Chapter4:Trade

  Ellena and Dante found at least twenty wolves gathered around a table covered in weapons and building schematics in Blackwood Estate's main hall, which had become a war room. Marcus led the pack, barking orders at the younger members despite his bandaged shoulder.

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‎"We should've killed her when we had the chance," Marcus said when he saw Elena, and several wolves nodded. "Now Viktor's at our gate with an army because you played the hero."

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‎Dante took out his phone and tapped the screen before turning it toward the assembled pack. Elena was horrified when she saw a video of a young girl tied to a chair in a basement, bruised and terrified. 

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‎ She was no older than sixteen.

‎Dante said, "That's my sister Lily," echoing across the quiet room. Victor sent this and his demands ten minutes ago. He'll exchange Elena for her one-for-one and start mailing us pieces if we don't agree within an hour."

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‎ Elena felt every eye in the room turn toward her, and their hatred was almost physical. They were no longer strangers; their family member had crashed into their territory and was being tortured.

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‎"I'll go," Elena said before other people could speak. "I'll trade. It's not your fight."

‎"Like hell you will," Dante said, surprising her as much as the pack. Victor wants leverage, not trading. After we hand you over, he'll kill Lily to prove a point."

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‎ What do you suggest?" Marcus demanded. "We storm his hiding place and hope we arrive before he kills her?"

‎"Actually, yes," Elena said, walking to the table and pointing at the schematics as everyone stared at her. These are warehouse plans. Will you attack Viktor's operations?"

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‎"We'll find my sister," Dante said. "We don't know which building is Victor's main compound in the industrial district."

‎ Elena touched a blueprint after 30 seconds of studying it. "This one. Old Mercer Street textile factory. My father gave Viktor access to it six months ago as part of their partnership agreement to store shipments that needed to disappear."

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‎ How do you know? Marcus asked suspiciously.

‎“Because I was there when they signed the paperwork,” Elena said. "My father said his big deals were educational, so I watched. The factory has three floors, two entrances, and a sewer-connected tunnel. Viktor's prisoners will be in the basement, where the boiler room was."

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‎Dante was already comparing satellite imagery on a tablet to Elena's description. Does the tunnel system have access points outside the building?"

‎"Two I know," Elena said. One enters an alley a block south, the other exits a condemned subway station.

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‎They helped my father move the product discreetly."

‎"So we split into teams," Marcus said, and Elena saw him reorganizing the attack plan mentally. "Main assault through the front to draw attention while a smaller group extracts Lily through the tunnels."

‎"Viktor will expect that," Elena said.

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‎ "He knows my dad designed it. He'll monitor tunnel entrances."

‎ What do you suggest?" Elena thought Dante was testing her when he asked.

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‎ I suggest you let me in through the front door, Elena said. Victor wants me, so I surrender. Your people rescue your sister from the tunnels while he's distracted by his prize."

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‎ At least half the group argued that it was the stupidest plan they'd heard. Marcus seemed to agree with them but struggled with the practicalities, and Dante stared at Elena like he was trying to decide if she was brave or suicidal.

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‎"You walk in there and die," Dante concluded.

‎"Maybe," Elena said. "If we don't try, your sister dies, and this is our best chance. Viktor won't kill me right away to enjoy it. It buys time."

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‎"And what happens when we remove Lily and you're left with a psychopath?" Marcus demanded.

‎Elena looked into his eyes and tried not to think about how Viktor would torture her before killing her. "Then you leave me and make sure it wasn't wasted."

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‎ A young wolf Elena hadn't seen before, no older than eighteen, broke the silence. "Lily's my best friend," she whispered. "If this could work, we must try it."

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‎ After that, more voices argued for and against Elena's plan, but Dante didn't listen. He watched Elena with an intensity that made her skin prickle, and when he spoke, his voice cut through the chaos like a blade.

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‎"We're not sending her in alone," Dante said. "I'll join her."

‎Marcus said, "That's even stupider than her plan." Victor wants her, not you. He'll notice something's wrong when you arrive."

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‎“Then we make it convincing,” Dante said. She's being turned over because my pack demanded it. Everyone wins: Viktor gets his way, I keep the peace."

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‎"Except me," Elena said.

‎"Except you live long enough for us to make the extraction," Dante corrected. "I'm not keeping you there longer than necessary."

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‎ Elena wanted to argue that he was crazy and that she wasn't worth the risk, but his face told her the argument was over. His reasons for protecting her went beyond sanctuary.

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‎"Fine," Elena said. "If this goes wrong, you choose your sister over me. Not negotiable."

‎ Although his jaw tightened, Dante nodded. "Deal."

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‎Later, Marcus divided the pack into teams, apparently putting his hostility toward Elena behind him to save his alpha's sister. Elena watched the preparations with a strange detached, as if she were watching someone else's life.

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‎ After 24 hours of fleeing through the forest, she planned to walk straight into the man who wanted to dissect her for parts.

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‎ Elena jumped when Dante quietly appeared beside her and said, "You don't have to do this." "There's another way."

‎"You know there's no other way," Elena said. "Viktor won't negotiate or wait. This is our only play."

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‎ Dante said, "You're very calm about potentially dying."

‎ Elena thought about her father's house and the basement where people disappeared, wondering if she'd end up there. Since being born into the Volkov family, I've lived on borrowed time. I get to decide how it ends."

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Dante's gentle but firm grip on her wrist prevented her from leaving without a struggle. "It won't end," he said. Not tonight, not like this. Get out, both of you."

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‎ Elena, "You can't promise that."

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"Watch me," Dante said, his fierce expression making Elena almost believe him.