"That''s not about me falling short of your expectations," I said firmly, "That''s you deliberately messing things up just to get under my skin.”


    He looked almost genuinely hurt by the usation, his voice softening. "I would never do something like that." Yet, the yful glint in his eyes betrayed him, and for a moment, I almost forgot why I was irritated with him in the first ce.


    “Let''s just agree to disagree,” I replied, crossing my arms. "Now, tell me what you actually know about the territory we''re scouting."


    He chuckled, shaking his head. “You sound like I should be fluent in all these pack names andnd ims you keep throwing around." Hisughter was easy and warm. “Give me a little background, and maybe I can share something useful."


    The rest of the drive was spent with me attempting to paint a clear picture of Ryker''s territory. I described thends we''d imed, the delicate bnce of power, and theplicated rtionship between Ryker and Rory-all without the aid of a map. It was a lot to take in, but I did my best to simplify it.


    "Wait, does Alpha Ryker really control all thatnd? That sounds insane. Who even needs that much space? And how many people does he have under his wing?" he asked, genuinely curious.


    "Most people don''t believe it, but Ryker isn''t out hunting for more territory. Usually, thesendse to him by chance—like when an Alpha dies without an heir, and the pack fragments into chaos. Instead of diplomacy, they fight for control. Or, sometimes, like with my old pack, the Alpha was just a brutal tyrant who needed to be taken down."


    He gave me a long, searching look. "I''m guessing you''re not going to talk about your old pack, huh?"


    I felt his gaze burning into the side of my head, but I refused to meet his eyes. "Look! There''s Rory''s packhouse. Let''s check in and then head to the cabin so we can start nning," I said quickly, pulling the SUV into the driveway, shifting into park, and hopping out.


    He muttered under his breath, "I''ll take that as a no."


    I didn''t bother responding. No way was I going to share anything about my past pack. That secret belonged only to Ryker. Even Josh and Be knew just the basics.


    "Gunner! It''s so good to see you!" I called out as I ran forward and wrapped my arms around Rory''s beta.


    "Hey, Greta! Who''s this?" Gunner asked, holding me steady as he noticed Finn standing nearby.


    Finn stepped forward, extending a hand. “I''m Finn. Alpha Ryker assigned me as backup for this mission."


    Gunner eyed Finn''s hand for a moment, then nced back at me for confirmation. "He''s one of our newest warriors. This is his first mission with us, but he''s been in the field for a while. Alpha Ryker thinks he might have some insight into these rogues."


    "Ah, Rory''s this way. Come on in," Gunner said, leading us inside.


    We followed him to Rory''s office, where Rory was bent over arge map, deep in discussion with his mother, Antonia, along with Delta Kade and Gamma Liam.


    We barely squeezed in around the table when Finn spoke up. "They won''t be hiding in that grove. If they''re holed up anywhere, it''s going to be here." He pointed to a different section of dense forest.


    "That''s where they''ve been spotted, but thanks for the suggestion, new guy," Kade said with a skeptical look, as if no one should dare to voice an opinion without solid intel.


    Finn didn''t back down. "They''re obviously using that area to mislead you."


    "That part of the forest is too thick to move through, let alone camp in," Liam added.


    "Exactly,” Finn said, locking eyes with me as if I were the only one in the room. "That''s the whole point. It keeps people from looking too closely. They''re probably using the clearing we made when we came through."


    Rory frowned, confused. "What do you mean, ''when you came through''?"