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He opens the folder to reveal a photograph. It’s a grainy image taken from what looks like security footage. A woman I don’t recognize, dark-haired, somewhere in her early twenties, standing on a residential doorstep.

“That’s Davina,” Lexi says.

“That’s what I assumed, but thank you for verifying,” Marcus says. He taps the photo. “This is from a neighbor’s security camera. They reported it when they saw the news report that listed her as a missing person.”

“How old is this footage?” I ask.

“Two weeks.”

Lexi looks up at him sharply. “Maybe she’s still in the city.”

Marcus shakes his head. “The house doesn’t look occupied anymore,” Marcus says. “But I have a team sitting on it just in case.” He pauses and produces another photo. “The footage also showed this.”

He puts a second photo down. This one shows another person at the same front door. Broad shoulders. Hoodie. Sunglasses. But it’s not enough to hide the shape of his face. His smug sneer. Especially when he’s looking directly at the camera.

“Ramsey,” Lexi says.

The silence that follows has a specific quality as we all absorb the evidence that Davina is indeed working with Ramsey to dismantle the wards and take down the pack.

“Has Grey seen this yet?” I ask.

Marcus shakes his head. “I came to you first.”

“We need to loop him in,” I say, “And the others.”

“This changes things,” Lexi says. “We’ve been searching for them outside the ward line.” She shakes her head. “No wonder we haven’t found them yet. What if they’re right here under our noses?”

She’s not wrong, but I can see the panic brewing behind her eyes, so I work to keep her focused. Keep her thinking about strategy.

“What about Davina’s connections in the city?” I ask. “Does she have family here? Anyone we can use to get to her?”

Lexi shakes her head. “We found her when we took over Franco’s lab. He kept her hidden all these years, forcing her to work for him there. She said she was serving a life debt she owed him. She made it sound like she never expected that debt to be paid or for her to be free of him.”

“But then you shut down the lab. Sent her home,” I say, and she nods.

“She must have met Ramsey after that. Maybe he found out about her. Went to her for help? She hated Franco. And she didn’t know us. Maybe she thought we would rule just like he did.”

“Actually.” Marcus taps the folder. “The neighbor who gave us this footage said she’s seen this man at Davina’s house several times over the last few months.”

Lexi’s eyes widen. “Months? But that would be before…”

“Yeah.” Marcus is grim.

I know he hates giving bad news.

“If he took that serum you mentioned, he likely got it from her. Which means Davina wasn’t recruited after Franco fell. It happened before.” He looks at me. “They were right to think he’s been planning this for a while.”

I lean back in my chair and look at the ceiling and think about sixty wolves bound to a super alpha whose power is slowly destroying him from the inside out and a hex witch who’s been likely injecting him with said power since before anyone knew there was a war coming.

Then I think about Mia.

Somewhere in this city right now. Without backup. Trying to solve a problem that’s bigger—and likely closer—than anyone realized.

“We need to bring this to Crow,” Lexi says. Her voice is controlled but tight. “He’s better at finding people than the rest of us. Maybe he can work with the city’s traffic light cams and find them that way.”

“Already sent him a message,” Marcus says. “He’s on his way.”

I nod.