231 Faultlines
Darian
I went straight to headquarters. I needed to be sure the prisoner was secure. He was our wild card-our only link to Chase Nighthorn. If we lost him, we’d be right back to stumbling in the dark.
Rowan was already at the entrance, waiting. Just like he used to meet Mara and me every day without fail- until four days ago, when Mara stopped coming. She’d retreated from the weight of leadership, and I hadn’t
blamed her.
The silence left in Lucian’s absence had been too loud for her to lead through. But now that he was back, I
knew she’d find her fire again.
“What have we learned from the prisoner?” I asked without preamble.
Rowan glanced around before answering, his eyes cautious. “He’s too cooperative. Answers everything
without a fight. That alone makes me uneasy.”
“Where does he say Chase’s pack is based?”
“Rockville,” he replied. “A small settlement just outside Kentville. Quiet place. Easy to miss unless you’re looking for it.”
I exhaled, absorbing the information. Rockville. Not exactly a military fortress, but that could be a cover. I’d bring this to Lucian and Mara. If we aligned it with the defense plan Mara had already crafted, we might be able to turn the tables-flip our stance from defense to offense.
Destabilizing Chase’s pack wouldn’t end the war, but it would send a message: We’re watching now. We’re not
afraid.
The trick was getting Chase to flinch. Men like him-who thrive in the shadows-tend to make mistakes when they start overthinking. And fear? It makes even the most calculated monsters sloppy. That was my goal: to spook him into slipping. Because once he did, we’d be there waiting.
He had plagued my family for far too long.
But there was another name burning in the back of my mind-Alaric. I still wasn’t certain what he had done to my mother. Poison? A slow kill? But threatening me… threatening my daughter?
That wasn’t something I could let go. I didn’t plan to. I would kill him-slowly-for even thinking of it.
After checking in on the prisoner and reviewing the security logs, I left headquarters and headed back to the hospital. The mansion felt too empty without Tiffany and Emma there. Tiffany had taken our daughter to her parents to see her mother’, and though I understood her reasons, the absence gnawed at me.
I decided to stay at the hospital that night. Lucian and Mara needed privacy anyway. Their room was their haven for now, but it wouldn’t last. The moment they stepped out, the weight of this war would find them again.
When I arrived at my mother’s room, I was surprised to see my father eating quietly on the couch. More surprising still-he’d kept food for me.
I paused, staring at the covered plate. A small gesture, but something inside me cracked a little.
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+8 Points >
I used to believe my father didn’t love me. That I was just the second son-Lucian’s shadow. His discipline had always been harsh, his expectations high, his praise rare. But in that moment, watching him set aside a meal for me without a word, I understood.
He did care. He always had.
His love wasn’t loud. It wasn’t warm. It was quiet, deliberate, and often mistaken for indifference. But it was there. In the way he stayed by my mother’s side day and night. In the way he listened when I spoke. In this food, still warm, waiting for me.
It wasn’t easy to be both strict and loving. That balance often made him seem cold, even cruel. But now I could see it clearly-he wasn’t trying to be mean. He was trying to prepare us for a world that gave no second
chances.
And for the first time in a long while, I didn’t resent him for it.
“Thank you,” I murmured, sinking into the seat beside him as he handed me the food.
“Rough day?” he asked, watching me carefully.
I nodded and let out a slow sigh, lifting the cover from the plate. “Where’s this from?” I asked, eyeing it with suspicion.
He chuckled, deep and knowing. “Anywhere but the mansion.”
We both laughed. Two poisonings in the same house wasn’t something either of us was willing to take lightly. Paranoia was a small price to pay for survival these days.
“How’s Lucian?” he asked, a little curiosity flickering through the fatigue in his voice.
I smiled faintly. “Indoors. With his wife.”
That made him laugh again, a real one this time-sharp and amused.
“Who would’ve thought Lucian would fall that hard for anyone,” he said, shaking his head.
“That girl completely disarmed him. Their relationship still surprises me.”
I nodded in agreement. It surprised all of us. But in a strange way, it made perfect sense now. She had become his anchor-just as Lucian had unknowingly become hers.
“Father,” I said, my voice dropping slightly,
He turned to me, brows raised.
“You could’ve taken the Alpha seat yourself… Why did you ask me to step up?”
A slow grin curved on his lips before he tousled my hair like he used to when I was a boy. I rolled my eyes, but the gesture hit somewhere soft in my chest.
“It’s not often you arrange a jet for anything, Darian,” he said. “Lucian, sure-but you? You like sticking
around. You’re rooted.”
I blinked, startled. Then it hit me. He knew.
“You knew I was planning to go look for him.”
He nodded. “You and Mara, both. So, I bumped you up. Told the mansion security not to let her out if she tried to bolt. I may not know exactly what happened to Lucian, but I wasn’t going to lose you and Mara trying to
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< 231 Faultlines
bring him back. That would’ve been too much for me… too much for my soul to carry.”
I swallowed hard. There was nothing casual about the way he said it. He looked at my mother then- motionless, delicate, almost fading into the bed-and the pain in his eyes was clear. Love, regret, helplessness… they all flickered across his face like old ghosts.
“Have you decided?” I asked gently.
He didn’t need me to clarify. He knew what I meant.
+8 Points >
He exhaled long and slow. “Still thinking,” he said, eyes still on her. “I want to find the bastard who did this first. Then… maybe then, I can let her go.”
His voice cracked, just slightly.
I didn’t push. What was there to say? I understood. In my own way, I was chasing the same thing.
“I’m investigating too,” he said suddenly, eyes sharper now. “Quietly. I’m going to find him.”
I nodded but said nothing. So was I-but some missions are better walked in silence.
Then-out of nowhere-a sharp sound shattered the room’s stillness.
My mother gasped.
We both shot to our feet.
Her eyes fluttered open. Shallow breaths. Confused. But awake.
She was awake.
