Chapter 1. Time To Meet My Father
NERO POV
“Talk to me about Damon,” I said. “What did you get from him?”
Kade matched my pace down the corridor. Both of us walking fast..
“That’s the thing,” Kade said. “I didn’t get anything. Because someone got to him first.”
I stopped walking.
Kade took two more steps before he realized I wasn’t beside him anymore. He turned.
“Say that again.”
“He was attacked. At the stables. Last night.” Kade’s jaw was tight. “Two guards found him this morning. He’s alive but barely. Whoever did it knew exactly where he was and exactly how long they had before the shift changed.”
“They came onto my land,” I said.
“Yes.”
“Inside my palace grounds.”
“Yes.”
“And attacked someone in my stables.”
“Nero—”
“They’re not just getting bolder. They’re testing me. Seeing what I’ll do. Seeing if the venom has me slow enough to miss it.”
“What do we do?”
“War mode. Everything else stops. No more waiting for them to strike. We go offensive.”
We reached the office door. I paused.
“You seem better,” Kade observed. “Today. Less dying.”
“Remi.”
“Whatever she’s doing it’s working.”
“It is.” I looked at him. “I need her closer. More than I thought. She might be my lifeline in all this.”
“Then keep her close.”
“I intend to.”
I opened the door.
They all straightened when I walked in. Manuel and Mitch bowed. Abel just looked at me.
Then he crossed the room in four steps and grabbed my shoulder. Gripped it hard.
“You look human again,” he said. “Almost.”
“Almost,” I agreed.
“Yesterday you looked like a corpse that hadn’t been told yet.” He stepped back. Looked me over properly. “What changed?”
“Remi,” Kade said from behind me. Helpfully.
Abel grinned. “I knew it. I said it. Didn’t I say it?”
“Report,” I said. I moved to my desk. Sat. Looked at Manuel. “You first...What did you find?”
Manuel was against the wall. Tense. Like he wanted to be anywhere else.
Mitch stood perfectly still. Clipboard pressed to chest. Ink on three fingers.
All waiting.
Manuel looked at Abel.
Abel smiled back at him. Completely unhelpful.
“Don’t look at me,” Abel said pleasantly. “You found it. You tell him. And when he flips the desk it’s absolutely your problem not mine.”
Alpha Manuel swallowed. Stepped forward.
“We found something. A footprint. At the attack site. Right foot drags. A limp.”
“You tracked it?”
“Yes. To a cave. Hidden in the old ridge territory.”
“And?”
“The cave was modified. Carved. Walls covered in ancient writing.”
“What kind of writing?”
Manuel looked at Mitch.
“Pre-pack era language,” Mitch said. “Possibly older. Ritual markings. Experimental notation. I recognized approximately ten percent of the symbols. Alpha Nero.”
“You recognized it.”
“Yes. From historical texts. Ancient wolf languages. I’ve been studying—”
“Can you translate it?”
“With proper resources. Yes. The Moonstone library has the necessary reference materials. I would need time. And access. And possibly additional texts—”
“Kade. Give him access. Full access. Whatever he needs.”
Kade nodded.
“Thank you Alpha Nero. I will require quiet. And space. And perhaps some tea—”
“Done. You’ll have rooms in the palace. Anything you need. Stay as long as necessary.”
Mitch’s face lit up. “That’s very generous Alpha Nero. However. I would prefer to stay with my alpha. I am most comfortable where Alpha Manuel is.”
I looked at Manuel. He looked back. Uncomfortable.
“The accommodation,” Mitch continued. “Would it also involve Alpha Manuel? Because I would not feel settled without him nearby.”
Loyal. Completely loyal.
I didn’t like Manuel. Didn’t trust him.
But I respected loyalty.
“Fine. Manuel stays too. But you better prove your worth. Find these creatures. Or you’re out.”
“Understood.”
“Good. The writing. What did you translate?”
Mitch pulled out papers. Organized. Color-coded.
“One complete line. Failed tests. Venom deadly to all wolves. Moonstone. Olandria.”
The room went silent.
“Moonstone,” I repeated to myself. “My Pack’s Core.”
I stood. Walked to the window.
Moonstone and Olandria. My pack and hers.
Nobody spoke.
I didn’t move.
Three full seconds. Hands flat on the desk. Eyes on Mitch’s paper.
Someone researched Remi. Months ago. Maybe longer. Before the wedding. Before she fell into that aisle. Before any of thisShe didn’t stumble into my life.
She was placed there.
“How long,” I said. Quiet. “Based on the carvings. How long has this been running?”
“Unknown. But based on the deterioration of the carvings. Decades. Possibly longer. Alpha Nero.”
“What else?”
“That’s all I could translate. The rest requires more time. More resources.”
Manuel shifted. “There’s one more thing.”
I waited.
“Lady Remi. She’s connected to this.”
Abel stiffened. “Manuel—”
“I’m aware.”
“She might know something. Have information that could help.”
“Get to the point.”
Manuel took a breath. “I’d like to bring her to the cave. Show her the writing. See if she recognizes anything. She might see connections we’re missing.”
Dead silence.
Abel looked like he wanted to strangle Manuel.
Kade stared at the ceiling.
Mitch was counting something. Fingers tapping.
“You suggested taking my wife. Into the field. With you.” I let that sit for exactly one second. “She’s not an asset you borrow. She’s not a tool you check out and return. She’s mine. And you don’t take mine anywhere.”
I straightened. “You’re at my palace now. You need something from her — information, a question, anything — you ask Kade. Kade asks her. You don’t speak to her directly. You definitely don’t go anywhere near her. Are we clear?”
“Clear,” Manuel said. Quietly.“Good. Now Leave.”
They stood. Filed out.
Except Abel and Kade.
“You wanted to say something,” I said to Abel. “Earlier. When Manuel mentioned Remi. What was it?”
Abel hesitated. “Nothing. Just. Be careful with this. All of it.”
“I’m always careful.”
“I know. But this feels different. Bigger. Like we’re missing something.”
“Then we find it. Whatever it takes.”
“Together,” Abel said. “Like father wanted. We fight this together.”
“Together.”
He smiled. “Now if you’ll excuse me need a hot bath. A soft bed. And a very pretty girl who asks no questions and has very warm hands.” He moved toward the door. “Don’t stay up solving the world tonight. You need rest.”
“Get out.”
He left. Laughing.
Kade lingered. “You really think Remi’s your lifeline?”
" She Might be. ”
“Then keep her close.”
“I will.”
He left too.
Someone was out there. Experimenting. Killing.
Targeting my pack. Targeting Remi.
Was she the target?
Or the weapon?
I stood at the window for exactly one minute.
Not thinking about Remi. Not doubting her.
Thinking about everyone who’d been close to her since she arrived. Every servant who’d brought her food. Every guard who’d stood outside her door. Every person who’d had access to her and to this palace at the same time.
One of them had a limp.
One of them carved her name into a cave wall before she ever set foot here.
I was going to find out who.
And they were going to wish they’d never heard the name Blackwater.
I walked out. Down the long hall. Past the portraits. To my father’s study.
Pushed the door open. Stood in the doorway.
His portrait above the fireplace. Same eyes. Same jaw. Same expression that gave nothing away.
The room was cold the way it was always cold.
I stood there. Said nothing.
Closed the door.
Then I went to meet my Father.
