Chapter 105
Chapter 105
Nolan POV
After the conversation with Lance, after his accusations and that damn confession, my wolf was already raw and restless. I needed control. Answers. Something I could sink my teeth into before I lost my grip entirely.
So when Cassian passed me another stack of reports detailing minor discrepancies in guard shifts, strange movements logged at the borders, missing hours from a handful of pack members, and other odd occurrences, I seized on it like a lifeline.
I spent the night pouring over the evidence, every line, every note, until my eyes burned. And the deeper I dug, the clearer it became.
They weren’t mistakes. They were patterns. Patterns that all traced back to one name.
My heart ached at the possibility. I couldn’t ignore it, though. At the same time, I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. I had to follow up on these leads and make absolutely certain.
By dawn, I had my first suspect in custody.
The young warrior trembled in the chair across from me, his wrists bound, sweat beading at his temple. He was barely out of training, someone I’d thought too inexperienced to be dangerous.
But weakness was its own danger, and Felicity had always been a predator skilled at sniffing it out.
“Tell me why,” I said, my voice cold as ice.
His mouth opened and shut like a fish out of water, but no words came.
I let my alpha presence fill the room, heavy and suffocating, until his breath hitched. “You will answer me,” I growled.
Finally, he broke. “She… she promised me a place at her side. She said if I helped her, I’d rise faster. That I’d be more than just another nameless soldier p>
My jaw clenched so hard it ached. “And what did she tell you to do p>
“Watch.” His voice was hoarse, ashamed. “To watch your wife. To follow her movements. Report everything back
to her p>
Ellie.
My wolf roared inside me, fury so sharp I nearly lost control. “During the time she was gone p>
He nodded frantically. “Yes. She said… she said you were too blind to see that Ellie wasn’t fit to stand beside you. She’s a rogue; she can’t be trusted p>
I forced myself to breathe, to keep my hands steady, though every part of me wanted to tear him apart. “Who else?” I demanded. “You weren’t the only one p>
His silence was answer enough.
Within the hour, two more were dragged in, both with the same terrified faces, the same pathetic excuses. Each of them folded under my presence, each of them admitting to the same orders: spy on Ellie, feed Felicity every scrap of information they could.
It wasn’t enough. I needed more. The picture was emerging, but I couldn’t accept it. Every part of my mind
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Chapter 105
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rejected it.
Felicity didn’t trust Ellie, I knew that. I understood that. So far, this only proved that she was paranoid. I couldn’t prove that she had actually done anything wrong. Not yet.
By the second day of questioning, the pieces began to click together. A trail of lies, bribes, and subtle threats, all of it leading back to her. Felicity hadn’t just been harassing and bullying Ellie; she had been orchestrating a plan to get rid of her.
And then one name surfaced.
Not a spy. Not a warrior.
A servant. One who worked exclusively in the pack house. An older woman who tended to Ellie’s needs. She always seemed so motherly p>
The woman trembled even before she sat down in the chair across from me, wringing her hands until her knuckles went white.
She was older, someone who’d been in the pack house kitchen since before I became Alpha. She’d cooked for me as a boy. She was so trusted here that I never would have thought to suspect her.
Bile rose in my throat as I realized where this was going. Ellie had trusted this woman, relied on her, and Felicity had taken advantage of that.
She was so much colder and more cruel than I ever could have imagined.
“You know why you’re here,” I said, voice hard.
Tears welled in her eyes. “Please… I never meant for it to go that far p>
My wolf snapped at the leash. “What did you do p>
Her lips trembled. “It was her idea. Felicity. She came to me, said she needed a
favor. She told me that it was necessary p>
My hands curled into fists. “What favor p>
Her gaze dropped to the floor. “I poisoned her dinner p>
The words made my breath catch in my throat. The image of Ellie’s desperate, frustrated expression flashed through my mind. She told me she’d been poisoned, and I called her a liar.
My breath went ragged, my wolf howling with rage. I slammed my hand down on the desk, the wood cracking under the force. The woman flinched so hard she nearly toppled from her chair.
“When?” I demanded, even though I already knew. I needed to hear it.
“Almost a year ago. At the feast… the first one with the Moonstone alpha p>
Memories crashed over me, Ellie red-faced, outraged that I wouldn’t believe her. Felicity mocked her, accusing her of being dramatic. And I’d taken Felicity’s side. But all along, it had been this.
“You poisoned my mate,” I said slowly, deliberately, my voice low and lethal. “At Felicity’s command p>
She nodded, sobbing now. “Felicity told me it wouldn’t be enough to kill. Just to weaken her. I thought p>
6697
Nolan POV
After the conversation with Lance, after his accusations and that damn confession,
my wolf was already raw and restless. I needed control. Answers. Something I could sink m