Chapter 5

~ Declan ~

"Tonight," Norah whispered.

I stared at the tablet, my hand tightening until the plastic casing cracked.

I shut off the audio feed. I didn't need to hear any more. Krane had given the order, and the war I had been preparing for was here.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. Elias. My Beta.

I answered. "Report."

"Alpha," Elias said, his voice tight. *"The shipping grid is down. The Kranes hit the mainframe. We’re locked out."

"It's a diversion," I said, walking to the window to look out at the dark forest. "Krane doesn't care about cargo. He wants territory."

"The Elders are panicking," Elias said. "Silas wants to surrender the eastern docks."

"Silas is a coward," I snapped. "Secure the Tower. Lock down the perimeter. And send a strike team to the nurseries."

"The nurseries?" Elias paused. "But the cyber attack—"

"Is a distraction," I said. "Krane strikes at the bloodline. Get the pups to the safe room. Now."

I hung up.

Norah was watching me from the sofa, huddled under my jacket. She looked small.

"You have to go," she said.

She was right. My pack was under attack.

"I can't take you with me," I said. "The Tower is a target. If I bring you there, you'll be dead in an hour."

"So you're leaving me here," she said.

"This cabin is off the grid," I said. "Only the Alpha line knows it exists. Not even Elias knows about this place."

I walked over to her. I needed to leave. Every second I wasted here was a second Krane used to kill my people.

I reached into my waistband and pulled out my gun. I made sure it was loaded and clicked the safety off.

"Take it," I said, holding it out handle-first.

Norah stared at the weapon. Her hands shook as she took it.

"I don't know how to use this," she whispered.

"Point and pull," I said. "If anyone comes through that door who isn't me, you shoot."

She looked up at me, her eyes wide.

"Go," she said. "Save your pack."

I nodded once, then turned and walked out the door.

Locking it from the outside, I got into the SUV and started the engine. I drove down the dirt road, hitting the main highway fast.

I called Elias again.

"Status," I said.

"We intercepted a Krane team near the nursery," Elias said. "You were right. They were coming for the pups."

"Kill them all," I said.

"Declan," Elias said. "We found a beacon on the leader. It was tracking a signal."

"What signal?"

"Yours," Elias said. "There's a transmitter active inside your SUV."

I slammed on the brakes, the SUV skidding to a stop.

I looked around the interior.

Then I saw it.

Wedged under the passenger seat. A small, black disc. A tracker.

I reached down and grabbed it. It was Krane tech.

How?

I thought back to the gala. To Julian. To the kiss.

*He pushed me away.*

He hadn't just pushed her. He had planted it on her. And when she sat in the car, it must have fallen off.

"They aren't tracking the car," I said to Elias. "They were tracking her."

And I had just left her alone in the woods.

I spun the steering wheel, turning the SUV around.

"Send a team to these coordinates," I shouted, rattling off the GPS location of the cabin. "Now!"

I hit the gas hard.

My phone rang.

It wasn't Elias. It was an unknown number.

I answered.

"Who is this?"

"Hello, Declan."

Julian Krane.

"You really should check your passengers for bugs," Julian said. "Especially the pretty ones."

"If you touch her," I said, "I will kill you."

Julian lau

ghed.

"You're too late, Alpha. I'm already here."

A gunshot echoed through the phone line.

Then the call went dead.