The Wolfless Luna's Revenge: Returning With His Secret Twins-Chapter 277

~Samantha~

I waited until Dominic left for the borders before I made my move.

He’d been holed up in his office all morning dealing with patrol schedules and damage reports, which meant the token was probably still in his desk drawer where he always kept important stuff. The man was predictable like that. After giving the token to Killian, he went behind my back to take it again.

I slipped into his office and shut the door behind me as quietly as possible. My heart was beating so fast, I feared others might hear. This felt wrong, sneaking around like some kind of thief in my own house, but Dominic left me no choice when he literally ripped that token out of my hands yesterday.

He’s just trying to protect you, a small voice in my head whispered.

Yeah, well, he could protect me without treating me like I was made of glass and completely incapable of making my own decisions about my own mother’s past.

The desk drawer was locked. Of course it was.

I grabbed a hairpin from my pocket and jimmied the lock. It took maybe thirty seconds, one of the many skills you pick up when you grow up without parents and have to fend for yourself. The lock clicked and I pulled the drawer open.

There it was. Half a token, silver claws gleaming even in the dim office light.

Tucking the token into my pocket, I headed straight for my old room, the one I’d used before Dominic and I got back together. Most of my mother’s things were still stored there in boxes I hadn’t had the heart to go through.

It took me twenty minutes of digging before I saw my mom’s diary. I’d only looked through it once, right after she died, and it had hurt too much to keep reading so I’d packed it away.

Now I flipped through the pages with shaking hands, scanning for anything that matched the token’s design.

And then I found it.

Page forty-seven. A sketch of the exact same symbol, wolves and crescent moon, though this one was complete, not broken in half. Underneath, in my mother’s neat handwriting:

The Silver Claw protects the crown. Always.

My breath caught. Silver Claw. That’s what the dying werewolf had said.

But what did it mean? Who were they?

"Looking for something?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Reynold stood in the doorway, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. The old warrior had this annoying habit of appearing out of nowhere like some kind of ghost.

"Jesus, Reynold." I pressed a hand to my chest. "You trying to give me a heart attack?"

"You’re the one sneaking around." He stepped into the room and closed the door. "Does Dominic know you took that?"

I didn’t bother asking how he knew. Reynold noticed everything. "He took it from me first."

"Fair point." He walked over and glanced at the open diary, then at the token in my hand. Recognition spread in his eyes. "Where did you get that?"

"A werewolf died trying to give it to me yesterday. He had the royal mark." I held up the token. "And he said something about the Silver Claw and my mother before the shadow corruption killed him."

Reynold was quiet for a long moment, his eyes fixed on the token. When he finally spoke, his voice was heavy. "That’s the mark of the Silver Claw Clan."

"What’s the Silver Claw Clan?"

"They were an elite group of warriors." Reynold sat down on the edge of the bed like his legs couldn’t hold him anymore. "Sworn to protect the Primordial royal family. Your mother’s family. They were the best fighters in all the packs, loyal to the death."

My stomach twisted. "Were?"

"They went missing almost ten years ago." His jaw tightened. "The entire clan. Twenty of the strongest wolves just vanished overnight. No bodies. No trace. Like they never existed."

Ten years ago. Right around when my mother died.

"You think they’re connected?" I questioned. "My mother’s death and the clan disappearing?"

"I don’t know." Reynold looked at me and his eyes were sad. "But I know your mother trusted them more than anyone. If they’re involved in whatever happened to her, there’s more to the story than we know."

The token felt heavier in my palm. Like it was responding to the conversation.

"I need to find out what happened to them," I said. "To her. I need answers, Reynold."

"Dominic won’t like it."

"Dominic doesn’t get a vote."

"This is about my mother. My family. He doesn’t get to decide what I can and can’t know about my own past."

Reynold studied me for a second, then nodded slowly. "Your mother would’ve said the same thing."

Before I could respond, the door burst open and Dominic filled the doorway, his face dark as a storm cloud.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?"

My fingers closed tighter around the token. "Getting answers."

"I told you to leave it alone." He crossed the room in three strides and held out his hand. "Give it back. Now."

"No."

"Samantha, I’m not going to ask you again."

"No, Dominic." I stood up, meeting his glare head-on.  

"You deserve to stay alive." His voice dropped dangerously low. "That thing could be cursed. The Silver Claw Clan disappeared for a reason and digging into it could wake up whatever made them vanish in the first place."

"Or it could give me answers about what really happened to my mother."

"At what cost?" He took another step forward. "Your life? Our kids’ lives? How many people have to die before you realize some secrets aren’t worth knowing?"

"I’m doing this with or without your permission."

"Samantha, wait."

I didn’t wait. I was halfway down the hall when I heard another voice. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"I can help."

Killian stood at the top of the stairs, looking way too calm for someone who’d just walked into a fight.

Dominic’s growl echoed through the hallway. "Of course you’re here again."

"I’ve been tracking the Silver Claw Clan’s movements for the past month." Killian ignored Dominic completely and looked at me. "I have maps of where they operated, patrol routes, everything."

"Why would you be tracking them?" I asked.

"Because three of my pack members went missing near their old territory last year." His jaw tightened. "I’ve been trying to figure out what happened. If your token is connected to the clan, maybe we can find answers together."

"Even if nobody asked, my answer is no." Dominic moved to stand between us. "You’re not dragging my wife into whatever investigation you’ve got going on."

"I’m not dragging anyone." Killian’s voice stayed level but his eyes flashed. "I’m offering to share information. Sam can decide for herself if she wants it."

"She already decided." Dominic’s hands curled into fists. "She’s staying here where it’s safe."

"Stop." I pushed past Dominic again and looked at Killian. "What kind of information?"

"Coordinates. Last known locations. Patterns in their disappearances." Killian pulled out his phone and showed me a map covered in red pins. "I was planning to do a field investigation next week. You’re welcome to come."

"She’s not going anywhere with you."

"That’s not your call, Dominic." I looked at my husband and tried to not to yell. "I’m going. I need to know what happened."

"Then I’m coming too."

"Fine."

"We all go. Together."

"I’ve a bad feeling about this," Dominic murmured, but he didn’t try to stop me again.

I walked away from both of them and headed to the twins’ room, needing to see something good and pure after all this fighting.

"Be careful with it!" Diana’s voice.

"I am being careful!" Devon shot back. "You’re the one who almost dropped it!"

Curiosity got the better of me. I pushed the door open.

Both twins froze like they’d been caught stealing cookies. Devon had the token in his hands, how did he even get it from my pocket? and Diana was holding her hands out like she was about to grab it.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"We just wanted to see it," Diana said quickly.

"We thought maybe we could help." Devon looked down at the token. "Like with our purification power? Maggie said Grandma’s stuff sometimes had bad energy."

"It’s okay." I knelt down between them. "Just be careful."

"We will." Devon closed his eyes, concentrating. Diana put her hands over his.

The token started to glow.

"Whoa," Devon whispered.

The light grew stronger, and suddenly the token wasn’t just glowing, it was projecting something. An image formed in the air above it.

A forest map and in the center, a clearing marked with an X.

"What is that?" Diana breathed.

I had no idea. But whatever it was, it looked important.

The image started to fade. The twins’ hands were shaking now, their power running out.

"It’s okay, stop." I took the token from Devon before they exhausted themselves. "You did great."

I’d seen enough.

That map was a clue about where the Silver Claw Clan might’ve gone.