Chapter 23 Lina
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Lina
Moonfang.
The name triggered a blurry memory, my mind aching as I tried to grasp it. The closest packs to Ravenshollow. Moonfang was up north. And then there was another one... Shadow something. Shadowcrest? Those were the two closest packs to us.
The question was, what the heck were they doing here?
Knox was probably thinking the same thing, because he voiced my thoughts out loud.
“Nice to meet you,” he said, his tone carefully neutral. “I’m Alpha Knox and this is my luna, Basilinna.”
I nodded, trying to smile at them without looking as awkward as I felt. “Hello. Just Lina is fine.”
Moonfang’s wolves looked at me with open curiosity, their gazes assessing. Ryder’s blue eyes swept over me with clinical interest, and Jasmine tilted her head slightly, a small smile playing on her lips.
Knox’s arm tightened around my waist, pulling me closer against his side. A low snarl started building in his chest, rumbling beneath my ear where I was pressed against him.
Wow. Possessive much?
Jasmine’s smile widened, amusement flickering in her green eyes. She didn’t seem offended by Knox’s territorial display. If anything, she seemed to understand it.
“We’re here because we needed to speak to you,” she said, her voice warm but serious. “Urgently. And to offer you our help.”
Knox was still scowling, his body tense, his wolf clearly unhappy about having unknown wolves in his territory near his mate. Noah cleared his throat pointedly.
“That sounds great,” Noah said, his tone forcibly pleasant. “Why don’t we all sit down?” He shot Knox a glare that clearly said stop being an ass.
There was a moment of tension, and then Knox relented, guiding me toward one of the chairs at the conference table.
He pulled out my seat for me and then positioned himself right next to me, close enough that our knees touched under the table.
His hand found my thigh and stayed there, a possessive weight that I found oddly comforting.
Everyone settled into seats around the table.
Ryder and Jasmine sat across from us, with Sawyer standing behind them, his watchful eyes never stopping their constant sweep of the room.
Hunt remained by the window, Noah took a seat next to Knox, and Cole positioned himself near the door.
Knox’s father stayed at the head of the table, observing everything with quiet authority.
Ryder leaned forward, his elbows on the table, his expression grave.
“We received your email a few days ago,” he started. “Where you sent us a drawing of a woman. An arsonist.”
I stilled. The attack on the shop. The attack that had hurt Mika. When had they sent a drawing? When had they gotten a drawing? My fuzzy brain couldn’t supply the answers, couldn’t fill in the gaps in my memory.
Hunt perked up from his position by the window. “Yes, I was the one who sent it. We tried searching for the woman in Pine Valley, in Ravenshollow, even hired a private investigator to find her in human towns. No luck. She vanished. We think she’s behind the attacks against our luna.”
Ryder nodded slowly. “We answered the email the moment we received it. But we never got a response. And then...” He paused, exchanging a look with Jasmine. “The email vanished from our account entirely.”
Hunt’s scowl deepened. “We never got an answer.”
Another loaded look passed between Ryder, Jasmine, and Sawyer. There was clearly more to this story.
“We think your communications aren’t safe,” Jasmine said quietly. “Someone is intercepting them. Deleting them. That’s why we called Cole directly and drove here in person. We couldn’t risk sending another email that might disappear.”
A chill ran down my spine. Someone was monitoring our communications? Someone was deliberately keeping information from us?
“So this means you have information on the woman?” I asked, leaning forward.
Jasmine grimaced, her pretty face twisting with distaste. “Unfortunately for us, we know her.”
“Who is she?” Knox demanded.
“Mira Bennett,” Ryder said.
Knox’s eyebrows rose sharply. “Related to Jackson Bennett?”
Jasmine nodded, her jaw tight. “She’s his daughter. And she’s the woman we exiled from our pack months ago.” Her hands curled into fists on the table. “She’s a bitch, and she’s hurt me more than once.”
There was history there. Pain. I could see it in the way Jasmine’s expression hardened, in the way Ryder’s hand moved to cover hers protectively.
Knox’s palm slapped against the table, making everyone jump.
“That was it, for fuck’s sake!” He yanked at his hair, his expression a mix of frustration and disbelief. “That’s why she seemed familiar! I’d seen her before. In the email you sent with her fucking picture.”
Groans and curses erupted around the room. Hunt dropped his head into his hands. Cole muttered something under his breath. Noah pinched the bridge of his nose.
I stared at them all, incredulous.
“Neither of you dumbasses figured it out?” I said flatly.
They looked ashamed, avoiding my eyes, shuffling in their seats like schoolboys caught cheating on a test.
“Your memory is worse than a damn fish,” I sighed, shaking my head. Then I caught myself and snorted. “Actually, look who’s talking.”
Knox’s lips twitched despite his frustration. Noah let out a surprised laugh.
I turned back to Moonfang’s leaders. “So you’ve come here to help us stop the woman you exiled from your pack?”
Jasmine nodded, her expression earnest. “We feel responsible. Mira came from our territory. She was our problem, and we let her become yours. So yes, we’re here to help however you might need. Scouts, guards, warriors. Whatever you need, we’ll provide.”
Gratitude swelled in my chest. These people didn’t know me. They had no real obligation to help. But here they were, offering their resources, their people, their time.
“Thank you,” I said, and I meant it deeply. “That means more than you know.”
Jasmine smiled at me, warm and genuine. Ryder inclined his head in acknowledgment.
Cole cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Do you think Mira might have a connection with Mary Thorne?”
The room went quiet. I saw Knox tense beside me, his hand tightening on my thigh.
Ryder considered the question, his brow furrowing in thought. “When did Mary visit Moonfang again?”
Cole provided a date.
Ryder nodded slowly. “Mira was already in the pack at that time. She used to hang around me and my family constantly.” He glanced at Jasmine, who nodded in confirmation. “It’s entirely possible they met during Mary’s visit. If they did, they might have kept in contact. Built a relationship.”
Oh, shit.
The pieces were falling into place. Mary, the woman who had tried to steal Knox, who had escaped custody and taken Cole’s son. Mira, the exiled wolf who had been attacking me and my businesses. They were working together. They had to be.
“So we’re dealing with at least two women who want to hurt Lina,” Hunt said grimly. “Possibly more.”
“And someone who can hack into email systems and delete communications,” Noah added. “Someone tech savvy.”
“Mira isn’t that skilled,” Jasmine said, shaking her head. “She’s cunning, manipulative, but technology isn’t her strength. She must have help.”
“Mary isn’t tech savvy either,” Cole said. “At least, she wasn’t when I knew her.”
“So there’s a third person,” Knox concluded, his voice hard. “Someone working with them. Someone who’s been monitoring our communications and keeping us in the dark.”
We weren’t just fighting two vengeful women. We were fighting an organized group with resources and skills we hadn’t anticipated.
The meeting stretched on for hours after that. Knox and the others shared every detail about the attacks, the threats, the timeline of events. Ryder and Jasmine listened carefully, asked pointed questions, offered their own insights based on what they knew about Mira.
They discussed strategies. Patrol routes. Communication protocols that couldn’t be intercepted. Ways to flush out whoever was monitoring their systems.
By the time they reached a conclusion, my head was spinning with information and my body was exhausted. They had a person helping them who knew how to hack. Which meant we needed to find them before they could do any more damage.
“I think we should end here for today,” Knox finally said, rubbing his eyes. “Get some rest. We can continue tomorrow with fresh minds.”
There was a murmur of agreement around the table. Everyone looked tired, the weight of the situation evident in their slumped shoulders and tight expressions.
“Cole, can you show our guests to their rooms?” Knox asked.
Cole nodded and stood, gesturing for Ryder and his group to follow him.
Knox caught Cole’s arm as he passed. “And then you rest,” he said firmly. “That’s an order.”
Cole looked like he wanted to argue, but he nodded reluctantly.
“Thank you again,” I said to Jasmine as she stood. “For coming all this way. For helping us.”
She reached across and squeezed my hand. “We take care of our allies. If you need anything, just ask.”
The Moonfang wolves followed Cole out of the room, and gradually everyone else dispersed too. Hunt clapped Knox on the shoulder before leaving. Noah gave me a small smile and a nod. Knox’s father stood, gave us both a curt nod, and headed out as well.
And then it was just Knox and me.
We walked out of the pack building together, the afternoon sun warm on my face. The fresh air felt good after hours in that stuffy conference room.
“That was a lot,” I said quietly.
Knox made a sound of agreement, his hand finding mine and intertwining our fingers. “Too much. But at least we have allies now. And information.”
We walked in silence for a few moments, heading back toward our house. My mind was still processing everything I’d learned, trying to fit the new pieces into the puzzle of my fractured memories.
“Knox?” I said softly.
“Yeah?”