AllFreeNovel Stories worth discovering

Savage Wolf Vow

Page 71

by Heather Hildenbrand

“Someone in this pack told Ramsey where Nash and I were going. The coordinates, the timeline, possibly more.”

“Didn’t Lena tell him?” Razor asks.

“Lena left before we decided to go,” Mia reminds him. “Whatever information she gave him, it wasn’t that.”

“Fuck,” Razor says, realization finally dawning.

Crow looks up from his phone, gaze darting from face to face, and I know he’s already made the next logical leap.

Mia adds, “Until we find out who leaked that information, every piece of intelligence we share is potentially compromised.”

“Is that why Donahue and Camila aren’t here?” Lexi asks worriedly. “Do you think it’s one of them?”

“It would be better if it was,” Mia says quietly.

Then she waits while the rest of them read between the lines of what she’s saying. For a smart pack like theirs, it takes them a full extra beat before I see their expressions shift to a horrified understanding. But I don’t think intelligence is the problem. It’s that every wolf in this room trusts the other so implicitly that they never would have considered one of them as a traitor.

“You’re fucked up for this, Mia,” Dutch begins, his tone a warning.

“You’re an idiot if you’re not willing to investigate it,” she snaps back.

Her anger is close to the surface; I can feel it from here. Dutch must sense it too because he doesn’t argue with her further, only scowls in silence.

“There’s no way it’s one of us,” Razor says, oblivious to Mia’s temper or just immune to the consequences.

“We never suspected Ramsey either,” Grey points out, and I shoot him a grateful look that he didn’t leave Mia to navigate that moment since she’s already trembling.

She crosses her arms to hide it, but I notice it anyway. Just like I notice everything about her.

At Grey’s words, the mood of the room shifts.

I hate this for them, but it can’t be avoided.

Grey looks at me.

“You’ve been quiet,” he says. “Do you agree with Mia’s strategy?”

Every head turns, their focus—and ire—suddenly aimed at me. But I’ve been assessed by rooms full of dangerous wolves before. So, I take my time and tell the truth.

“Yes,” I say. “Tightening the perimeter around the alphas is the smart play.” I glance at Lexi. “If you’re worried about innocent people getting hurt, that’s less likely if all your soldiers are concentrated together. That means they won’t have to fight alone. And are less likely to die since they’ll have backup.”

Lexi blinks like she hadn’t considered that.

Dutch makes a sound I take as rough agreement.

Andy jots more notes on her tablet.

I look back at Grey. “Going after Ramsey without closing the intelligence gap first is how you lose more people.” I pause. “But I want to add something else.”

Grey nods.

“The leak problem doesn’t get solved by changing patrol routes or limiting intel,” I say. “Ramsey will adapt. He'll find new angles. Recruit new informants. All while you’re still looking for the old ones.” I hold Grey's gaze. “Your best bet is to find the source now. While the circle is small. And we have to consider that the source could be anyone with access to sensitive information.” I let that sit for exactly one beat. “Including someone in this room.”

Razor makes a sound that isn’t quite a laugh. “Read my fucking mind with that one.”

His glower makes it clear I’m his number one suspect.

“Razor,” Grey says quietly. A warning, not a rebuke.