LILA POV I told them about Arika—what little I could remember. Honestly, there wasn’t much, and what I did recall wasn’t great. Arika had always been trouble.She was three years older than me and never missed a chance to make my life miserable. I still remember the relief I felt when she disappeared and never came back. But now, staring at her face on the screen, I felt uneasy. The same way she always made me feel."Is she a hacker too?" Jake asked."I don't know… but she was good at taking things that weren’t hers," I admitted. I remembered how she used to steal from everyone in the orphanage, always shifting the blame onto others. More often than not, I took the fall. She enjoyed watching me struggle."I'll have my men look for her," Lucas assured me. I nodded, but deep down, I knew it wouldn’t be easy to track her down."But for now, you need rest," Lucas added firmly. "You’ve had a long day, and I won’t hear another word about it."I narrowed my eyes at him, tempted to argue. B
Lila felt a wave of sadness when they declined to give her their full attention simultaneously. Nevertheless, once Jake finished his interaction, she sat on Lucas's lap as he continued his. It brought her a feeling of comfort for the rest of the evening, and Jake took care of her by providing food. Lucas seemed reluctant to part ways, and she found herself spending the night with him following their meal. He escorted her to his sleeping quarters for the remainder of the night."So persistent," Lucas remarked, his voice soft and low as they embraced in the bed."You seem unwilling to move," Lila noted as he remained close."It's not my intent to stay," Lucas responded, gently attempting to ease her, but his efforts proved ineffective. Instead, Lila gave him a playful nudge."If you don't intend to stay, then why are you holding onto me so tightly?" she teased, tilting her head slightly to meet his gaze.Lucas exhaled softly, brushing his fingers through her hair. "You're warm," he adm
"This is a terrible idea," Lucas muttered, rubbing his temple as he read Rikkard’s email for the third time. His hands clenched into fists."We don’t have much of a choice, do we?" Jake countered, leaning against the doorway.Lucas’s jaw tightened. "I’d rather burn Rikkard’s entire empire to the ground than ask for his help.""And yet, here we are," Jake said with a sigh. "Lila’s safety comes first. You know that."Lucas growled under his breath. His wolf stirred violently at the mere thought of Rikkard being anywhere near Lila. It was a struggle to suppress the possessive, raging part of himself."You think I don’t know that?" Lucas snapped, his golden eyes flashing. "But trusting him? After everything? It makes me sick."Jake crossed his arms, unfazed. "It’s not trust—it’s necessity. Someone’s targeting us, Lucas. And unless you plan on ripping through an entire underground network by yourself, we need Rikkard’s resources."Lucas exhaled sharply, trying to steady himself. His hatred
Lila crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her elbow as the screen remained dark. "How long is this going to take? We’re sitting ducks here.""Patience, kitten," Jake murmured, leaning back in his chair with an infuriating smirk. "You’re acting like you have somewhere better to be.""I do—literally anywhere but waiting on Rikkard," she shot back. "And don’t call me kitten."Lucas exhaled slowly, his gaze fixed on the screen. "If this is going to work, we need to be prepared for anything. Rikkard doesn’t trust easily, and neither do I.""That makes two of us," Lila muttered. "Three, actually."The tension in the room thickened as the screen flickered. Static hummed for a brief second before Rikkard’s face appeared. His sharp, calculating eyes swept across them, lingering on Lila longer than she liked."Well, well," Rikkard mused, his voice like velvet laced with steel. "Quite the interesting gathering. Lucas, Jake, and…?""Lila," she answered flatly, unwilling to let him steer
A Breach of Trust“What is she doing here?”Rikkard’s voice, thick with disdain, filled the silent space as his image flickered onto the screen. His dark eyes narrowed, scanning the trio before him. Lucas sat rigid, his jaw tightening. Jake leaned back, arms crossed, a smirk playing at his lips. And Lila? She held her ground, unfazed by the obvious hostility.“She’s here because she needs to be,” Lucas responded curtly. “We agreed to talk. So talk.”Rikkard scoffed, barely concealing his contempt. “I agreed to speak with men of power, not a woman who has no place in this conversation.”Lila arched a brow, unimpressed. “And yet, here I am.”Jake chuckled under his breath, clearly enjoying the tension, while Lucas remained coldly silent. Lila refused to look away from Rikkard, her expression unwavering. If he thought a condescending tone would make her cower, he had another thing coming.Rikkard exhaled sharply, as if already exhausted. “Fine. Let’s get to the point.” He leaned forward,
Lucas turned to face her fully. "Arika."Lila’s fingers drummed against the table, her jaw tightening. "I’d bet my life on it."Jake nodded. "It makes sense. If she wanted to throw everyone off her trail, pinning it on Lawrence would be a smart move. But why steal military secrets? What’s her endgame?"Lila shook her head. "That’s what we need to find out."Lucas’s expression darkened. "We also need to consider another possibility—Rikkard might already know Arika is involved. He could be playing us."Silence filled the room. The thought sent a cold ripple down Lila’s spine. "You think he’s using us to clean up his mess?"Lucas nodded. "Wouldn’t be the first time he’s manipulated a situation to his advantage."Jake sighed. "So, what’s our next move? We can’t just sit here and wait for Rikkard to feed us more half-truths."Lila straightened. "The Weddard witches."Jake frowned. "What about them?""They talk," she said simply. "Loose tongues, eager ears. If Rikkard knows something about
“You’re overthinking this.”“I am not.” Lila’s voice was sharp, her eyes flashing with irritation as she paced the room. “Rikkard isn’t telling us everything. There’s something bigger going on, and if we don’t figure it out soon, we’ll be caught in the middle of it.”Jake exhaled heavily, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. “I get it, Lila. But you’re pushing yourself too hard. You need to slow down.”“I don’t have time to slow down,” she snapped, raking a hand through her hair. “Arika could be orchestrating something even worse, and Rikkard might be hiding more than he’s letting on.”Lucas, who had been silent up until now, stepped forward. “Lila, we hear you. But your stress isn’t helping. It’s making everything worse.”Lila shot him a glare. “So what? You want me to just sit back and do nothing?”“No,” Jake said, pushing off the doorframe. “But I do want you to breathe, maybe sleep for more than three hours a night. You’re running yourself into the ground.”She clenche
“You’re overthinking this.”“I am not.” Lila’s voice was sharp, her eyes flashing with irritation as she paced the room. “Rikkard isn’t telling us everything. There’s something bigger going on, and if we don’t figure it out soon, we’ll be caught in the middle of it.”Jake exhaled heavily, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. “I get it, Lila. But you’re pushing yourself too hard. You need to slow down.”“I don’t have time to slow down,” she snapped, raking a hand through her hair. “Arika could be orchestrating something even worse, and Rikkard might be hiding more than he’s letting on.”Lucas, who had been silent up until now, stepped forward. “Lila, we hear you. But your stress isn’t helping. It’s making everything worse.”Lila shot him a glare. “So what? You want me to just sit back and do nothing?”“No,” Jake said, pushing off the doorframe. “But I do want you to breathe, maybe sleep for more than three hours a night. You’re running yourself into the ground.”She clenche
“You’re sure this is where she came?”Jake’s voice cut through the howling wind, low and tense, barely audible over the shrieking gusts and biting snow. His eyes scanned the fractured skyline of the abandoned port, every sense on high alert.“Yes,” Lucas answered, brushing snow off the small tracking device clutched in his glove. The screen blinked weakly beneath a layer of frost, its signal sputtering in and out like a dying heartbeat. “She couldn’t have gotten far with that injury. This is where the trail ends.”“I don’t like it.” Jake’s nostrils flared, his wolf stirring beneath the surface, restless. “The air’s too still. Even the crows are gone.”“They don’t linger near death.” Lucas muttered, adjusting the rifle slung over his shoulder. His jaw was tight, eyes sweeping across the jagged silhouettes of forgotten shipping containers buried in snow. “Neither should we.”Jake crouched, brushing aside a layer of snow with his palm. “Footprints. Hers. But…” His hand hovered over a sec
“Come on, Lila—move!” Jake’s voice echoed, frantic yet distant over the static of her heart pounding. With every agonizing second that ticked away on the digital screen above the stolen servers, the container’s red countdown screamed at her: 00:00:01.Lila’s body, battered and seared with silver poison still burning through her veins, refused to yield to despair. Every muscle cried out in protest as she dragged herself across the cold metal floor, her cybernetic arm scraping along a jagged line of shattered concrete. The room was a chaos of scattered cables, twisted server racks, and shattered dreams—a grim battlefield illuminated by the harsh glow of the countdown timer still frozen at the edge between hope and oblivion.“Arika!” she rasped, voice strained with desperation, “I—”No answer came but the relentless beep of the timer.Arika lay crumpled nearby, blood trickling from her ravaged face, her eyes filled with a frenzy of rage and defeat. Lila’s vision blurred; all that mattere
...Her vision darkened at the edges. Her muscles slackened.The poison was winning.But she’d stopped the countdown.She’d stopped her.And that was worth every drop of blood.“I thought you were smarter than this,” Arika’s voice cracked through the silence like a whip, low and bitter. “But you’re still just the broken girl who doesn’t know when to give up.”Lila barely had time to look up before she heard the click.Arika had drawn a second weapon—a sleek silver-plated handgun—and was aiming it straight at her.“Guess what this one’s loaded with,” Arika sneered. “Silver. Custom made. Just for you.”Lila’s instincts screamed. Her own weapon trembled in her bleeding hand as she forced herself upright. Her breath was sharp, her body sluggish. But her mind? Sharp. Deadly.She raised her gun to match Arika’s.Both women locked eyes, frozen, guns trained on each other in the flickering red light of the destroyed container. Sparks flared behind them, the silence stretching tight like a live
Arika collapsed to her knees, hands trembling. “It was supposed to end. I needed it to end.”Lila stared at her for a long moment. The woman before her wasn’t just a villain. She was broken. And dangerous.But she was also her sister.“I’m not giving you the keys,” Lila said softly. “And I’m not letting you destroy this.”The red glow of the screen illuminated both their faces—sweat, grime, blood.It was over.But it wasn’t.Not even close.With a sudden, primal scream, Arika lunged upward, throwing herself at Lila with bone-snapping force.Lila staggered, taken off guard by the sheer desperation behind the charge. Arika’s elbow jammed into her chest, sending her reeling against the grated floor of the container. Sparks showered around them from dislodged cables. A warning alarm somewhere nearby wailed, short and sharp.Arika didn’t stop.She pounced again—this time, tackling Lila to the ground. Both women hit the metal floor hard, their bodies tangled in fury and pain. The detonator
“You’re insane, Arika. You know that, right?”“Insane?” Arika’s voice oozed with mockery. “Please. That’s such a civilian diagnosis.”Lila’s fists clenched as she took another step forward, her eyes locked on the massive screen overhead—00:09:56. The red numbers blinked with a deadly calmness, each second ticking away a piece of her resolve. Beneath the screen, her servers stood like monuments to everything she’d fought for. Wired with explosives.“You’re going to kill us both,” Lila spat, her voice shaking with fury. “All of this—just to prove a point?”“Oh no, darling.” Arika twirled the sleek detonator in her hand, its silver surface catching the dim light. “Not to prove a point. To make one.”“You planted explosives on the servers!” Lila’s voice rose, ragged. “Are you listening to yourself?”Arika chuckled softly, stepping aside to reveal a clearer view of the blinking red lights wired into each server unit. “I told you this was always bigger than us. You just didn’t want to belie
Lila followed Arika up the ramp, her boots clinking softly against the grated metal, heart thudding louder with each step. Something in Arika’s voice lingered like smoke—too calm, too measured. She didn’t trust it. Not for a second.“You keep the data onboard?” Lila asked, eyes flicking to the wall-mounted surveillance cams. The ship’s interior was sleek but sterile, with black paneling and chrome fixtures. Cold. Like its owner.“No,” Arika said, stopping at a narrow corridor. “I keep my insurance onboard.”She keyed a code into the control pad, and a mechanical hiss broke the silence. A door slid open, revealing a freight elevator platform.“After you,” Arika said with a mock bow.Lila stepped in cautiously, hand still near her weapon. The platform hummed, descending smoothly into the ship’s belly. A few seconds passed in silence. Arika didn’t move. Didn’t smile.Then the metal chamber opened—and Lila’s breath caught.Rows of blinking machines lined the container-sized space. The ser
The Vault’s Truth:Arika’s voice cut through the still air like a blade. “You ever stop and ask yourself what the point of it all is?”Lila didn’t answer immediately. The faint hum of the servers was the only sound between them. Outside, the snow still howled, muffled through thick bunker walls. Her fingers hovered over the tablet screen, pulling fragments of data—locations, funds, faces of corrupt officials—but her mind was already one step ahead.“I used to,” she said finally, gaze still fixed on the display. “I used to think the world was rotten to the core. That maybe if I set a match to everything, it’d feel better.”Arika snorted. “It doesn’t.”“No,” Lila agreed, voice softer now. “It just burns you with it.”That silenced Arika for a beat. Lila glanced over, catching the flicker of doubt that cracked through her sister’s sarcasm.“You sound like one of those therapy podcasts the Alphas play for their anxious mates.”“I sound like someone who’s been burned before.” Lila turned o
Frostbite and Fireworks:"“You sure you’re not walking me into a trap?”Lila’s voice cut through the storm, low and razor-sharp, carried on the wind like a blade tossed by fate."Would I waste this much time just to kill you?” Arika replied without glancing back, her silhouette a blur through the thick curtain of snow. “Don’t flatter yourself.”"You’ve done worse for less."Lila adjusted the grip on her sidearm beneath her coat, every muscle coiled. “And you still haven’t answered how you got the servers out of here without leaving a trail.”"You'll see.”It wasn’t a tease. It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise laced with something darker—familiar, dangerous, and maddeningly vague.The snowstorm howled around them like a feral thing, wind battering exposed skin and biting through layers as they trudged deeper into the derelict port grounds. Long-dead cranes loomed like rusted sentinels, skeletal and forgotten. The place reeked of salt, decay, and memory.Lila kept scanning—trees, rooft
The locket in Arika’s hand glinted one last time in the fading light before she tucked it into the folds of her coat, her fingers twitching as though the cold no longer bothered her—just the past that still clung to her skin.But Lila wasn’t finished.Not yet.She turned slowly, like a predator toying with a rival too confident for her own good. “You know,” she said conversationally, her voice laced with honeyed venom, “for someone who prides herself on good taste, I’m surprised you didn’t notice the warning signs.”Arika’s head tilted. “What signs?”Lila’s smile was all razor-edge charm. “Oh, just that Salicus was riddled with diseases. Biochemical ones. I should know—I left him with a few.”The blow landed with precision. A flicker of something passed through Arika’s expression—a stutter in her breath, a twitch at the corner of her mouth. She masked it quickly, but not quickly enough.“You’re bluffing,” Arika said, voice clipped.“Am I?” Lila stepped closer, letting her words drip.