CHAPTER 36: THE FINAL PUSH

Descending the tree in silence, I activated my sensors and phone, scanning the guards’ movements as I approached the wall. The area was clear. Retrieving the four devices from the earlier pup rescue, I secured them against the entry point.

With the heat sensor in hand, I monitored patrol patterns, waiting for the precise gap in their rotations. I checked the windows—no observers.

After minutes of calculated stillness, the moment arrived. The devices flared to life, and I stepped through. Inside, I repeated the process to retrieve the first set before stowing the second in my bag.

Don’t want anyone stumbling across them, I relayed to Cece.

Turning left, I targeted the guards patrolling the mansion’s rear. Concealed between the house and a bush, I readied my knives and waited.

Footsteps approached. The guard paused, scanning the wall—then passed me. I moved. A pressure point strike immobilized him; a sharp twist snapped his neck. Dragging the body into hiding, I assessed sightlines from every angle—undetectable.

Ten-minute window starts now. We need to eliminate exterior threats first, I informed Cece.

“I will keep my senses out and monitor for unseen dangers you may miss,” she replied as I sprinted to the next position.

Thank you, Cece. I am so glad to have you at my back. I meant every word.

Reaching the back, I checked the monitor. Six seconds until the next guard rounded the corner. The device vanished into my pocket. Ready.

The moment the guard turned the corner, I seized him, catching him by surprise. He staggered, losing his footing, but rolled swiftly to recover. Before he could react further, I lunged with my blade, aiming for his heart. His reflexes were sharp—he blocked the strike, gripping my wrist with both hands. But the move left him exposed. In one fluid motion, I drove my second dagger upward, plunging it deep into his chest before twisting. His grip slackened as life left him.

I scanned the area for a hiding spot, but finding none, I dragged his body back to where the first guard lay. Once concealed, I retraced my steps toward the opposite side.

By the time I returned, the patrolling guard had noticed his partner’s absence.

“Jake? Jake, you there?” a man’s voice called out.

Shit.

“Make some noise,” Cece recommended. “If he doesn’t hear anything, he’ll get suspicious.” I rustled a nearby bush.

“Jake, you pissing outside again?” The guard rounded the corner—just in time to meet my fist. A second blow to the temple dropped him. As he collapsed, I snapped his neck and stashed him behind the foliage.

“Aren’t you going to hide him?” Cece asked.

“No need,” I replied. “The front guards don’t overlap patrols. They won’t come back this far, and the cameras won’t catch his body.”

The last two would be harder.

Creeping to the house’s edge, I pulled out my monitor. The next guard approached, stopping—as I’d observed—three feet from the corner before turning back. I tossed a couple of pebbles, and he froze, then stepped toward the sound.

Tucking the device away, I melted into a nearby crevice. When he rounded the bend, his eyes widened—too late. He fumbled for his mic, but I seized his wrist, twisting sharply. A muffled cry escaped as I slammed him face-first into the grass, driving my knee into his neck. A sickening crunch followed.

I checked my monitor—the final guard hadn’t noticed. Just to be sure, I felt for a pulse. Faint. One last twist, another snap, and it was over. Dragging him to join the others, I exhaled.

Now, for the last one.

For the final guard, I knew I couldn’t take him out from this angle, so I carefully circled around the back of the house to avoid detection.

But something was off—his behavior wasn’t normal. He didn’t overlap with the other guards, and from what I could tell, he hadn’t seen his missing partner in a while. Though he seemed suspicious, there was no sign he’d raised an alarm yet.

Through the monitor, I watched him peer around the corner. When he found nothing, he hesitated before moving forward in my direction. I ducked into the bushes where the other two guards were hidden. As he rounded the corner, he scanned the area.

“George?” he called out.

The moment he passed my hiding spot, I slipped out silently. He must’ve sensed me—just as I reached for him, he spun and threw a punch. I dodged and drove my knife into his stomach.

Damn it, that’s going to leave a blood trail.

Annoyed, I blocked his next strike and slashed his throat with my free hand. Gripping his vest, I yanked him forward so he collapsed onto me, minimizing the blood trail—though now it would stain me instead. Dragging him into the bushes, I stashed him with the others.

After circling back to the front, I pressed against the wall near the entrance and checked the monitor. Three guards patrolled the foyer.

That won’t work—too many.

“They’d have more than enough time to trigger the alarm,” Cece said.

I agreed. It was reassuring having a partner who thought like me.

“Learned from the best,” she quipped with a laugh.

This entrance was a dead end, but I recalled a smaller door at the back leading to the kitchen pantry.

“Of course you remember—you memorized those floor plans like a student cramming for finals,” Cece teased, rolling her eyes. I grinned as I sprinted to the rear of the house.

The monitor showed no heat signatures inside the pantry. I slipped in quietly and checked the kitchen. Empty.

That’s strange.

“What’s strange?” Cece asked.

“There should be staff cleaning up after breakfast.”

“Maxann… I don’t like this. Maybe we should call Luke and wait,” she said, concern edging her voice.

“We can’t. If we delay, someone will notice the missing guards and alert the facility. We have to push forward.”

I crouched behind the nearest kitchen island—two massive counters with a walkway between them. Moving to the center gave me flexibility to react if someone entered.

This kitchen is ridiculously huge. More like a castle than a mansion. Our pack house is bigger, but the kitchen doesn’t compare.

“Maybe we should ask Dean to expand ours. It’s cramped with all the Omegas that work in there,” Cece suggested.

“Good idea. If Luke gets inside, we’ll show him.” I felt her nod in agreement.

Scanning the hallway, I found no movement or heat signatures. Time to move. I eased the door open and spotted a lone guard across the hall and through the doorway, flipping through a book on the shelf.

So that’s why we got in so easily—this idiot’s slacking off.

I inched the door open, soundlessly approaching him from behind.

“Think he’s snooping?” Cece asked, amused.

With a smile, I snuck up behind him, reached up, twisted, and snapped his neck. It’s been a while since I’ve killed like this—efficient, bloodless, leaving no trace behind. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever snapped this many necks in a single day.

After tucking him beneath the desk, I hoped no one would stumble in here anytime soon.

“I’d say we’re in the clear,” Cece mused. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been snooping around alone.”

“You’re probably right but he may not be the only snoop,” I agreed, impressed.

I checked the hallway again—empty. Moving silently, I swept the rest of the ground floor. The foyer was deserted now, the three guards gone. Room by room, I eliminated every threat. So far, only guards—no civilians. Good. I had no interest in slaughtering innocents just trying to get to Urk.

“Aren’t we doing the same to the guards? They may be innocent,” Cece asked. A fair point.

“Yes,” I admitted. “But Urk doesn’t just hand out weapons. They had to prove themselves first.” I sensed her confusion. “By killing, Cece. Trust me—none of them are innocent.”

The second floor followed the same pattern. Seven guards scattered through the halls and rooms, each quickly silenced, their bodies hidden. I noted their positions—maybe intel worth revisiting later.

“Why would there be anything important in the rooms they were in?” Cece questioned.

“Why else station men here?” I countered.

“Fair enough,” she conceded.

The third floor was a surprise—luxury, not security. A sprawling library, a home theater, a bathroom between them. All clear. That left the fourth floor.

Jackpot.

Nine or ten people. Time to clear each room, one by one.

Blades in hand, I stormed the first room—security office. Five men, all dead before they could react with knives sticking out of them in vital areas. A glance at the monitors confirmed my loops were flawless—ghost images of routine patrols playing on repeat.

“I love it when a plan works,” I chuckled.

One guard lingered in the hall; another slipped from a room to join the other. I waited, watching as they talked, gesturing toward the door at the end of the hallway before disappearing inside. The moment it shut, I moved.

Three empty rooms. Then—the master office.

“No innocents here,” I told Cece. She withdrew, retreating to the depths of my mind. She’d seen enough death today. Her guilt presses against me with every kill, a silent, suffocating weight. I wish she’d stayed hidden from the beginning, but I already knew pleading would be pointless.

This entire mission had been… unusual.

I checked the monitor—no cameras inside, but feeds showed six people moving, three seated. Urk, no doubt, behind his desk with two guests.

Time for stealth is over. This would be a fight.

I adjusted my grip—blades in one hand, sword in the other. One breath. Two. Three.

Then I kicked open the door and all hell broke loose.