was clinging to Leo, crying because she didn’t want to leave her friends and school. Their son, Miguel, was trying to be brave, but kept asking when his dad would come to visit.“Soon,” Leo kept promising, his voice breaking with emotion. “I’ll come see you very soon, I promise.” Jake stepped in at that point, gently taking the kids by the hand and guiding Maria toward the cars with a mix of kindness and firmness that showed me why Kane had such confidence in him. “We’ll take good care of them,” Jake assured Leo quietly. “Your family will be safe. You have my word.”Once they were gone, Leo stood alone in the parking lot, looking completely empty inside. I recognized that feeling—the emptiness that come

The other pack members filed out quickly, leaving just the five of us in a heavy silence.“We should kill him,” Luna said flatly once the door closed. “Not because he betrayed us—I actually understand why he did it—but because we can’t afford to have a compromised pack member that Gray can continue to use against us. It’s a security risk we can’t contain.”“We’re not killing him,” I said immediately, meeting Luna’s eyes. “There has to be another option.”“Like what?” Luna challenged. “Exile? That leaves him vulnerable to Gray with all the information he’s already given her, plus whatever he picks up on his way out. Prison? Can’t exactly send him to human authorities. Isolation? That’s just slower execution.”“We work with him,” Jake said quietly, and everyone turned to look at him. “We don’t kill him and we don’t exile him. We help him protect his family—actually protect them, not just promise to—and we turn him into a double agent feeding Gray false information while we gather intel