The air in the shipping yard was thick with the scent of blood and sweat, but Hayley barely noticed.
Her wolf was still thrumming with adrenaline, pacing beneath her skin, eager for more.
She turned to Damien, who stood calmly amid the wreckage of the Bloodfangs, looking completely unfazed.
Damn him.
He had fought like he belonged on a battlefield precise, brutal, efficient.
And now, despite the chaos, he looked at her with amusement.
"You're smiling," she noted, narrowing her eyes.
Damien shrugged. "I like watching you work."
Hayley rolled her eyes, ignoring the heat curling in her stomach.
She wasn't here to be admired.
"Come on," she muttered, stepping over the unconscious wolves. "We're done here."
Damien followed, falling into stride beside her. "So, what happens next?"
Hayley's fingers twitched. That was the question, wasn't it?
The Bloodfangs weren't the real problem. They were just pawns.
Someone wanted her pack vulnerable. Someone was pulling strings.
And she was going to find out who.
"Now?" she said, glancing at Damien. "Now, we get answers.
Damien gave a crooked smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You think someone's trying to fracture the pack?"
"I think someone's already started," she muttered, scanning the horizon as they exited the yard. "The rogues weren't attacking at random. They knew our patrol routes, our blind spots… even the shift schedule."
"You're saying someone fed them intel."
"I'm saying we have a traitor."
Damien's expression darkened, and for once, he didn't offer a witty retort.
They walked in silence for a while, the city beginning to stir around them as the first light of dawn crept in. Hayley's mind whirred with names, faces who had access, who could be turned. Trust was becoming a luxury she couldn't afford.
As they turned onto a quieter side street, Hayley slowed. Her sharp gaze landed on a set of symbols scrawled onto a nearby brick wall. Faint, but familiar.
Wolf script.
She stepped closer, brushing her fingers across the faded sigils. Her heart skipped a beat.
It was a warning.
"Someone marked this three days ago," she said softly. "That's the day the rogue died on the border."
Damien joined her, studying the symbols. "What does it mean?"
She hesitated. "Old code. Pre-Council. Only used by wolves who were exiled or… hiding."
Damien arched a brow. "So, whoever left this wanted it seen by someone who still remembers the old ways."
"Exactly," she murmured. "Which means this isn't random. It's orchestrated."
Damien stepped back and looked around, his instincts now fully alert. "We're being hunted."
Hayley nodded, swallowing hard. "And not just by whoever posted the bounty. They're trying to collapse everything from the inside."
They walked faster after that, the urgency knotting tighter in Hayley's chest.
Halfway back to the Den, she paused outside an old corner bakery, now abandoned and shuttered. The scent of ash lingered. She knelt beside the steps and ran her fingers over the scorched stone.
Another message. Another fire.
"This was one of our safe houses," she said quietly. "No one was supposed to know about it."
"Was it compromised?"
"It's burned to the ground. What do you think?"
Damien crouched beside her, his voice low. "They're tightening the noose."
Hayley straightened and turned toward him. "Then we cut it."
They exchanged a look one that said more than words could.
Neither of them trusted easily. But war was coming. And war changed everything.
By the time they reached the Silverfang Den, dawn was creeping over the city.
Hayley expected some of her pack to be waiting for her, but when she stepped inside, she found the entire inner circle gathered in the main hall.
Riley. Liam. And a guest.
A vampire.
Hayley's wolf bristled immediately.
The vampire was lounging in one of the chairs, twirling a silver ring between his fingers, looking bored.
"Alpha," Riley greeted, her tone clipped. "We have a problem."
Hayley strode forward, Damien at her side.
She didn't take her eyes off the vampire. "Who is this?"
The vampire smirked. "Call me Sebastian."
She didn't return the smile. "Give me one reason not to rip your throat out."
Sebastian's smirk widened. "Because, darling, I have information you need."
Hayley growled. "Get to the point."
Sebastian sighed dramatically. "You wolves are always so impatient. Fine." His gaze sharpened. "Someone put a bounty on your head, Alpha. A very high bounty."
The room went silent.
Hayley's jaw clenched.
"That's impossible," Liam said. "No one would be stupid enough"
"They were," Sebastian cut in smoothly. "And it's not just any bounty. It's open to every supernatural being in Ravenshade."
A city wide bounty.
Hayley forced herself to stay still, but rage curled inside her like a storm.
A bounty like that meant one thing someone wanted her gone. And they didn't care who did it, as long as she was out of the picture.
She turned to Sebastian. "Who's behind it?"
Sebastian's smirk faltered. "That… I don't know."
"Useless," Damien muttered.
Sebastian shot him a lazy grin. "Charming."
Hayley exhaled sharply. "How do you know about this?"
Sebastian leaned back. "Because the Midnight Society was considering taking the job."
Tension crackled in the air.
The same organization that had sent her the invitation.
Hayley's heart pounded. This wasn't a coincidence.
She turned to Damien, whose expression was unreadable.
"Well," he murmured. "Looks like you were right. Someone wants you erased."
Hayley's mind raced.
If the bounty was real, she wasn't just dealing with rogue wolves and minor threats anymore.
Every assassin, mercenary, and supernatural hunter in Ravenshade would be looking for her.
She had to act fast.
She turned to her pack. "Liam, double security around the Den. No one comes or goes without my approval."
Liam nodded, his expression grim. "On it."
"Riley, find out where this bounty started. I want names."
Riley smirked. "I'll make them talk."
Then, Hayley turned back to Sebastian.
The vampire raised a brow. "I take it you'll be repaying me for this little favor?"
Hayley stepped closer, dropping her voice to a whisper.
"You're still breathing, aren't you?"
Sebastian chuckled. "Fair enough."
He stood, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeves. "I'd watch your back, Alpha. The predators are circling."
She met his gaze without flinching. "Let them come."
Sebastian smirked one last time before slipping into the shadows, leaving behind a silence that felt too heavy.
Hayley turned to Damien.
"This started with the Midnight Society," she said. "So that's where I'm going."
Damien nodded. "I'm coming with you."
She hesitated.
Letting Damien in had never been the plan.
But the world had changed overnight.
And for the first time in a long time, she wasn't sure she could do this alone.
"Fine," she muttered. "But if you slow me down"
Damien chuckled. "You really think that's going to happen?"
Hayley rolled her eyes and walked away.
But the truth was… she wasn't sure anymore.
And that terrified her.