LOGIN125 The rest of the prophecy was found just after midnight. Matthew found it. Of course he did. The Beta had refused to sleep, refused to leave the archives, and refused to stop digging until every sealed box, hidden drawer, and false shelf had been examined. By the time he burst into the temporary command room with a stack of ancient documents under his arm, every Alpha present knew it was important. Matthew only ran when he found something worth running for. Decker was reviewing copied records with Tony and Jared when the door opened hard enough to hit the wall. Matthew stood there breathing heavily. His notebook was tucked under one arm. Ancient pages under the other. Adam appeared seconds later. "Tell me you found it." Matthew looked around the room. "I found all of it." Silence. Immediate. Absolute. Twenty minutes later every Alpha, Beta, and Luna sat in the conference chamber. Even Lotty. Despite Decker's obvious desire to wrap her in blankets and hide her somewhere underg
124 Elara was found beneath the retreat before dawn. Not by the regional council. By Jared. That mattered. The lower tunnels beneath the retreat were older than the building itself, carved into the stone generations ago for emergency evacuations, storage, and the kind of secrets no council member wanted recorded in the main archives. They were narrow. Cold. Badly lit. And they smelled of dust, damp rock, old fear and blood. Jared stopped at the mouth of the third tunnel and lifted one fist. The mixed security team behind him froze. One guard from each pack. Dark Mountain. Edgewater Falls. Silver Claw. Ashvale. Iron Ridge. Pine Hollow. Blackwater. Whitefern. For once, none of them argued. They had learned quickly that when Jared stopped, everyone stopped. He crouched near the stone floor and touched two fingers to a dark smear on the ground. Fresh. Still wet. The Silver Claw guard leaned closer. “Elara?” “Likely,” Jared said. The Edgewater tracker sniffed the air, his eyes n
123 The retreat changed within minutes. Whatever illusion of neutrality the regional council had maintained shattered the moment Elara disappeared. Doors were locked. Hallways were sealed. Council guards spread through the old stone building with grim faces and clipped orders. But they were not the only ones searching. Not anymore. By Decker’s order and by the agreement of every Alpha present a second security team was formed. One guard from each pack. Dark Mountain. Edgewater Falls. Silver Claw. Ashvale. Iron Ridge. Pine Hollow. Blackwater. Whitefern. No single pack would control the search. No single council guard would be trusted alone. If Elara was found, everyone would know. If evidence vanished, everyone would see who touched it. That was the new rule inside the retreat. Trust no one completely. Watch everyone equally. Jared took command of the mixed security team without asking permission. No one argued. The Whitefern guard, a tall woman with a scar along her jaw, gave him
122 The regional council convened behind closed doors before sunrise. Not in the grand hall. Not where the Alphas could listen. They gathered in the inner chamber, an old circular room built beneath the retreat itself, lined with shelves of law books, treaty scrolls, and portraits of council leaders who had long since turned to dust. There were seven council members present. Seven wolves who had claimed neutrality for generations. Seven wolves who now sat beneath the weight of eight angry Alphas questioning whether neutrality had ever been real. Council Elder Rasmus sat at the center. Silver-haired. Sharp-eyed. Old enough that even Morgan had addressed him with caution. He listened while the others argued. “This is an insult,” Councilwoman Elara snapped. “The Alphas come into our retreat, accuse us at dinner, and now expect us to open private archives?” Councilman Torren leaned forward. “They do not expect it. They demand it.” “And we should refuse.” Rasmus lifted one hand. The
121 Round two of the summit never started. Not officially. The Alphas had too much to sort through before anyone was ready to sit in that circle again and pretend they knew where the lines were drawn. So the meeting was placed on hold. Not canceled. Not delayed out of fear. Paused. That was the word Morgan used. But everyone knew what it meant. The room had cracked open too much. Now every Alpha needed time to decide what they believed. And who they suspected. For the rest of the afternoon, the retreat became a maze of private conversations. Alphas disappeared into assigned rooms with their Betas, Lunas, or closest advisers. Papers changed hands. Confessions were reviewed. Old promises were compared against current borders and trade routes. Matthew looked like he hadn’t eaten in a day and had no interest in changing that. Tony looked equally tired and far more annoyed. The two Betas sat together at one point with files spread between them, speaking in low voices while Jared stood
120 The break between meetings felt less like rest and more like everyone had been released from a cage just long enough to pace. Alphas disappeared into private corners with their Betas. Guards gathered in tight circles. Lunas spoke softly near windows, their eyes moving over the room as carefully as any warrior’s. Lotty slipped out onto the side terrace for air. The cold helped. So did the quiet. She rested one hand lightly against her stomach and let out a slow breath. “Escaping?” Lotty turned. Selene stood in the doorway with two cups of tea in her hands and a knowing smile on her face. Lotty laughed softly. “Trying to.” Selene crossed the terrace and handed her one cup. “I thought you might need this.” Lotty accepted it gratefully. “Thank you.” For a moment they stood side by side, looking out over the neutral grounds below. Then Selene said, “That meeting was worse than I expected.” Lotty nodded. “And somehow better.” “Because no one died?” “ That helped.” Selene smi
117 Decker and Lotty agreed not to announce the pregnancy right away. It was sensible. Private. Responsible. They wanted to wait until she was farther along. Long enough for the risk to lessen. Long enough for the news to feel steady beneath their feet instead of bright and fragile. They told them
116 The next morning surprised both Alphas. Not because of anything dangerous. Not because of a new crisis. For once, it was something good. Decker and Adam entered the dining hall together shortly after sunrise. Neither was fully awake yet. Both carried coffee. Both expected a quiet breakfast be
115 Eventually, the excitement settled. Not completely. That would have been impossible. Matthew was still grinning every few minutes. Adam still looked at Lotty like he couldn't quite believe what he'd heard. And Decker looked entirely too pleased with himself. But eventually the celebration gave
114 The next morning, Dark Mountain looked more like it was preparing for a diplomatic summit than a family visit. Decker wasn't surprised. Neither was Jared. The General stood in the courtyard before sunrise organizing warrior assignments while patrol leaders moved around him. Additional guards.







