Chapter 9: Midnight Drive

KILLIAN'S POV

“Should I be worried?”

I glanced at him. The warrior stood there with his uniform torn at the shoulder, waiting for an answer I didn’t have.

“Get back to your post,” I ordered him.

He left, silent.

Now it was just me alone in the corridor. I opened my hand and stared at the pendant—a skinny silver crescent moon. The chain looked so fragile, like it might snap if I even breathed wrong. I’d seen it before. Six years ago, it hung around a girl’s neck on a cliff after dark. Her eyes told me everything she couldn’t say.

I stopped her from jumping.

That night, I wiped mud from her cheeks, held her, told myself it was pity whilst trying to pretend I didn’t care.

The next morning, I turned her away. Made it public, handed her money, sent her off to that clinic. The one that got hit a few weeks later.

Sara died. I felt it—the mate bond just went cold and empty. In the morning they found her bloody dress in the ruins. I’ve carried this for six years and never told a soul.

So now, standing in this hall, holding her old pendant—why? Why now?

I closed my fist around it and walked.

Claude was waiting outside my office. One look at me and he slipped right into that careful, guarded way he does on the worst nights.

“Get the car,” I said.

“It’s eleven, Alpha.”

“Just get the car, Claude.”

He glanced at my hand and nodded. “Five minutes,” he said, hurrying off.

I went inside, pulled on a clean shirt, scrubbed blood from under my nails. Stared at my reflection way too long but honestly it didn’t help.

We drove. Claude beside me, quiet for an hour—and honestly, that much silence told me everything he was thinking. We left pack territory. Headlights stretched out ahead of us, just dark road, engine humming, my hands tight on the wheel. The pendant felt heavy in my jacket pocket. I kept my eyes on the road. Thinking too much would send me spiraling. I couldn’t afford that.

“Council meeting’s at eight,” Claude finally said.

“I know.”

“We have to be back before—”

“I know, Claude.”

He went quiet again.

“She already said no. Twice,” he reminded me.

“She’ll say yes.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Her face. When I brought up the clinic. You didn’t see it?”

He shifted, uncomfortable. “I saw her face. But it didn't look promising.”

“It wasn’t promising. It was personal. That pendant was left at my border for a reason. Somebody kept it for six years. She knows who. Trust me.”

Claude studied me. “And if she doesn’t?”

“Then I'll make her tell me. I can’t go back empty-handed. The pack’s still bleeding. She’s the best shot we’ve got.” I gave him a warning look. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re about to say I’ve lost my mind.”

He stared out the windshield. “Figured that out already. Just wondering how far gone you are.”

I didn’t answer.

We parked outside her building just after midnight. I let the engine die and looked up at the fourth floor. One window was still lit. She was awake—working, or not sleeping. Pretty much the same thing for her.

“Killian,” Claude sounded tired, “it’s midnight.”

But I was already stepping out of the car. “I know.”

The lobby guard waved me through without saying a word. Third time this week—he didn’t bother asking anymore. I took the stairs, four flights. My wolf had been pacing since I found the pendant, and by the time I got to her floor, I had to stop, lean against the wall, catch my breath.

I raised my hand, about to knock.

She opened the door before I touched it.

Same dark shirt as earlier, heavy glass in her fist. Her gaze swept over me—my shirt, jaw, my hand—quick and sharp, missing nothing.

Her eyes stuck on my jacket pocket.

She stepped aside, didn’t say a word.

I walked in, went straight to her desk, dug out the pendant, set it between us.

She stared.

She didn’t touch it or move closer. She just kept a calm face—the kind practiced long enough to hide anything real. And watched the silver crescent for a moment before she finally looked at me.

“Where exactly did you find it?” Her voice came out entirely cold…

“East border. By the old clinic ruins.”

Her face changed.

Barely. Just a split second—I would’ve missed it if I hadn’t been watching. But I caught it. Saw her shut it down, pull herself together, turn toward her cabinet.

“Sit, Alpha.” She reached for a bottle. “I’ll pour you a drink.”

I didn’t sit.

I stayed standing, fingers spread on the desk, covering the pendant. My wolf slammed against my ribs so hard my vision went fuzzy. She heard it too—her hand paused, then poured.

She slid a glass to me, careful not to touch my hand.

“You didn’t drive two hours at midnight for a drink,” she said, settling into the chair across. Opening a file like this was just business. “So what do you want?”

My hand pressed over the pendant. “Tell me what this means to you.”

She looked at my hand, then my face. Still nothing. The mask held steady—years of hiding things.

“Somebody left it at your border to mess with your mind,” she said. “Psychological warfare. That’s all. Destabilization tactic.” She tilted her head. “Is it working?”

“Yeah. Why?”

She studied me — her eyes cold and calculating then she shut her file.

“I’ll take the job,” she said.

I stared, looking shocked. “Thought you needed four days.”

“I changed my mind.”

“Why?”

She met my gaze. Something flickered there I couldn’t place.

“Because that pendant shouldn’t exist.” Her voice dropped. “And I want to know who has it.”

My wolf froze.

So did I.

I stood up and straightened my jacket. “Okay then, get your things.”

She was already moving. “I’ll need an hour,” she called from her office.

“Thirty minutes.”

She shot me a look. “An hour, Alpha. I don’t pack light.”

The door clicked shut.

The pendant was still on the desk. She hadn’t touched it, but she kept looking at it—the way people do with old memories that weigh too much.

I tucked it away.

Claude waited outside, because he was tired.

And funny enough we had a council meeting in seven hours. The pack was still bleeding and the rogues were out there somewhere, Harlow was gone but there was threats everywhere. I couldn’t see the whole picture yet.

But she was coming now.

And she knew something about that pendant.