As Ronan and Lucien walked toward the living room, Ronan began recounting what had been reported to him.

"Leia received a strange note from a man," Ronan explained. "The betas said they spotted someone delivering a parcel outside Rhea’s house. But since he didn’t attack Leia, she actually accepted the parcel from him, they didn’t pursue him."

Lucien’s jaw tightened. He immediately pulled out his phone to call Leia.

"Then why didn’t you order them to trail him?" Lucien demanded, irritation rising in his tone.

"Because Leia asked us not to," Kieran answered calmly, already dialing Leia’s number. "She wanted us to connect her with you directly."

The call clicked, and Leia’s voice came through. "Is Lucien home?"

"Yes, I’m here," Lucien said quickly. "Leia, we’re coming over to you right now."

"No. You cannot," Leia replied firmly.

Lucien froze. "What? Why not? A stranger handed you a note, you expect me to sit idle? I need to hear the full story in person."

"Can’t you, for once, just listen to me?" Leia snapped, her voice edged with frustration.

"I am listening," Lucien shot back. "And what I hear is that some hunter freak is targeting you. Which means I’m coming, with my brothers."

"You can’t," Leia insisted. "I already have a plan. It’s not even clear if the man was a hunter at all. The note says that if I want to meet my father, I have to go to the Southern Border. That’s why I think I should go alone." She paused, then added meaningfully, "But I told you because I want you to be ready, to catch whoever might be waiting in the shadows."

"Wait!" Lucien’s brows furrowed. "You want to go alone to the Southern Border!?"

"Yes." Leia confirmed though her fingers curled tightly around the note in her hand. "That’s the only way we’ll catch this person. If my father is truly alive, then I’ll meet him. But if it’s just a trap, then you, Ronan, and Kieran can come in at the right time and rescue me."

She leaned closer to the phone. "Tell me, can you teleport to the Southern Border straight from home?"

"Yes, I can," Lucien admitted. His voice hardened a second later. "But I won’t allow you to go alone anywhere."

"Lucien, you promised me I could do whatever I desired," Leia reminded him softly. "I know you’re worried for my safety, but think about it. If the man who delivered the parcel truly wanted to hurt me, he could have done it right there at Rhea’s gate. He didn’t. Don’t you think that means something?"

She paused, her chest rising and falling quickly before continuing. "You want to catch Aaron Rudwig. So do I. But we have to be smart about this. That’s why I’ll go to the Southern Border alone."

"That’s insane!" Lucien snapped. "What if he attacks you in the middle of nowhere? What am I supposed to do then?" His hand curled into a fist. "The guy must have been on a bike if he delivered that parcel. I’ll have Caleb check every CCTV camera in the city until we find him. Don’t worry, the truth will come out."

Then taking a pause, he added, "Also, I’ve freed Delia. So it’s time you returned home and spoke to her."

"What?" Leia’s eyes widened in shock. "You... freed Delia?"

Before she could process it further, she felt the unmistakable shift of energy behind her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned her head, Lucien was already there.

"Let’s go," he said firmly, appearing right in front of her.

His hand closed around hers, pulling her up to her feet. But Leia resisted.

"I want to confirm whether the sender was my enemy or not. Did you not tell me my father could be alive? What if it really is him, Lucien? And even if it isn’t... Then I need to end this. I’m tired of being weak. I don’t want to keep hiding while others fight for me. I want answers. I don’t want any of you to suffer because of me."

Lucien opened his mouth to respond, but Leia silenced him, her finger pressed gently against his lips.

"No," she whispered, her gaze locking with his. "Don’t say anything. Listen to me."

"If you truly see me as your Luna, then you’ll let me do this. You’ll let me go to the Southern Border. I could’ve gone without telling you, but I don’t want to make another foolish mistake. That’s why I called Ronan. That’s why I spoke to you first. Because you deserve to know my plan. Because I want to trust my mates with it. That’s why I decided not to go alone without informing any of you."

Leia slowly lowered her finger, her eyes searching his face, hoping for even the faintest sign of agreement. But Lucien’s silence told her everything. She already knew his answer.

Her gaze faltered, drifting away from him.

"Fine," Lucien said at last. "We’ll do it your way. But I’m coming with you, same car, same road."

Leia’s head snapped back toward him. "I’m supposed to go alone," she argued. "If you’re there, your Alpha presence will give everything away. If Aaron is truly behind this, he’ll sense you immediately."

"I’ll mask my scent. You’re forgetting, there are drugs that can make it possible," Lucien countered firmly.

Leia crossed her arms, meeting his gaze head-on. "And what about your power? You can get weakened. Ronan and Kieran won’t be able to teleport, either. We’ll need a force if we’re truly facing a hunter. I checked the maps, Lucien. The Southern Border is nothing but dense forest. Even the pack beyond it doesn’t guard its borders. We have no army stationed there."

"Yes," Lucien admitted. "But that doesn’t mean an army of hunters could march in unnoticed. I can teleport. But if I’m even a second late in reaching you, that delay could cost you your life. Do you think I’ll allow that!?"

His eyes blazed crimson, his possessiveness and fury spilling through as if daring her to challenge him further.

"No, you won’t," Leia said.

"That’s why I’m coming with you." Lucien’s voice shook in concern. "I heard your plan, and in return you must hear me. I can’t afford to lose you, Leia. I-I want you with a madness I can’t name. Every fiber of me loves you. If anything happens to you, I don’t know what I’ll become. I can’t bear the thought of losing you."

Leia noticed something unsettled in him, as if he were haunted by a fear he wouldn’t, or couldn’t, say out loud.

"All right, Lucien. You should come with me. Let’s catch Aaron together and end this, once and for all." Her voice was steady, filled with resolve. She kissed him, then pulled away.

"Let’s go then. But first I will take that drug and explain the story to my brothers. You’ve to stay here. Don’t step out alone," he affirmed and vanished from her sight.

~~~~~

Leia stepped out of the rental car Lucien had arranged earlier that day, her gaze sweeping the Southern Border. All around her stretched an unbroken wall of dense forest, the trees pressing so closely together that the path ahead seemed swallowed by shadows. Above, the evening sky burned red, casting everything in a haunting glow.

"What should I do now?" she murmured to herself, uncertainty creeping in. "The map showed this was the border, but I can’t see anything beyond the forest."

Doubt prickled her chest. Maybe she had taken a wrong turn. With a sigh, Leia reached for the car door to climb back inside.

The next instant, glass shattered. A deafening crack split the air as a bullet tore through the car window. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Ahhh!" Leia cried, ducking low, her hands flying to cover her ears against the echoing gunshot.

Heart pounding, she lifted her head just enough to glance around, then scrambled toward the far side of the car for cover.

From the trunk, Lucien burst out. The metal lid flew open with the force of his kick, and in a single fluid motion, he leapt to the ground. His eyes locked on Leia, and without hesitation he sprinted to her side.

He wrapped his arm around her and made her stay low.

"Fuck! She hasn’t come alone here," Aaron muttered as he hid behind the tree’s trunk and looked at the gun with silver bullets. "I need to leave before Lucien catches me."

"Lucien, I think they are hidden in that direction," Leia pronounced.

"I know. But we have to stay low. They are hunters after all. And the bullet they are using is silver," Lucien said with a worried gaze.

"But we can’t lose them. Think of something. If it’s only Aaron, it will be easy for us to take him down. So, we should transform. In our wolves form we will be faster," Leia asserted when another bullet hit the car, causing her heart to pound even more.