Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Hunter
The rogue's scent is three hours old by the time I pick it up near Blackstone Ridge, which means he's long gone. Again.
I crouch beside a fallen log where he stopped to rest, running my fingers over the disturbed moss. He sat here for a while, watching something. I follow his line of sight and my stomach drops. He has a clear view of the road leading to Ava's rental house.
My wolf snarls, wanting to track him down, to end this threat before it gets any closer to her. But the trail is already fading, carried away by the wind and last night's rain. He's good at covering his tracks, this rogue. Too good.
I shift back and pull out my phone, checking the time. Seven a.m.. I’m meeting the elders in an hour, and I still need to get home, shower, and prepare for what I know is going to be a difficult conversation.
The journal changes everything. Whoever this rogue is, he's been documenting the contamination, leaving evidence behind. And now that evidence is in Ava's hands. How long before she connects all the dots? How long before someone else stumbles across his research?
And now she wants to investigate EnvironTech. Wants to get closer to the facility that sits at the edge of our territory, the source of the poison that's been slowly killing our prey animals for months.
I can't let her go there alone. But I also can't explain why without telling her everything.
My phone buzzes with a text from Caleb.
Gregory's here early. Looks serious. Whatever happened yesterday at the diner must have gotten back to him already.
Of course it did. In a pack this size, nothing stays secret for long.
Be there in 20.
I jog back to where I left my truck, my mind already running through potential arguments, trying to anticipate every objection the elders are going to raise.
When I walk into my study twenty minutes later, six faces turn to look at me. Gregory and the other elders—Arthur, Robert, and Thomas—have taken their usual seats near my desk. But Marcus is here too, along with his nephew Garrett, both of them standing near the door like enforcers on duty.
This isn't a scheduled council meeting. This is an intervention.
"Good morning," I say evenly, moving to stand behind my desk. The position of authority, the place where Curtis used to stand when he needed to remind everyone who led this pack. "I wasn't expecting everyone so early."
"We need to talk about the human," Arthur says without preamble. "And the rogue's journal she found."
I keep my expression neutral. "How did you know about the journal?"
"Mabel called me last night," Gregory says. "Said you and Dr. Sinclair were having an intense conversation at the cafe. That you looked worried when she showed you a journal. It wasn't hard to put together after Garrett reported seeing the rogue near the eastern tributary two days ago."
Of course. Mabel has become friendly with Gregory since we disclosed our true nature to some of the residents of Parkerville, and Garrett has been watching Ava's movements like a hawk, just waiting for her to do something that justifies his paranoia.
"The journal contains environmental research," I say carefully. "Water samples, contamination data. The same things Ava has been documenting. It confirms what we've suspected about EnvironTech."
"It also contains references to us," Marcus says bluntly. "Mabel saw some of the pages when you had it open on the table. Cryptic references, but references nonetheless. About territories, hierarchies, leaders."
I shoot Garrett a look that makes him shift uncomfortably. The kid is too eager, too willing to overstep.
"The references were vague," I counter. "Nothing explicit. Just observations about community structure that could apply to any tight-knit small town."
"Vague enough to make a smart researcher start asking questions," Robert points out. "Which is exactly what Dr. Sinclair is doing now, isn't it? Asking about secrets, about what we're hiding?"
The accusation hangs in the air. They're right, and we all know it.
"She's suspicious," I admit. "But suspicion isn't knowledge. And I'd rather she be suspicious while I'm close enough to manage the situation than have her investigating on her own and stumbling onto something we can't control."
"Or you could let the witches handle it," Garrett suggests, not for the first time. "One memory spell, and this whole problem disappears."
"No." The word comes out harder than I intend, but I don't soften it. "We're not using magic on an innocent person who's done nothing wrong except ask reasonable questions about the environment she's studying."
"She found a journal that could expose us," Marcus argues. "She wants to investigate EnvironTech, which will put her directly in our business. At what point does she stop being innocent and start being a liability?"
"She's not a liability," I say firmly. "She's a scientist doing important work that could help us identify the source of the contamination. Work we need done because we can't exactly hire an environmental consultant without raising questions."
"You're too close to this," Arthur says, his voice heavy with concern rather than accusation. "Too close to her. We've all seen it, Hunter. The way you look at her, the way you react when anyone suggests she might be a threat. This isn't about strategic thinking anymore. This is personal."
I want to deny it, to insist that I'm thinking clearly, that my judgment isn't compromised. But they'd know I was lying.
"And if it is personal?" I ask quietly. "If she is important to me? Does that automatically make my judgment flawed?"
Gregory leans forward, his weathered face sympathetic.
"It makes it complicated. Daniel, Curtis’s predecessor, faced a similar situation, you know.
There was a woman. A wildlife photographer who came to document the wolves in the area.
She was smart, observant, and Daniel found himself drawn to her. "
I've heard this story before, but never in detail. Wolves rarely talked about their past, especially the parts that involved difficult decisions.
"What happened?" I ask, though I'm not sure I want to know the answer.
"He told her the truth," Thomas says. "Brought her into the pack, explained what we were.
She was fascinated at first, excited even.
But the reality of living among werewolves, of keeping secrets, of being tied to a supernatural community...
" He shakes his head. "She lasted six months before the pressure broke her.
She left, and Daniel had to ask the witches to modify her memories anyway. It destroyed him for years."
The story settles over me like a weight. I've always known that bringing a human into pack life was risky, that not everyone could handle it. But hearing a specific example, seeing the parallel to my own situation, makes it feel more real.
"Ava is stronger than that," I say, though I'm not sure if I'm trying to convince them or myself.
"Maybe," Gregory allows. "But are you prepared to risk the entire pack on that maybe? Because that's what you're doing, Hunter. If she can't handle the truth, if she runs or breaks or tries to expose us, we all suffer the consequences."
"And if I don't tell her, if I keep lying to her, and she figures it out on her own?" I counter. "That's worse. At least if the truth comes from me, I can control the context, help her understand."
"Or you could step back," Marcus suggests. "Let her finish her research and leave. The contamination issue isn't going away. We can deal with EnvironTech ourselves. We don't need her."
The suggestion makes my wolf rage, and it takes effort to keep my voice level. "She's not leaving. Not until she has answers about the environmental damage. You know how dedicated she is. I've told you about her research, her methodology. She's not the type to abandon a project halfway through."
"Then maybe she needs a reason to leave," Garrett says, and there's something dark in his tone that makes my hackles rise.
"If you're suggesting we threaten her—" I start, my voice dropping to a growl.
"I'm suggesting we make it clear that some questions are dangerous to ask," Garrett interrupts. "That some mysteries are better left unsolved. For her own safety."
"Absolutely not." I stand, planting my hands on the desk. "No one threatens Ava. No one intimidates her or tries to scare her off. Is that clear?"
Garrett holds my gaze for a moment too long before finally dropping his eyes in submission. But I can see the resentment there, the calculation. He thinks I'm weak, compromised by my feelings for a human.
Maybe he's right. But I'm still his Alpha, and he'll follow my orders or face the consequences.
"Hunter," Gregory says gently, drawing my attention back. "We're not your enemies here. We're trying to help you see the full picture. You're carrying the weight of leadership, the same way Daniel did. And like him, you're facing a choice between what you want and what might be best for the pack."
"The two don't have to be mutually exclusive," I argue. "Ava's research could help us. Her knowledge of environmental science and her connections to the academic world are resources we need if we're going to fight EnvironTech properly."
"Or they're complications we don't need," Robert counters. "We've managed our territory for generations without human help. We can manage this too."
"Can we?" I challenge. "Because from where I'm standing, we're losing ground.
The contamination is getting worse, the prey animals are getting sicker, and we still don't have concrete evidence of what EnvironTech is dumping into our watershed.
Ava can get that evidence. She has the training, the equipment, and the credibility to make her findings public if needed. "