Third-Person's POV The moon hung low over the northern woods, shrouded by a thin veil of cloud. The trees lining the road swayed restlessly, their branches whispering secrets in a language only wolves could understand. Inside the black SUV speeding down the gravel path, silence stretched taut between the two men in the front seats. Theo Hale gripped the steering wheel with one hand, the other drumming impatiently against the window frame. Beside him, Kael Vale sat stiffly, eyes glued to the darkness beyond the windshield, lips drawn in a hard line. They were on their way to the Duskgrave ancestral home-a place rarely visited by outsiders, let alone disgraced heirs like Riley. But that wasn't what preoccupied Theo's mind. It was a document he had stumbled upon three weeks ago while auditing medical archives for the Ebonclaw Pack's internal health registry. Most of the files were routine-vaccination records, bloodline verifications, combat injuries. But one name had caught his eye: Riley Vale. She had been just fifteen. And she'd been in the pack hospital for a renal compatibility test. Theo hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since. At fifteen, Riley had just returned to the Ebonclaw Pack. Fresh from the Rogues. Unclaimed. Unwanted. The pack elders barely acknowledged her existence. So why had she been taken in for something as serious-and specific-as a kidney match test? And if she had only gone in for testing... why did her current medical records show she was missing a kidney? That wasn't standard. That wasn't something you just forgot. "Why would a girl like her be evaluated for organ donation?" Theo muttered under his breath, more to himself than to Kael. Kael, preoccupied, didn't respond. His brows were furrowed deep in thought, and his hands were clenched into fists on his lap. He'd barely spoken since they left the hospital-only mentioned that they were going to find Riley. And that this time, he wasn't going to fight her.He was going to beg. The idea of Kael Vale-once the heir of the Ebonclaw Pack, always proud and cold-lowering himself to beg his sister for anything, would've been laughable if the circumstances weren't so grim. Theo gave him a sideways glance. "So... let me get this straight. You're going to ask Riley to help clean up Scarlett's mess?" Kael sighed, his voice rough. "Scarlett was arrested. Theft. Apparently Riley reported her for stealing some ancient embroidery worth twenty million." Theo's eyebrows shot up. "Twenty million? Goddess. That's ridiculous." "Exactly," Kael said, his voice rising. "Riley's being petty. We all know she's still mad about the past, but dragging Scarlett into this? It's overkill." Theo gave a dry laugh. "Petty? You think being sold out and imprisoned is something people get over after a few years?" Kael looked like he was about to argue, but then thought better of it. Theo didn't press further. He didn't care to debate morality with someone who hadn't lived Riley's nightmare. Instead, he returned to his thoughts. Riley's kidney. Her weakened wolf. He hadn't told anyone yet, but when he compared the hospital logs from Riley's time in the infirmary, he noticed something even more disturbing. The timing. Riley's compatibility test had happened just one week before Scarlett underwent a mysterious "life-saving operation" that the pack never spoke of in detail. The files surrounding Scarlett's case were redacted-even for someone like Theo. It didn't take a genius to connect the dots. Theo's jaw clenched. "Tell me something," he said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Why was Scarlett in the hospital a year after Riley came home? Didn't she have some kind of emergency surgery?" Kael shifted. "Yeah, some autoimmune thing. Her kidneys were failing. The elders said it was hereditary." "And she made a full recovery?" Kael nodded. "She bounced back within months. Stronger than ever." Theo said nothing, but his chest tightened. Because someone else paid the price. He had no proof. Not yet. But his instincts screamed it: Riley hadn't just been mistreated. She'd been used. Treated like a resource. Like livestock. They'd taken her in not out of guilt or obligation-but because they needed something from her. And she'd given it, willingly or not. "Hey," Kael said, his tone lighter, trying to shift the mood. "Don't act like this is your battle. I'm the one who screwed up with Riley. I'll talk to her. You're just along for the ride." Theo forced a smile. "Yeah. Just here to make sure you don't run your mouth and get kicked out." Kael chuckled, the first real sound of amusement he'd made all night. "Fair." But Theo wasn't laughing. Because he had too many questions and not enough answers. And deep down, he had the sinking feeling that the secret buried inside Riley's missing kidney-her fading wolf-might be the key to unraveling everything the Ebonclaw Pack had tried to cover up. And if that meant breaking some laws? Burning down old alliances?