Chapter 48: The Mole Revealed

The warehouse smelled of rust and stale air. Elena stood in the shadows near the cracked window, watching the door. Her phone buzzed—Damon’s message: *In position. Waiting for your signal.* She didn’t answer. The trap was already set. Two hours earlier, she’d planted the bait: a false meeting location, a fake alliance with a minor pack. Only five people knew the details—Damon, Kael, Miriam, herself, and the person she suspected. If the mole took the bait, they’d show up here, expecting to find her alone, vulnerable. A floorboard creaked behind her. She tensed, hand slipping into her jacket pocket where the silver blade rested. But it was only Kael, moving silently as always. "Any sign?" he asked, his voice low. "Not yet. But they’ll come." He studied her for a heartbeat. "You’re sure about this? If you’re wrong, we’ve wasted a night we could have used to prepare for the summit." "I’m not wrong." She met his gaze. "Someone’s been feeding Viktor information. The poisoned well, the attack on the eastern border, the ambush that killed three of our scouts—all of them happened because someone knew our movements in advance." Kael’s mouth hardened. "And you think it’s one of us." "I know it is." The minutes crawled. Elena’s muscles ached from standing still, but she didn’t dare move. Every sense was sharpened, listening for the sound of approaching footsteps, the whisper of fabric, the telltale heartbeat of someone who didn’t belong. Then she heard it—the soft crunch of gravel outside. She held her breath. The door swung open. A figure stepped inside, tall and broad-shouldered, silhouetted against the dim light of the moon. Elena recognized the gait immediately. Darren. Damon’s trusted lieutenant. The one who had been with the pack for over a decade. He stopped just inside the threshold, scanning the room. When his eyes landed on her, he froze. "Elena?" His voice was careful, measured. "What are you doing here? I thought the meeting was at the old mill." "The meeting was a lie." She stepped forward, letting the moonlight catch her face. Behind her, Kael moved to block the exit. Darren’s hand drifted toward his belt, where a gun was holstered. "I don’t understand." "I think you do." She kept her voice steady, though her heart hammered. "You’ve been passing information to Viktor. The well, the eastern border, the scouts. All because someone threatened your family." His face went pale. "How did you—" "It doesn’t matter how I know. What matters is that you have a choice right now." She took another step closer. "Viktor has your wife and daughter. I get it. You did what you had to do to protect them. But he’s not going to let them go, Darren. He’s using you until you’re no longer useful. And when that happens, he’ll kill them anyway." Darren’s hands trembled. "You don’t know that." "I know Viktor. He doesn’t leave loose ends. The moment you stop being valuable, you and your family are dead." A long silence stretched between them. Darren’s eyes darted from her to Kael, calculating his options. But there were none. He was caught. "What do you want?" he asked finally, his voice defeated. "I want you to help me take him down." He laughed bitterly. "And if I refuse?" "Then Kael will take you to Damon, and you’ll be dealt with as a traitor. Your family will still be in Viktor’s hands, and you’ll be dead or imprisoned." She paused. "But if you help me, I promise you—when this is over, I will get them back." Darren studied her, searching for the lie. "Why should I trust you?" "Because I’m the only one who’s offering you a way out." He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, resignation had set in. "What do you need me to do?" Elena let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. "Tell Viktor that the alliance summit is happening at the Silver Moon Hotel tomorrow night. Tell him that Damon will be there with only a small guard. Make it sound like easy prey." "But that’s not true," Darren said slowly. "No. It’s a trap. We’ll have twice the men, positioned in the surrounding buildings. When Viktor’s forces walk in, we’ll have them surrounded." Darren nodded, a flicker of hope in his eyes. "I can do that." "Good. But there’s one more thing." She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "If you try to warn him, if you double-cross me, I will find your family before Viktor does. And I will make sure they never see you again." The threat hung in the air. Darren swallowed hard. "I understand." "Then go. Make the call." He left without another word, his footsteps fading into the night. Kael moved to stand beside her. "You think he’ll keep his word?" he asked. "No. But I don’t need him to. I just need Viktor to believe him." She pulled out her phone and texted Damon: *Mole caught. Summit plan in motion. Viktor will attack the hotel tomorrow night. His reply came instantly: *Good work. But be ready—he won’t come alone. She pocketed the phone. The trap was set. Now all they had to do was wait. The next evening, Elena stood at the window of the hotel room across the street from the Silver Moon. Through the binoculars, she watched the entrance. Guests milled about, unaware of the danger lurking in the shadows. But she saw them—the subtle movements, the too-still figures, the vehicles that didn’t belong. Viktor’s men were already in place. Her radio crackled. Kael’s voice: "They’re moving in. At least twenty, maybe more. They’ve got the perimeter locked." "Hold position," she said. "Let them commit." Minutes passed like hours. Then she saw them—a wave of dark figures converging on the hotel entrance. The attack had begun. But something was wrong. They weren’t advancing cautiously; they were charging straight in, as if they knew exactly where to go. Her the warmth drained from her veins. Darren had warned them. He’d given Viktor the real plan. "Kael, pull back! It’s a trap!" But it was too late. Explosions lit up the night, and the hotel’s front façade collapsed in a roar of dust and fire. Elena stumbled back from the window as glass shattered around her. When she looked again, Viktor’s forces were pouring through the breach, and her people were caught in the open. The summit had become a slaughter.