CHAPTER EIGHT: THE DINNER 

The dining hall had been transformed for Alpha Marcus's visit.

Fine tablecloths covered the long tables. Candles provided soft lighting. The best china and silverware gleamed. Even the air smelled different—rich food and expensive wine instead of the usual pack house scents.

I stood against the wall with the other servers, dressed in a simple black dress that marked me as staff. My hands were steady, my face blank. The perfect invisible servant.

Kane sat at the head of the table, with Marcus on his right. Alpha Marcus of Silverfang Pack was older than Kane, maybe sixty, with silver hair and sharp eyes that missed nothing. His Beta and several of his top warriors sat nearby.

Ryker sat at Kane's left, with Vanessa beside him. She wore a beautiful dress and smiled at everything Marcus said, playing the perfect future Luna.

And she kept shooting me poisonous looks whenever she thought no one was watching.

"The Human Alpha's threat grows stronger every day," Marcus was saying. "Silverfang has already fortified our northern border. But he's unpredictable. If he strikes at one of us, we all must respond."

"Agreed," Kane said. "Which is why this alliance is crucial. Moontide, Silverfang, and Nightshade Pack—together, we're unstoppable."

Nightshade. That was new. Daren would want to know about a third pack joining the alliance.

I moved forward to refill wine glasses, my movements practiced and smooth. As I poured for Marcus, I activated the small recording device hidden in the bracelet Elena had disguised as a simple omega marker.

"The Nightshade Alpha is young," Marcus said. "Are we certain of his loyalty?"

"Alpha Dominic owes me favors," Kane replied. "He'll honor them. Besides, his territory borders the dead lands where the Human Alpha operates. He has as much to fear as we do."

I moved to fill Ryker's glass next. His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist.

"Careful," he said coldly. "You spilled."

I hadn't, but I looked down and saw a drop of wine on the tablecloth near his plate.

"Forgive me, Alpha Ryker." I kept my voice flat, emotionless.

He held my wrist for a moment longer, his touch burning through my skin. Then he released me and I moved on.

But I felt his eyes follow me.

"Your son seems distracted," Marcus observed with amusement.

"He's focused on security," Kane said smoothly. "We have a... situation with a former pack member who may be compromised."

"The omega serving wine?" Marcus's eyes found me. "The one I heard was your son's rejected mate?"

"The same. She returned claiming to have escaped from the Human Alpha. I'm keeping her close to see if she leads us to anything useful."

They were talking about me like I wasn't there. Like I was furniture.

Perfect.

"And if she is a spy?" Marcus asked.

"Then she'll die. But not before I use her to feed false information to my enemy." Kane smiled. "I'm not above using broken things for my purposes."

Rage burned in my chest, but I kept my face blank. Just an omega. Just a servant. Nothing to worry about.

The dinner continued. I served food, refilled drinks, and listened.

I learned that the three-pack alliance was planning a coordinated strike against any rogues in the dead lands. A "cleansing," they called it. An attempt to flush out the Human Alpha's forces.

I learned that Marcus had offered his daughter to Ryker as a second mate, to strengthen the alliance. Vanessa didn't know yet.

I learned that Kane had a spy in Nightshade Pack, someone feeding him information about Dominic's activities.

And I learned something that made my blood run cold.

"The weapon," Marcus said quietly, leaning toward Kane. "Have you determined its location?"

Kane's expression darkened. "Not yet. But it's here somewhere. The Methlock wolves hid it well, but we'll find it eventually."

"And when you do?"

"Then the Human Alpha becomes irrelevant. With that kind of power, we could unite all the packs under Moontide's banner. We'd be unstoppable."

What weapon? What were they talking about?

I filed it away to tell Daren, keeping my expression neutral as I moved around the table.

The dinner was winding down when it happened.

A commotion at the door. One of the guards rushed in, face pale.

"Alpha Kane! There's been an attack on the eastern border. Rogues."

Kane shot to his feet. "How many?"

"At least twenty. They're burning the patrol station."

"Assemble the warriors. Marcus, your fighters too. We end this now." Kane's eyes blazed with fury. "Ryker, with me. Vanessa, go to the safe room."

The hall erupted into controlled chaos. Warriors rushed out. The Alphas and their top fighters followed.

And I was left standing there with the other servers and a few low-ranked wolves.

This was it. The distraction Jacob had promised.

I waited thirty seconds, then moved quickly. I grabbed the listening device from my bracelet—a tiny disc smaller than a button—and pressed it under Kane's chair where it would be hidden by the ornate woodwork.

"Shahira? What are you doing?"

I spun around to find Vanessa standing in the doorway to the hall. She hadn't gone to the safe room like Kane ordered.

"Nothing. Just clearing the table."

Her eyes narrowed. "You were touching the Alpha's chair."

"I dropped something. I was picking it up."

She moved closer, her wolf rising behind her eyes. "You're lying. You're always lying. I know you're up to something."

"Vanessa—"

"Don't say my name like we're still friends. We're not friends. We never were. I was just the fool who believed you actually cared about me."

The accusation was so twisted it almost made me laugh. "You're the one who stole my mate."

"I didn't steal anything. Ryker chose me. Because I'm strong and you're weak." But there was something desperate in her voice. "He chose me."

"Then why does he keep staring at me?"

It was a cruel thing to say, but I was done being kind to her.

Her face went white, then red with rage. "You bitch. You come back here with your sob story, playing the broken omega, but you're trying to get him back. You're trying to ruin everything."

"I don't want him back, Vanessa. I don't want anything from this pack except—"

I stopped myself, but too late.

"Except what?" She moved closer, predatory. "What do you really want, Shahira?"

Before I could answer, shouting erupted from outside. The attack. Something was happening.

Vanessa glanced toward the noise, distracted for just a second.

I ran.

I bolted from the dining hall, through the corridors, heading for the omega quarters. Behind me, I heard Vanessa shouting for guards.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

I burst into the omega quarters and grabbed my bag, shoving in the few belongings I had. Including the phone.

I had to get out. Now. Before they searched my things and found the phone or realized what I'd planted.

The emergency extraction. Daren had made me memorize it. North side of the compound, through the kitchen, into the forest. Three miles to the extraction point where his people would be waiting.

I ran.

Through the kitchen, past the startled cooks. Out the back door into the cool night air. Across the yard toward the tree line.

"Stop her!" Vanessa's voice screamed behind me.

Footsteps. Running wolves. They were coming.

I hit the forest at a full sprint, my wolf lending me speed. Branches whipped my face. Roots tried to trip me. But I kept running, kept pushing.

Three miles. Just three miles.

A wolf howl split the night. The hunt was on.

I pushed harder, my lungs burning, my legs screaming. The forest blurred around me. I could hear them behind me, getting closer.

Two miles.

Something hit me from the side. I went down hard, rolling through undergrowth. A wolf stood over me—one of the border patrol guards.

I kicked out, catching him in the throat. He yelped and I scrambled up, running again.

One mile.

More wolves. Three of them now, cutting off my escape routes. Herding me.

I was going to die here. So close to extraction, but not close enough.

Then the forest exploded with violence.

Daren appeared like a shadow made flesh. He moved through the three wolves like death itself, faster than anything I'd ever seen. One went down with a broken neck. Another flew backward into a tree. The third tried to run.

Daren caught it.

"Go!" he shouted at me. "Extraction point! Now!"

I ran the last mile on pure adrenaline. When I burst into the clearing, two of Daren's people were waiting with weapons and a vehicle.

"Get in!" one of them shouted.

I dove into the back seat. The engine roared to life.

A moment later, Daren appeared out of the darkness and jumped into the passenger seat. "Drive!"

We tore through the forest on a hidden road, putting distance between us and Moontide. Behind us, I could hear howls of rage and pursuit.

But we were faster.

Ten miles later, we finally slowed. The pursuit had fallen back.

I sat in the back seat, shaking, trying to process what had just happened.

"You got compromised," Daren said without turning around. His voice was cold.

"Vanessa saw me. She was suspicious. I had to run."

"Did you plant the device?"

"Yes. Under Kane's chair."

"Good. Then the mission wasn't a complete failure." He finally turned to look at me. "But now they know for certain you're a spy. Which means we need to accelerate our timeline."

"What does that mean?"

His eyes were hard. "It means the war starts now."