The heavy door was locked, the hallway outside silenced by the intimidating presence of Celeste. Night had fallen again, marking the cruel shift to the second, important day of the countdown. Two sunrises left.
Allister, running on pure adrenaline and the freezing terror of Maeve's order, couldn't sit still. He walked the length of his room back and forth, back and forth the rhythm a frantic energy against the stone floor. Sunflower, on the other side of the wall, was completely silent, the perfect, quiet teammate.
He stopped, pressing his ear to the cold stone, speaking in a low, angry whisper. "Celeste's motive must be financial. She has no authority over pack politics yet, but she controls many of the supply routes through her family's wealth. That is the leverage Maeve needs to control the family line, and it's the quickest weakness we can use."
And what if she is pure, devoted, and hasn't committed financial crimes? Sunflower's voice echoed in his mind, sharp and immediate, ignoring the stone wall between them. The broken bond was now a buzzing, high-speed connection their only safe way to communicate.
Allister focused his mind, sharing the cold data Ivan had gathered: a confusing, huge file of supply lists, receipts, and internal transfers signed by Celeste over the last six months. The only evidence Ivan could find suggests minor differences, nothing worth removing his second-in-command, let alone condemning his Alpha.
You're thinking like a wolf, Alpha, Sunflower sent back instantly, the thought mixed with an amused pity. You're looking for theft of food or land. We need to look for political corruption linked to her power base. Send the full data. Focus on the things that are wrong.
Allister closed his eyes, concentrating. He deliberately relaxed his Alpha will, allowing the broken bond to open up entirely. He poured the stream of names, dates, financial figures, and cargo manifest codes into the channel, releasing the raw data into their shared mental space.
The effect was intense. It was a dizzying rush of pure, focused information sharing. Allister, used to thinking in instinct and command, was instantly analyzing the data through Sunflower's eyes her intelligence, free from the rules of pure wolf-pack tradition, spotted patterns his own mind had dismissed as normal mistakes.
The animal costs are inflated by ten percent across the board, Sunflower noted mentally, her concentration a cold, focused energy. She is stealing small amounts constantly. Classic financial cheating. But look at the transport logs for the materials used to reinforce the northern watchtower. They are over budget by nearly forty percent.
The watchtower needed specialized stone, Allister responded, running the list back through his mind, his worry rising. It was a necessary expense.
But look at the cost of the securing components, Sunflower countered, sending a blast of clear analysis into his thoughts. They list double the required amount of treated steel and cold iron alloy. Silverwood has no use for that much iron alloy. It dulls wolf senses, and it's expensive to transport. Why would Celeste approve a massive overpayment for a component that actively weakens pack defense?
Allister stopped pacing, his body stiff. Cold Iron. The same metal that had caused Sunflower the Fairie-linked mixed-blood a burst of acute pain. He understood with sickening certainty: Celeste wasn't just enriching herself. She was secretly dealing with a non-wolf entity who demanded Cold Iron payments. A creature that likely feared silver, needed iron, and was powerful enough to secure an alliance with the future Alpha's mate.
The intense, prolonged use of the bond, however, was beginning to take a physical toll. Allister's nose began to bleed, a thin, dark line running down his lip. The high-frequency exchange of pure thought was straining his physical body.
Allister! Sunflower's mental shout was sharp with concern. You need to pull back. The mental feedback is too strong. You're putting too much pressure on the physical connection!
He ignored the pain, wiping the blood with the back of his hand. We don't have time! This is it! This is the proof Maeve needs not of theft, but of treasonous dealing with a foreign entity!
But we need more than lists, Allister, Sunflower argued, her mental presence hovering anxiously. We need a motive. And we need to talk about what happens if we fail.
Allister closed his eyes, knowing this was the unavoidable, terrifying core of their plotting. If we fail, Maeve will execute you immediately under Code 4, Section Beta, for 'active resistance to pack security,' and then she will move to remove me for treason. We both die.
Exactly, Sunflower confirmed, the thought settling heavily between them. And you, the Alpha, the man of honor, are now planning to ruin a pure-blood she-wolf to save yourself and the mixed-blood you can't abandon. What does that feel like?
Allister pushed the emotional noise away, forcing his response into a single, cold, hard conviction. It feels like the only honorable choice left. My failure ends the Silverwood line. Your death secures Maeve's power. By exposing Celeste, I save the pack from an external, unknown threat and I buy us the time we need to find out what the hell you and that black book really are.
The admission that he saw her not as a captive but as the center of the real mystery was a new layer of closeness.
"I need to find the specific transfer documents," Allister whispered aloud, his voice strained. "The payment receipts for the Cold Iron. They will be in the central archives. Ivan can get me the keys."
No, Sunflower instantly projected, the word urgent and clear. The archives are guarded by Maeve's loyal followers. You are too compromised. You need to use your Beta. Send Ivan a coded request to check the ledgers. But Allister, if Ivan sees that you are focused on Celeste's purchase of cold iron, he will know exactly what you are doing. You need to lie to him, too.
Allister paced to the window, watching the silent, cold light of the moon.
I have to trust him, Sunflower. I have to trust one person who isn't bound to me by a curse.
Then don't lie. Just don't tell him the whole truth, she countered. Tell him you suspect Celeste is over-ordering materials for construction kickbacks a simple financial crime. Tell him to get the receipts. Don't mention the iron. If we fail, he won't be charged with treason just assisting in a minor fraud investigation.
Allister paused, staring at the faint reflection of his own desperate, blood-smeared face. He looked at the reflection, and in his mind, he saw the analytical, shrewd intelligence of Sunflower.
You think of everything, he sent, a flicker of grudging admiration crossing the bond.
I've had a lot of practice running from people who want me dead, Alpha. Survival is in the details. Now send the message.
Allister nodded, the decision made. He would risk his Beta's loyalty, but he would protect his Beta's life. He began writing the coded request to Ivan, his heart pounding a desperate rhythm against the second sunrise that was quickly approaching.