Page 37

CHAPTER THIRTY

ARES

T he small postal store stood silent in the darkness, its windows blank and empty.

Three figures moved swiftly toward the rear entrance, their footsteps slapping on the wet pavement.

Ares led the way. Cherry followed behind, while Duncan brought up the rear, a small electronic device clutched in his hand.

"Security system looks basic," Duncan murmured, scanning the building. "Probably an alarm that triggers if the door opens after hours."

"Can you disable it?" Ares asked.

Duncan nodded, already moving toward the electrical panel. "Give me two minutes."

While Duncan worked, Ares examined the door. Heavy metal with a deadbolt, formidable to humans, but not to an Alpha Lycan. Cherry paced behind him, her anxiety rolling off her in waves.

"We're wasting time," she hissed.

"And this is our best lead until we get information back on the vehicle registrations," Ares said without turning. "Duncan?"

"Almost there." Duncan's fingers moved deftly across the small device in his hands, connecting wires and typing commands.

Ares wondered where Duncan had learned the skills to break in, but being a rogue, he'd probably had to do whatever it took to survive. And though Ares was grateful for his skills, Ares was determined to pay Duncan back by inviting him to stay with them permanently. Making him part of the pack.

A small light on the security panel blinked from red to green, and Duncan gave a satisfied nod. "We're clear. Alarm is disabled."

Ares nodded and texted Apollo.

Put the cameras on a loop. We're going in.

Apollo replied with just one word.

Done

Ares gripped the door handle and wrenched it open. The lock gave way with a muted crack, and the three of them slipped inside.

Rows of metal shelves stacked with empty boxes and bins full of packages to be mailed lined the walls of the back room. Ares moved with purpose through the racks toward the front of the store.

"Box 437."

The three fanned out and examined the numbers on the boxes.

"Here." Cherry pointed to a larger box near the bottom of one wall.

Ares crouched, inserting his claws into the seam where the door met the frame, and with a single powerful motion, ripped the metal door clean off its hinges.

Inside a stack of mail sat, waiting with envelopes and packages jammed inside. Ares pulled them out, spreading them across the floor as Cherry and Duncan crouched beside him.

Duncan examined an envelope. "They're all addressed to NorthStar Holdings. That's the name of the company I heard Rudy mention before."

"Yeah. The building in New York was registered to it as well."

Ares rifled through the stack, his movements urgent. Bills, advertisements, and business correspondence- nothing that screamed "kidnapping" or "hidden location."

Then, at the bottom of the pile, a legal envelope slid out. Unlike the others, this one had no return address. Ares tore into it, spilling its contents onto the floor.

Photographs. Dozens of them. Of… all of them. Ares. Apollo. Cherry and Strider. Luckily, there were no photos of Ares going to the States. Maybe Titan hadn't learned that part yet.

Ares motioned for Duncan and Cherry to follow him as he stalked back out of the building, and he pulled out his phone.

"Ares?"

"Apollo. Did you find anything more about NorthStar Holdings?"

"Not yet. The paper trail is huge. Looks like a shell company. Dozens of smaller companies underneath it."

"Dig deeper. In the meantime, call anyone you have to.

Put a block on every bank account associated with any of those companies.

If they've paid anyone who doesn't check out, stop those, too.

Call every contact. Pull every string. I don't want money flowing in or out of any company that may have helped finance Titan.

Check every single one. I want to know who runs each company and where to find them. "

"Got it."

Ares disconnected the call and turned to Cherry, whose eyes burned with hope and fierce determination.

"What now?" she demanded. "This is just more confirmation Titan's been watching us. It doesn't tell us where River is."

"Trust me, I'm as frustrated as you are."

"Then what do we do?"

"I don't know," Ares yelled. "I haven't slept. I haven't eaten. I am doing absolutely everything I can. You think you want her back? I want her back more. Apollo wants her back more. No one on Earth wants her back more than we do. So you tell me, Cherry, you tell me. What do we do now?"

Cherry flinched at Ares' outburst, then her eyes narrowed.

"We think like River," she said. "My daughter is resourceful. If she has the opportunity to escape, she'll take it."

Ares ran a hand through his hair, his frustration ebbing. "You're right. River wouldn't sit passively waiting for rescue. She'd fight."

"Exactly," Cherry nodded. "And if she's fighting to get out..."

"Then Titan would be scrambling to keep her contained," Ares finished, a new energy surging through his exhausted body. "He'd need extra security, resources diverted to watching her."

Duncan cleared his throat. "If that's the case, we might be able to track unusual patterns. Increased influx of rogues to the area. Ones not necessarily already on suppressors. Increased supply deliveries, that sort of thing."

Ares' phone rang, interrupting their discussion. Apollo's name flashed on the screen.

"Tell me you found something," Ares said without preamble.

"I might have. The neighbor's notes mentioned deliveries through a secondary company, Evergreen Supplies. We traced it to a warehouse outside Montreal, but that's not the interesting part."

"What is?"

"The supplies. Specialized equipment for creating a contained living environment. Air filtration systems, water purification, and custom lighting panels that simulate natural daylight cycles."

Ares' heart pounded harder. "They were building a prison."

"Not just any prison. One designed for long-term captivity, with attention to psychological comfort. Why bother with simulated daylight unless you're planning to keep someone for months?"

"Where were these deliveries sent?" Ares demanded.

"That's what we're working on now. The warehouse records show shipments to various locations, but there's one address that stands out, a property about thirty miles northwest of here, registered to a hunting club that doesn't seem to exist."

"Text me the coordinates." Ares moved toward the car. "We'll meet you there."

Ares ended the call, and his phone buzzed with an incoming text from Apollo with the location. He pulled up the map, studying it before showing it to Cherry and Duncan.

"It's semi-remote," Duncan observed. “Surrounded by forest, minimal road access. Defensible."

"Perfect place to hide someone you don't want found," Cherry added.

Ares nodded, a cold determination settling over him. "Let's go. Duncan, call Theo and tell him to bring everything we have. If River's there, we're getting her out tonight."