The Fallout

WILLOW

The live feed of the trial was crystal clear.

It showed a BioBridge scientist stepping off the stand, his head bowed—out of shame at his atrocities or anger at getting caught, I’d never know.

Everyone in attendance was reeling from the full, horrifying scope of BioBridge’s operations—from their discovery of werewolves, through years of brutal experimentation, to their eventual pivot toward cloning.

Travis had been right with his guess about what BioBridge had been doing, except for one critical point. They hadn’t been ~attempting~ to create supersoldiers. They’d been succeeding.

And once again, my alpha gene had been the key. It’d allowed for the creation of viable clone embryos that survived the enhanced-aging process. Which they’d just perfected, sending Project Chimera into operation.

BioBridge had been on the verge of mass production.

Until we’d burned them to the ground.

Next to face judgment was Iron Ridge—namely, its alpha and luna.

The luna strode into the courtroom with the kind of grace that could charm the fangs off a wolf. This was ~the~ Matron Lily the clones had spoken about. Alpha Flint stood beside her, his gaze icy. Something about him told me he was new to the role.

His voice, however, rang out like an alpha’s. “We’ve been careful, you know. You think you’ve uncovered something nefarious, but everything we’ve done was for the greater good of our pack, and yours!”

“The greater good?” the senior council judge echoed, incredulous. “You mean exposing us to humans? Using werewolves as guinea pigs? Stealing reproductive organs? Cloning? Kidnapping children?”

Alpha Flint’s face hardened. “We’ve had to be resourceful, true, but—”

The courtroom erupted into furious outbursts, and the judge silenced them with his gavel.

Luna Lily stepped toward the judges’ bench, her face a portrait of false innocence. “Back when they found us, they threatened to expose our kind, kill off Iron Ridge, and hunt down and exterminate any remaining wolves. Alpha Rick told them there were no others.

“That infuriated them, until he made a deal: wolves for their silence and for peace. They agreed.” She raised her palms. “I swear, they never knew about other packs. That’s why we left the council, why we isolated ourselves.”

She glanced around the room, her confidence seeming to waver. “Don’t you see? We protected you! You should be grateful for our sacrifice!”

The judge went livid, his voice full of rage as he bellowed, “Do you even comprehend what you’ve done? You’ve exposed us to the worst of humankind! They dissected us, studied us, created weapons to kill us! You’ve endangered our entire species!”

An uproar of agreement filled both the courtroom and the virtual room.

“Four hundred wolves. Dead. Over decades,” the judge continued, louder. “How did you choose who to send to their deaths?”

“I was beta then,” Alpha Flint answered without flinching. “We started with omegas. When unrest grew, we instituted a lottery.”

“That made it fair,” Luna Lily chimed in. “Alpha Rick even sent his own daughter when her number came up!”

Time froze, and the world went quiet.

This was the confirmation I needed: My mother had indeed been from Iron Ridge.

“Handing over wolves to die horrible deaths is unforgivable.” The judge’s voice dropped to a lethal calm. “But giving them an alpha born—now knowing about the alpha gene? You gave them the keys to our kingdom! How could you be so godsdamn stupid?”

“They didn’t tell us what they were doing!” Luna Lily’s polished calm fractured. “We didn’t know about any of this until they brought us the clones!”

“Yes, let’s talk about the clones. How did that come about?”

“About a month ago,” Alpha Flint began, “they demanded alpha wolves only. We didn’t have any except for Alpha Rick. When they came for him, he fought, and they killed him. I took over, and I did what any sane alpha would do.”

“Which was to kidnap other packs’ pups?” the judge sneered.

Flint nodded. “I said I could get them, but that I’d only do it alone—without humans. That was when they told us about the clones. Said they were wolves and that they’d retrieve what we needed.

“But I rejected them, didn’t want any stink of BioBridge on this mission. Only when they said they could wipe their memories did I agree. I told the clones where to go, which pups to grab, and where to take them. Then I delivered them to the lab in ambulances.”

“You see?” Luna Lily cut in. “Once again, we protected you! We never told them you existed or where you were.”

Growls rolled through the speakers, and the judge silenced them with another gavel strike.

“The crimes of a pack fall to its alpha and luna,” the judge said. “And these crimes are unconscionable.”

The feed grew silent. The weight of their sins and every life lost to them hung thick in the air.

With grim resolve, the judge struck the gavel again. “I’ve heard enough. The council will now retire to deliberate your fate. And rest assured—justice ~will~ be served.”

Connor closed the laptop with a quiet finality. “Their fate’s in the council’s hands now.”

CONNOR

The next day, the announcement came; the council had reached its verdict.

We pack alphas had agreed to meet in person to watch it and then discuss next steps. For this, I’d made the conference room at our Aurora hotel in Ellensburg available, as it was near the center of the state.

I’d also booked the suite for Willow and me.

Alpha Roger, Alpha Mateo, Alpha Ronan, Alpha Dan, and I took our seats around the table while Josh signed us into the virtual session. We were once again meeting with a council member, who shared his feed of the courtroom.

All our betas stood behind us as we watched the judge pronounce the council’s ruling.

Which was that everyone—human and wolf—involved with BT Holdings and its subsidiaries would be put to death. The council couldn’t risk greater humanity learning of our existence, and this kind of betrayal by the wolves was unpardonable.

As for Alpha Flint and Luna Lily, they would face execution only after being wrung dry of every secret they’d hoarded. Their legacy would be eradicated, their pack dismantled, their name stricken from history.

The council was resolute, their decision echoing with the cold certainty of justice.

The feed cut out, and the council member cleared his throat.

“Right, moving on,” he said. “Our next objective is clear—stop the humans from gleaning more information about our kind and obliterate whatever scraps they already have.”

He went on to tell us that Josh, whose talents had been sneered at and mocked by the old guard, would be in charge of that task. With his razor-sharp mind and knack for human tech, he’d be thrust into the spotlight.

The other alphas, who’d looked down on Moon Shield’s techsavvy ways, were now eating their words. They shifted in their seats, seemingly avoiding eye contact with Josh or me.

I winked at him, and he beamed.

Josh was now the ace in the hole who’d save our collective skins. He was tasked with tearing through the digital jungle, scanning files and sniffing out potential leaks—contracts, names, organizations.

Once a human was found with knowledge of werewolf existence, they’d be taken out discreetly. That was the only skill the other packs could contribute to this critical mission.

“Moving on,” the council rep said. “Next, we need to deal with wolf placement. Iron Ridge members need a new home—don’t want to create a bunch of rogues, do we? So, where should they go?”

And so started the bidding war.

Crystal Moon and White Peaks had lost a good deal of warriors in the fight, and they were eager to replenish their numbers. But Alpha Roger was the first to offer a practical suggestion.

“Before we parcel out Iron Ridge,” he said, “maybe we should have all our unmated wolves meet each other. We could organize a centralized event. That way, if anyone finds a mate, they’ll automatically have a place to go where they’d be welcomed.”

It was a solid idea that would lead to many wolves finding their mates. It was quickly agreed that Crystal Moon would host the event next month, with every Washington-based pack chipping in to cover the logistics and resources.

We then circled back to Iron Ridge.

Two packs immediately requested warriors, paired or not. Another two wanted those skilled in agriculture. Everyone asked for any pairs still of childbearing age, regardless of rank or profession.

I didn’t want any of them, so I let them fight it out until it was time to stake my claim. “Moon Shield would like to take all of Willow’s children,” I said.

The room froze, every breath held. Alpha-blood pups were like crown jewels. I’d suspected this was where the real fireworks would start, and I wasn’t wrong.

“They’re all alphas!” The first objection burst forth, crackling with resentment. “You already have one of the largest packs on the continent! You can’t lay claim to all of them!”

“He’s right!” Another voice joined the chorus. “They may be your mate’s offspring, but she hasn’t played a role in their lives. Wouldn’t it be better to place them with families who can’t have pups of their own?”

That broke the floodgates. All four alphas erupted at once, their betas joining the symphony of outrage.

“Enough!” The council rep cut through the noise, his words sharp and decisive. “Moon Shield has the only valid claim to those children. If they’re willing to raise them as their own, the council will not contest it—and that’s final!”

The alphas who’d opened their mouths to object slammed them shut with a huff.

I nodded in gratitude, but I wasn’t done. “Also, since several Iron Ridge women were the children’s surrogate mothers, I’d like to offer them the option to accompany the pups to Moon Shield.”

The protests rose again, louder and more desperate. “Young fertile she-wolves? You’re going too far!”

But I still wasn’t finished, so I spoke over them. “In addition, Willow’s clones have no wolves and are unable to bear children, so I’d like to offer them a home with Moon Shield.”

This time, the room fell into a stunned silence. It seemed they hadn’t cared enough to read all the BioBridge documents like we had.

“What do you mean they don’t have wolves?” Alpha Mateo finally broke the tense quiet. “They smell like wolves.”

“Well, the data doesn’t show why,” I began, “but I figure it’s because only the Moon Goddess can grant wolves. Not human scientists.”

“And why can’t they have children?” Alpha Dan asked.

“They’re clones. It seems that in the process of replicating Willow’s cells, some critical information got lost. Something about telomeres.” I shrugged. “Maybe it’s the gods’ way of keeping us, and humans, from playing Goddess.”

We spent the next half hour debating everyone’s fate. In the end, the council rep made the final ruling—ironclad and uncontestable.

And just like that, my every wish was granted.

After the meeting broke, I practically bounded up to the suite, where I found Willow on the bed waiting for me.

Naked, beautiful, and all mine.

A growl escaped my throat before I pounced on her. Her laughter filled the room, and my heart tightened with pure happiness. If that sound was the last I’d ever hear, it would be enough.

“So, Luna,” I said between kisses, “we got everything we wanted. What would you like to do now?”

She placed her palms against my chest and eased me back, her eyes searching mine. The love in her gaze nearly undid me. But then something wicked flickered across her features. Her expression turned molten, predatory, dark with desire.

Her mouth tilted into a devilish smirk. “Let’s make you an heir.”