Chapter 317
[ 1,064 words ]
~Samantha~
My head was spinning. Lila had been making deals with Black Moon. That was bad. That was a betrayal of trust.
But she’d also refused to follow through. Had told the man the deal was off. Had prioritized the mission over her sister.
That took strength. That took sacrifice.
Or it was all a lie. All manipulation. All designed to make us think she was on our side when really she was leading us into a trap.
I didn’t know.
But my instinct didn’t seem to have a problem with what she did.
Trust her or arrest her. Help her or abandon her. Risk everything or play it safe.
“Sam.” Dominic had followed me. Stood a few feet away. “We need to get moving. It’s not safe out here.”
“I know.”
“So what’s your decision? About Lila?”
“You already made the decision. You arrested her.”
“I can unarrest her if you think I’m wrong. If you think we should trust her.” His voice was tight. “But I need you to tell me. I need you to say out loud that you think risking our lives for her sister is worth it.”
“I don’t know if it’s worth it.” I turned to face him. “But I know what it’s like to be desperate to save your family. To do things you wouldn’t normally do because the alternative is losing someone you love.”
“So you want to help her.”
“I want to not regret whatever choice we make. And arresting her feels like something we’ll regret.”
“Trusting her might get us killed.”
“And not trusting her might get her sister killed. And we’ll have to live with that.”
“Her sister might already be dead!”
“Or she might not be. And if there’s even a chance she’s alive, don’t we have an obligation to try?” I moved closer to him. “You’d do anything to save Devon and Diana. You know you would. Even betray allies if you had to.”
“That’s different from this case at hand.”
“It’s not different. It’s exactly the same. Lila is doing what any parent would do. What any sibling would do. She’s trying to save family.” I put my hand on his arm. “We can judge her for it. Or we can help her. But we can’t pretend we wouldn’t do the same thing in her position.”
Dominic stared at me for a long moment. “You’re choosing to trust her. Again. Despite everything.”
“I’m choosing to give her a second chance, just like I gave you.”
He pulled his arm from my touch. “Fine. We’ll help her. We’ll rescue her sister. We’ll walk into whatever trap Black Moon has waiting.”
I reached Gamma just as he was about to march Lila away.
“Let her go.”
Gamma looked at Dominic. “Alpha?”
“You heard her.” Dominic’s voice was flat. “Let her go.”
Gamma released Lila’s arms. Stepped back.
Lila turned to me. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I swear I’ll not betray you.”
“You’ll tell us everything.” I cut her off. “Every detail about your sister. About Black Moon’s facility. About what you know and what you’ve been told. No more secrets. No more deals. You’re with us completely or you’re not with us at all.”
“I’m with you. I swear. I’ll tell you everything.” Lila wiped her face. “The facility is near the eastern border. About thirty miles from here. It’s underground. Hidden beneath an old mining operation. Black Moon uses it for testing. For experiments. For keeping people he wants to break.”
“How many people?”
“I don’t know. Maybe twenty. Maybe more. Most of them are Silver Claw survivors he captured after the massacre. Some are werewolves from other packs. Anyone who has abilities he wants to study.”
“Guards?”
“At least a dozen. Maybe more underground. The place is designed like a fortress. One way in. One way out. Heavily warded against both magic and physical weapons.”
“So breaking in is basically impossible.” Killian had joined us. “Great plan.”
“Not impossible. Just difficult.” Lila looked at me. “But you have royal blood. Royal blood can break through wards. And the twins have purification power. Between the three of you, we might be able to force our way through.”
“I know you don’t trust me. I know you think this is a trap. But I’m asking you to help anyway. Please.”
“We’re not doing this for you.” Dominic moved beside me. “We’re doing this because Sam asked. Because my mate has a soft heart and can’t stand the thought of abandoning someone’s sister. But make no mistake, you’re on probation. One wrong move. One suspicious action. One hint that you’re leading us into danger, and I’m killing you myself. Clear?”
“Clear.” Lila nodded. “Thank you. Both of you. I won’t let you down.”
“You already did. This is your chance to fix it.” I looked at everyone. “We leave at dawn. Gamma, take the twins back to the manor. Double the guard on their room. They don’t leave for any reason.”
“Take us with you!” Diana stepped forward.
“No.” Both Dominic and I said it at the same time.
The twins looked at each other. Some silent conversation.
Then they both nodded. “Okay.”
“Good.” I hugged them. “Be good for Gamma. No sneaking around or following us without notice.”
“We promise to be good kids.” Diana hugged back. “Be careful, Mom.”
“Always.”
Gamma gathered the twins. Started walking back toward the manor with them and the warriors.
Leaving the four of us standing in the forest.
Me. Dominic. Killian. Lila.
A team held together by necessity rather than trust.
“So.” Killian broke the silence. “We’re really doing this. We’re breaking into Black Moon’s facility to rescue Lila’s sister.”
“Looks like it.” I straightened up. “Everyone get some rest. We move at dawn.”
“And if it’s a trap?” Dominic asked. “What’s the plan then?”
“We fight our way out. Like we always do.”
We were walking into danger with incomplete information and a guide we barely trusted.
It was probably going to get us killed.
But we were doing it anyway.
Because sometimes that’s all you can do. Move forward even when the path ahead is dark. Even when you don’t know if you’ll survive. Even when every instinct says turn back.
You move forward.
Because someone needs saving. Because giving up isn’t an option. Because hope is the only thing left.
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