Chapter 136: One Wife, Two Brothers

A captain who had been silent up until this point asked what everyone was thinking. "Where were the guards?"

"Not there. I’ll pull them for questioning."

"Yes. I want to know why and I want to know who told them to. I’ll be making a visit myself as well."

"Yes, Alpha."

The hologram looked like it had been assembled by a toddler with a glue stick, but it was clear enough. There was a figure in the corridor. Male build. Masked. Hood up. He stopped at Derek’s door, crouched, and slid something underneath it.

"What was placed under the door?" Landon asked.

"We haven’t conducted a sweep for the item yet, on your order."

"My order?"

"Yes, Alpha. The one you gave yesterday. As soon as you give us the green light, we will retrieve the item."

Landon stared at the frozen frame.

"Next feed," he said after a moment.

Harlan swiped. A different corridor materialized on the holo-table.

"The guest quarters the extra was assigned to per the High Luna’s orders."

"Nova."

Wren looked up. "Alpha?"

"Her name is Nova. She’s Derek’s mate. Make a note of that. It should be updated across every system in this keep."

"Yes, Alpha."

An omega appeared on the holo-table. Staff uniform. She approached the door to the guest quarters Nova had been assigned to. Entered.

"Stop."

The holo froze. The woman’s face was angled toward the camera, caught mid-step.

"Name and identification."

Harlan expanded the frame. A personnel file populated beside the frozen footage, rotating slowly.

"Carmen Vasquez. Omega. Transferred into Thunderfang Keep six months ago from the outer district labor exchange. Currently assigned to housekeeping rotation for the south wing. She was the one who brought Nova to this room."

"Show me."

Harlan swiped. The board transformed into a hologram of the hall outside of Derek’s chambers again.

Carmen was speaking with Derek, then Nova walked with her.

Landon stared at it, brows knit. Something about that interaction was off.

An elder in the back spoke. "Someone explain to me how an omega with a six month tenure is walking around the royal wing at all? That requires a two year clearance level."

Harlan tapped on Carmen’s identification toggle and scrolled. "She does not appear to have clearance. That was unauthorized. I will have her pulled for questioning."

Landon studied the face. Then the file. Then the face again.

"Play the last seventy-two hours on the guest suite. The room Nova had been assigned to, not Derek’s. Accelerated."

Harlan swiped the speed. The footage blurred, hours compressing into seconds.

Carmen Vasquez appeared again. And again. And again.

Harlan’s jaw tightened. "Twenty entries in seventy-two hours, Alpha. Give or take. That is not normal."

"No. It is not," Landon agreed. "I will also be questioning her."

"Yes, Alpha."

"Show me the courtyard."

Harlan swiped the corridor feed off the holo-table and a new projection filled the space between them. The courtyard. Wide angle. Timestamp: mid-attack.

Hovercraft dropped. Armed masked soldiers jumping from the hovercraft. Omegas scattering.

One of the armed men broke formation and headed towards a pup. Nova moved in a blur in front of the pup, planting herself in between.

"That is the slave girl. Derek’s new mate?" one of the elders asked.

"Yes, Nova Thunderfang," Landon answered.

"Thunderfang?"

"Yes. She has my house name."

The elder’s face short-circuited. "Before a wedding? Before pack initiation?"

"Yes."

"I understand why she wanted the Thunderfang last name," the elder began, voice diplomatic.

Landon cut him off at the knees. "She didn’t ’want’ it. I am assigning it."

The elder’s diplomatic smile died on his face like a candle in a hurricane. It took three seconds for him to recover.

"Continental registry law is clear. Surnames can only be transferred through marriage. How about another last name as a substitute?"

"Put her as Derek’s wife," Landon replied.

"They are not married. Derek is unconscious. The male must sign off on it for the name to be given. He cannot. So you will have to wait until he recovers unfortunately—"

"Put her as my wife. I’ll sign it right now."

The war room flatlined. Every holo-band in the room dimmed at the same time because every wrist attached to one had stopped moving. Someone inhaled. Someone else forgot to. The elder’s mouth was open and producing no sound, which was the most productive thing it could have done in that moment.

"But your future Luna is Celeste Starborne," the elder finally managed.

"That was dissolved this morning."

"The slave is Derek’s mate."

"Her name is Nova. And that’s fine. File her under my name. My wife. Today. She gets the Thunderfang surname, the Thunderfang protections, and the full weight of this office behind her until Derek is conscious enough to sign his own paperwork. Assign her permanent security as well. I want three guards on her."

Nobody breathed. The elder looked like a man who had been handed a live explosive and told to file it. Two captains exchanged a glance that contained an entire emergency meeting.

"You can’t just—"

"I just did."

"But a marriage to you would make her the future Luna of our pack. There are political implications-"

"The Starborne—"

"The trade agreements alone—"

"You are starting a war with a marriage filing, Alpha—"

"The continental registry is automated. Every pack sees this the moment it’s filed."

Landon’s voice cut through the questions. "Put her as my wife. They will see Thunderfang. That is it."

Captain Harlan tapped the holo-table and the footage continued. Nova moved again, repositioning herself between them and the door.

"This is where you enter, Alpha," Harlan stated.

???

THUNDERFANG KEEP - DEREK’S CHAMBERS

EIGHT HOURS LATER (A LONG DAY)

Landon entered alone. Closed the door. Sniffed. Walked the room, eyes scanning.

Three photographs were on the floor, clearly having been placed on the side table.

The side table had been knocked over.

He crouched. Turned them over. Looked at each one long enough for his jaw to tighten once.

Put them in his cloak.

Went back into the hall towards his room.

"She hasn’t come back, Alpha. Nova, that is," one of the guards said, "Princess Celeste has come back multiple times and is currently in your chambers, waiting for you."

"Remove her from my chambers."

Landon issued the Alpha command with zero hesitation. Then he turned on his heel to the High Luna’s wing.