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Chapter 25

Author: Ray Olly
last update publish date: 2026-03-26 13:35:14

RAY'S POV

The morning of the hearing I found Levi at his desk at five in the morning.

Reading glasses on. Three documents spread in front of him. Cold cup beside his hand that suggested he’d been there long enough to forget he’d made it.

I leaned against the doorframe and watched him.

He hadn’t heard me yet.

Brow slightly furrowed. Pen moving. Completely absorbed. The composure present but softer in the early morning — the version of Levi that existed before the day required him to be an Alpha.
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  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 58

    LEVI’S POVEli’s response came on the fourth day.Aaron placed it on the desk between us without a word.Ray picked it up. Read it standing. Handed it to me.Four lines. The handwriting of someone who had crossed out several words before settling.I know who you are. I have known since Shadowmoon burned. I did not think you would ever write. I will come. Not for the summit. For you.I set it down.“He knew who I was,” Ray said. “Since the fire.”“Yes,” I said.“Five years,” he said. “And said nothing.”“He didn’t know what your father told you,” I said. “He was protecting your choice.”Ray looked at the letter for a long moment.“Not for the summit,” he said quietly. “For you.” He paused. “He wrote that specifically.”“You’re the last piece of someone he loved,” I said.Ray said nothing.I said nothing.We sat with it.“When can he come,” Ray said finally.“Three days if he leaves today,” I said.“Tell Aaron to tell him to leave today,” he said.I went to find Aaron.****Daniel found

  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 57

    RAY’S POVHis name was Eli.Aaron found it in the old council records. Sealed thirty five years ago. Buried under administrative language and the particular coldness of an institution erasing something inconvenient.Eli Cross. Thirty eight when the council acted. Seventy three now.Alpha of a small pack on the southeast border of Shadowmoon territory. Twelve wolves. Registered three years ago under a name that had meant something to my father once.I sat with that number for a long time.Seventy three.My father would have been seventy one if he had lived.“Ray,” Levi said.“He’s been on that border for three years,” I said. “Shadowmoon burned five years ago. Which means he was there before the fire.”Levi went still.“He watched it burn,” I said.“Ray—”“He was right there,” I said. “On the southeast border. And he couldn’t—” I stopped. “He had no standing. No connection. Nothing.”“He lost your father decades before the fire,” Levi said quietly. “And then watched the last thing your

  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 56

    LEVI’S POVRay read the file standing up.Same way he always read things that hit hard. Like sitting down would mean surrendering to it.Daniel stood at the door. I stood beside Ray.Nobody spoke while he read.He finished. Closed the file. Set it on the desk. Stood there with his hands flat on the surface and said nothing for a moment.“Ray,” I said quietly.“The pack name,” he said. “My father’s original pack. Before Shadowmoon.” He paused. “He dissolved it when I was four. I don’t remember it. I only know it existed because he mentioned it once when I was maybe twelve.” He stopped. “Once. In twelve years.”“You never asked about it,” I said.“He didn’t want to talk about it,” he said. “I could tell. So I didn’t ask.” He paused. “I wish I had asked.”“The Alpha registering under that name,” Daniel said carefully. “He could be using it as a signal. Trying to get your attention.”“Or trying to tell me something,” Ray said.“What could he tell you,” I said.“I don’t know,” Ray said. “B

  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 55

    RAY’S POVThe summit preparation had three parts.Intelligence. Positioning. Performance.I explained this to Daniel and Chris at breakfast Monday morning while Levi sat beside me eating and not contributing because he had already heard all of it at two in the morning and had opinions he was saving for later.“Intelligence,” I said. “We need to know everything about Ryan Blake’s current position before we walk into that meadow. Where he’s based. How his pack is structured. Who the three independent contacts actually are beyond names.”“I’ve been working on that,” Daniel said.“How far along,” I said.“The three contacts,” Daniel said. “I have backgrounds on two of them. The third is harder to trace. Operating out of the far northern territories. Minimal council record.”“Keep pulling,” I said. “I want something on all three before the summit.”“Positioning,” Chris said. “You said positioning.”“Yes,” I said. “We arrive at the eastern meadow before Ryan. Two hours minimum. We know the t

  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 54

    LEVI’S POVNobody slept well that night.I knew because Ray was still awake at two and I was still awake at two and we both knew the other was awake and neither of us said anything about it for a long time.Then Ray said — “How many do you think.”“I don’t know,” I said.“Guess,” he said.“Sixty,” I said. “Maybe seventy.”“That’s not a guess,” he said. “That’s a concern.”“Yes,” I said.“We bring six,” he said. “If he brings seventy—”“He won’t attack at the summit,” I said.“You don’t know that,” he said.“No,” I said. “But think about it. He sent one wolf through the gap. He sent a letter. He confirmed the location without negotiating it.” I paused. “Everything he’s done has been— it’s been measured. Controlled. He’s not Victor but he learned from Victor.”“Victor was measured and controlled too,” Ray said. “Right up until he wasn’t.”“Yes,” I said. “But Victor had a specific mechanism. The document. The bond transfer. Without those things his plan collapsed.” I paused. “Ryan doesn’

  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 53

    RAY’S POVShadowmoon on Saturday.Eight columns. Chris had everything ready before sunrise. Materials laid out. Base mortar mixed. The carved capstones wrapped individually in cloth and placed in order of the column positions.The order mattered. I had sent Chris the list three days ago. Every name. Every position. Every detail about where each wolf stood in relation to the others when Shadowmoon was still standing.Chris had followed it exactly.I walked the positions before we started. Levi walked beside me. Neither of us speaking.“Here,” I said. Stopping at the first position. “Sera’s column goes here. East facing. Morning light.”“Yes,” Chris said behind us.We moved to the next.“Tom,” I said. “He always stood here during morning assembly. Right side. Never moved. Twenty seven years and he never once stood anywhere else.”We moved through all eight positions. I said a name at each one. One detail. Chris listened to every word.When we finished Levi looked at me.“Ready,” he said

  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 52

    Three weeks.That was what we had. Twenty one days to prepare for a summit with a man who had spent months building something in the shadows while we were dismantling what his predecessor left behind.I was up at five.Levi was already at the desk.“The patrol logs,” I said.“The summit preparation

  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 51

    LEVI’S POVEleven o’clock came fast.The northeast yard was dark and cold. Six wolves positioned exactly where Chris had placed them. Invisible from the gap entry point. Covering every exit.Daniel stood to my left. Chris to my right. Ray beside me.We waited.“What if they don’t come,” Daniel said

  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 50

    RAY'S POVThe briefing was at seven.Me, Levi, Daniel, Chris. The office. Door closed.Daniel looked at the map of the northeast section, looked at the gap timing, looked at the relay station information, and said — "We close the gap.""No," I said."Ray," he said. "Someone is coming through tonigh

  • The Forbidden Alpha’s Mate   Chapter 49

    RAY'S POVWe slept until noon.When I woke up Levi was already reading something. Of course he was."The patrol logs," I said."No," he said."What then," I said."The summit documentation the coordinator gave us," he said. "Location. Timing. The three contact names.""You promised no work," I said

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