32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Dante

T he sensation of a new pack member's bond being tied to me is not new. I've Awakened hundreds of wolves as Alpha and recruited even more, but I've never had it take me unaware.

Love, joy, and overwhelming peace course across the connection, and I must brace myself on the desk for a moment.

She doesn't know how to shield herself yet, so the feelings flow into me as if I were feeling them myself.

Way to go, Cain.

I send off a mind-link welcoming her and checking in before returning to my email and confirming the date and time for the appeal I'd worked out with Alpha Martin.

Two days.

Knowing they are Mated helps our case, but I wonder if it will matter to Deacon now that he knows she's his daughter.

War has always been inevitable.

We just need to make it until the LLC no longer has us blacklisted, and then we can utilize our allies without them being afraid of legal ramifications.

We can hold our own for two more days.

Flying out of my territory, even to sort things out, leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I'm struggling with the idea of leaving my pack vulnerable.

Would he attack while I'm gone?

Of course, he would.

What better time to launch an assault than when he knows both myself and Cain are out of the area, so there are two fewer Alphas he'd need to defeat?

In terms of war strategizing, it's a solid plan for him, so I need to find a way to ensure their safety.

The light knock on my door pulls my attention, and I see Quinn standing there.

"Mr. Healy is here," she says, pointing to the waiting area. "Are you ready for him?"

"Yes, please, send him in, and Quinn, can you contact Noah and let him know we have an appeal date? I'll forward you the information for my calendar as well," I ask, closing a few of the documents on my screens as David walks in.

"I appreciate you coming in so quickly, David," I say, extending my hand to invite him to sit.

"No problem at all, Alpha Stone. Your assistant said you needed some information about Luca Amato," he says as he sits.

"Yes, recent events have led to some turbulence between the Reno Pack and ourselves. We believe an attack is likely in the next few days, and I was wondering if you had any information about what resources the Miami pack may be able to supply them," I say, not wanting to be too open about our position but also needing very specific intel from him.

"Well, I'm not sure how useful I can be. We were only officially part of the pack for a few months, and neither of us had wolves strong enough to be of interest to them. Had I not," he pauses, looking at the floor momentarily before clearing his throat and continuing. "Hmph, had I not gotten mixed up with my debts, I don't know that I would have ever had a conversation with him outside of our recruitment."

David fidgets in his seat, obviously embarrassed about the whole situation and his role in it.

"I understand, David, and I'm not here to judge you, but anything you could tell me would help," I urge, hoping he can remember something.

"I know they handle a lot of the drug trade in the area, and while they had me detained, I heard one of the enforcers talking about a shipment they were receiving. Something about a new development in one of their internal projects. I don't remember its name, but he said it was like steroids, but it was for your wolf. I guess Amato had been testing it on his enforcers, and it was enhancing them," he says, his voice gaining enthusiasm as he speaks.

A steroid drug for wolves?

Fucking perfect.

Super soldiers.

If they were testing them on their own pack, I have no doubt that by now, they could be shipping them to other packs, including Reno.

"Did you hear anything about the new development in that drug or any details? Side effects? Duration?" I question, trying to keep my voice even despite the dread creeping through me.

"Sorry, nothing about that. He just kept complaining that it wore off too quickly, and he hoped they found a way to make it permanent," he said, shrugging.

"Ok. Thank you. Anything else you remember? How many wolves they have or technology?" I probe.

"At my recruitment into the pack, I was pack member 45, 804. I'd never heard of a pack having so many, and I remember saying so. One of the other recruits mentioned the pack was only about a third that size, probably close to 18,000 active wolves. So I'd guess they could send thousands." he says, frowning.

Thousands?

Thousands of drugged-up super soldiers.

Could it get any worse?

He stands, signifying the end of the information he has to offer.

"I know it's probably not the news you were hoping for, but I know you will find a way through this. You have your dad's moral compass. You'd never allow people like that to win," he says before bowing his head slightly and exiting my office.

I may not allow it, but I have no idea how the hell I'm going to stop it from happening. Especially now.

Dante: Pres, I need you in my office. Now.

I'm not bothering with pleasantries. There isn't time for them. We need solutions, we need options, we need my dad.

My heart sinks, knowing I'm not him.

A few minutes later, she walks in. No music is playing, and her pink cat-eared headphones are absent from her outfit.

She falls into the chair rather than just sitting in it and opens her laptop before looking up at me expectantly.

"Well, hello to you too," I say, trying for humor but missing the mark.

"You summoned, I'm here. What can I do?" she asks, exhaustion evident on her face.

Before I answer her, I pull on my bond with her and clench my jaw when I feel her shield blocking me.

"If you want to know how I'm feeling, you could just ask," she says, irritation seeping into her tone.

"Sorry, Pres. You've just been well, not yourself lately," I say as an explanation.

"We're about to be at war, D. That doesn't exactly feel like unicorns and rainbows from where I'm sitting. Our shipment of motion sensors we added yesterday has been delayed, and the order I attempted to add on after the meeting today won't be shipped for another week at the earliest. And if that wasn't enough, you should have seen the smug look on stupid Keith's face when I asked him to oversee our client division. You're lucky I didn't punch his perfectly straight dumb nose, or we'd probably have a lawsuit pending too," she finishes with a huff, and it's nice to see a bit of her fire come back, even if it is through violence directed at an employee.

"Well, thank you for controlling yourself. I'll be sure to have Quinn send over a gold star for your efforts in that regard. As for the shipment, we will figure it out. Let's focus on what we can control. I need information on a drug the Amatos are running," I say, shifting from big brother to Alpha.

Her attention drops to her lap, and she begins clicking and typing.

"What's it called?" she asks.

"I don't know," I reply, her fingers slow as she looks up.

"Can I know what it does?" she continues, squinting her eyes as if I'm intentionally being obtuse to make her life hard.

"The description I was given was ‘steroids for wolves,' and apparently, there's been a new development in it," I say, giving her the only information I have.

She looks back down, and her typing resumes. Her head nods, and she scans the various pages she's been running through. I sit watching her, not wanting to interrupt her flow, when she stops, purses her lips, and pulls them to one side.

"So, at first glance, there isn't much activity for Maimi at all, which is suspicious by itself since it's such a large city with a huge wolf presence. But digging a bit deeper, I found a discussion post that may be relevant. It's focused on something called F-4110N, and it's vague but mentions that someone is looking for more because it wears off more quickly with each use. That wouldn't usually cause any reason for suspicion, but one of the replies mentions a new development in the formula which allows for twelve-hour boosts."

She pauses, tilts her head, and then types again.

"That could be anything. Why would that point to the Amatos?" I ask, and she looks up at me.

"The Amatos are the only game in town, and the name of the drug is bugging me. I haven't heard of it before, and it's literally nowhere on any server," she says.

"F-4110N? It could just be a random lot number," I say.

"It could, but do me a favor, maybe have Elijah and James reach out about it," she says. I grab a pen from my desk drawer and write it on a piece of paper so I can pass it along. The minute I put it down, I see it.

F4110N

Fallon.

"Pres," I say, realizing.

She looks up at me, seeing the word written out, and her eyes become saucers.

"This isn't good. If this new drug came from anything related to the Fallon Project, then we know exactly who the players are. If they are working with Marlo, we have even bigger problems with this war," she says, her eyes turning distant as she starts imaging all the ways this could go wrong.

"I need as much information on this as you can find. Spend the next few hours digging. We will need to meet with the council again tonight. This changes things," I say as Pres stands and strides out of my office without another word.

Dante: Quinn, I need you to get Ghost on the line and then call the council. I need them back here for a meeting at 8 p.m.

Quinn: Ok, what about Jake? Does he need to come in?

I think for a moment, knowing he's watching over Brielle's roommate, and while I don't believe the LLC would use her as bait, I know Marlo will without hesitation.

Dante: Reach out and see if he can get away. We won't leave her vulnerable, but if she's somewhere safe or somewhere we can put someone else on her, have him come in.

Quinn: I'll take care of it. Thai or Mexican for dinner?

Dante: Mexican, and get enough for everyone. Have it in the conference room for the meeting. Thanks for thinking about food.

I send it before returning to my screens. I have five hours to devise a plan to fight thousands of super soldiers.

Should be a piece of cake.

Fates help us all.