Breaking the Silence

Before anyone could grab her, Dana made a break for it—straight at Rae.

Time slowed.

Rae didn’t flinch. She watched Dana’s posture, her stance, the twitch in her shoulder that gave away the swing a split second before it came. Rae ducked, pivoting low, and caught Dana’s wrist mid-arc.

The thud echoed through the room as Rae used Dana’s own momentum to flip her onto the floor.

Aspen was immediately there, a growl deep in her throat as she stood protectively between Rae and the downed attacker, her stance taut and ready.

Rae stood over Dana, catching her breath. “Told you our fighting classes would come in handy,” she said to Remi, who had frozen mid-step across the room, eyes wide.

Remi gave a stunned breath of a laugh. “Clearly.”

Dana snarled from the floor, trying to twist free, but Rae planted a foot on her shoulder blade and leaned just enough to stop the movement. “Don’t,” she said flatly.

Will and Trey moved in quickly, flanking Dana as Elijah grabbed zip ties from his belt and bound her wrists.

Rae crouched down, expression unreadable. “You went through a lot of effort to stay close. All those encrypted transfers, the forged login paths. You were in the system deep.”

Dana sneered. “You think I’m just gonna spill because you caught me with a stunt double and a glorified USB drive?”

Rae tilted her head, pulling a tablet from her backpack and opening Dana’s last session on the pack network. “No. I think you’re going to talk because I have every keystroke, every private search, and every time you accessed Pierce’s files. I know your shadow accounts, your routing aliases, even your deleted folder full of memes about blowing up the council.”

Dana’s bravado faltered for a second—just a flicker. But Rae caught it.

“You weren’t the top of the ladder,” Rae said slowly, “but you were important enough to be a relay. A middle point. Which means they trusted you… until you got sloppy.”

“Why would I help you?” Dana spit.

Rae didn’t smile. She didn’t blink. “Because I just pulled the last access code you used, and it was tied to something still live. You give us what we need, maybe we shut it down before it’s used to hurt more people. You don’t? That’s on you.”

Dana looked between Rae, Aspen’s bared teeth, and the others standing silent but ready.

Then she muttered, “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

“Oh,” Rae said coolly, “I know exactly who I’m messing with. Question is… do you?”

⸻

Dana’s glare hardened, but Rae’s steady gaze didn’t waver.

“Looks like you’re all bark and no bite,” Dana sneered.

Rae crouched closer, voice dropping into a calm, commanding tone. “Aspen, attaque.”

The word was sharp, clear—Cajun for “attack.”

Aspen’s growl deepened, and she lunged forward with controlled precision, baring teeth but not sinking claws. She circled Dana’s legs, nudging her with a fierce snarl, making sure Dana couldn’t settle or shift.

Dana’s eyes flicked to Aspen, her breath quickening. “Get this dog off me!” she barked.

Rae’s voice was soft but unyielding. “You want out of this? You’re gonna tell me everything. Who’s behind this? What’s the wolfvine connection? And what’s your role in the bigger plan?”

Dana hesitated, glancing from Aspen’s poised readiness back to Rae’s unblinking stare.

Minutes dragged like hours.

Finally, Dana’s shoulders slumped, the fight draining out of her. “Fine… you want names?” she hissed. “It’s bigger than you think. The council isn’t the only group involved. There’s a faction… older, darker. They’ve been pushing the wolfvine research to control not just the pack but the surrounding territories too. Pierce? He was their pawn, but he went rogue when he realized the true endgame.”

Rae’s fingers flew over her tablet, typing notes.

“They’re experimenting on the wolfvine to manipulate werewolf biology — trying to create soldiers who don’t need the pack’s loyalty. It’s about control, power beyond bite and claw.”

Aspen growled low, sensing the weight of the confession.

Dana’s voice cracked. “If you want to stop this… you’re going to need to go deeper. Find their hideouts. Pierce’s office was just a breadcrumb.”

Rae nodded slowly, standing up and signaling Aspen to relax.

“We’re going deeper,” she said, eyes burning with determination. “Thanks for talking.”

Dana glared one last time but said nothing.