Page 37 of Anders (The Sunburst Pack #2)

Larissa nodded. And after discussing it with Malcolm and me, Dr. Weiss brought in Dr. Trujillo, the doctor from the Stardust Pack—one of the other packs affected by what we’ve learned.

The question before this council, Malcolm said, is not whether Etta was used against us—the evidence is clear that she was. The question is what we do with that knowledge now.

Anders’s hand found hers beneath the table, and Etta gripped it tightly. Everyone went silent as they considered the implications of everything they had learned.

I want to help, Etta finally said, directing her words to Malcolm and Larissa but including the entire council in her gaze.

There are at least four other assets like me out there, their true natures suppressed, their packs being monitored without their knowledge.

I know where they are. I can help you warn them— help them—before Chimera activates the Epsilon Protocol on them too.

Stephanie Gonzales spoke for the first time, her silver hair gleaming in the chamber’s light. And why should we trust your information? How do we know this isn’t another layer of programming?

The question hurt, but it was fair. Etta acknowledged as much with a nod. You shouldn’t trust me blindly. That’s why I’m willing to submit to whatever verification methods you deem necessary. Truth serum, mind-linking with an alpha—whatever will prove I’m telling the truth.

A ripple of surprise moved through the council.

Mind-linking was an intimate, vulnerable process, rarely offered and even more rarely accepted.

It would lay bare not just her conscious thoughts but her deepest fears, her most private memories.

Larissa and Malcolm glanced at each other, coming to some unspoken agreement after a moment of consideration.

That won’t be necessary, Malcolm said. Anders vouches for you, and the mate bond between you is evident to anyone with shifter senses. But more importantly —his gaze settled on her with unexpected kindness— no Chimera asset would volunteer for mind-linking. The offer itself is proof of sincerity.

Relief washed through Etta. Then let me help. Let me use what they put in my head against them.

For the next hour, they pieced together everything Etta could remember about the other assets and the territories where they’d been placed. Anders documented each detail methodically, cross-referencing with the files they’d recovered, building a comprehensive picture of Chimera’s operation.

The Stardust Pack in Colorado, Etta indicated on the map Anders had brought up.

Asset D3 was placed there approximately six months before I was sent to Sunburst. The Blackthorn Pack in Texas received Asset B9 almost a year ago.

The Cross Timbers Pack in Oklahoma and the Ironwood Pack in Arizona both have assets in place as well.

Five major territories, Larissa said. Strategic points that would allow monitoring of virtually all shifter activity in the Western states.

Exactly, Anders confirmed, having already considered the implications. With these five packs compromised, Chimera would have access to potentially hundreds of shifters. Intelligence that could be used for containment, experimentation, or worse.

Malcolm gestured at the map. And as Anders, Larissa, and I have already discussed, it seems likely this is only the beginning—Chimera could be planning operations like this all over the country.

Nick frowned, studying the map. We need to warn all the compromised packs. Immediately.

Carefully, Anders cautioned. If Chimera suspects their operation has been exposed, they might activate the Epsilon Protocol on the remaining assets. We need to approach each pack discreetly, secure the assets, then coordinate a simultaneous removal of the interfaces.

You make it sound like a military operation, Sarah observed.

Anders’s expression hardened. That’s exactly what it is. We’re dealing with a black ops program with government backing and military resources. This isn’t a time for half measures.

The council members exchanged glances, absorbing the gravity of the situation.

What do you recommend? Malcolm asked, deferring to Anders’s expertise.

A two-pronged approach, Anders said without hesitation.

First, secure communications with the targeted packs to warn them and extract the assets.

Second, gather evidence to expose Chimera to the appropriate human authorities—evidence solid enough that even the government can’t sweep it under the rug.

You’re assuming the human government isn’t on board with these tests? Nick asked.

Malcolm growled. If they are, we’ll know soon enough.

If the government supports this kind of experimentation, we’ll need to let all the packs know, Anders said.

And then? Una asked.

And then we might have to let humans know what kind of problems they could face if they come up against all the wolf-shifter packs in the world united against them. Anders gave a cold, hard smile. But I don’t think we’ll be facing that. Not once we discuss it with military leaders.

Admiration for her mate swelled up in Etta’s chest. This was Anders in his element—strategic, focused, unflinching in the face of daunting odds.

I can help with the evidence gathering, she offered. The neural interface may have been removed, but I still have access to memories of the facility, the personnel, the procedures. Details that could identify key players.

It’s too dangerous, Anders objected immediately. You’re still recovering—

That’s exactly why I should be involved, Etta said, meeting his protective instinct with calm logic. I’m already familiar with their technology. I know their methods from the inside. And I have the strongest motivation to see them stopped.

She’s right, Larissa said quietly. Etta has insights none of us could possibly have. We’d be foolish not to use that advantage.

Anders’s jaw tightened, but he nodded once, reluctantly. Under strict safety protocols. And not until Dr. Weiss clears her medically.

Agreed, Malcolm said, looking to the rest of the council for confirmation. We’ll need to define those protocols clearly, establish secure communication channels with the other packs, and develop contingency plans for various scenarios.

The meeting continued for another hour, the group hammering out details of what would essentially be a coordinated resistance against a government black ops program.

Throughout it all, Etta was struck by how readily they included her—asking her opinion, weighing her suggestions, treating her as a valuable ally rather than a compromised asset.

It was more than she’d dared to hope for.

As the council meeting concluded, Malcolm and Larissa remained behind with Anders and Etta while the others filtered out to begin their assigned tasks.

There’s one more thing we need to discuss, Malcolm said once they were alone. Etta’s formal status within the pack.

Anders tensed beside her, his protective instincts rising again. Etta laid a hand on his arm.

I understand I’m in a complicated position, she said carefully. I was sent here as an infiltrator, however unwitting. My presence puts the pack at risk. If you need me to leave—

That’s not what he meant, Larissa interrupted. The mate bond between you and Anders is genuine—that much is clear. By our oldest laws, that alone gives you a place here. What we’re asking is whether you want that place.

The question caught her off guard. I…don’t understand.

You’re Eliana Thornwood of the Silverleaf Pack, Malcolm said. Your heritage, your bloodline, belongs to a pack that may still exist in some form—though, I’ll be honest, I don’t know anything about them.

Still, you have every right to seek them out, to reclaim that connection, Larissa said. But if you choose to stay… She glanced at Anders, then back to her. If you choose to join the Sunburst Pack officially, we would welcome you.

Emotion clogged Etta’s throat, rendering her momentarily speechless. After everything—the spying, the betrayal, the danger she had brought to their doorstep—they were offering her home. Family. Belonging.

I— She swallowed hard, trying to find words. Her hand sought Anders’s, gripping it tightly. I don’t know if the Silverleaf Pack still exists. My memories of them are fragmentary at best. But what I’ve found here feels right in a way nothing else has.

Anders’s fingers tightened around hers, his emotions flowing through their bond—hope, joy, a fierce possessiveness, but tempered by his respect for her autonomy.

Then it’s settled, Malcolm said with a small smile. We’ll make it official at the next full-moon gathering. Until then, you have the protection and resources of the Sunburst Pack at your disposal.

A S SHE AND A NDERS exited the Old Packhouse, Etta paused on the steps, drawing in a deep breath. Her enhanced senses picked up a thousand details—the faint botanical scents she now recognized as sage and creosote, the distant call of hunting birds, the subtle movements of desert creatures.

You okay? Anders asked.

Etta turned to him, examining the strong lines of his face, the watchful eyes that missed nothing, the tension he carried in his shoulders even now.

The guardian, always vigilant.

Her guardian.

I think I will be, she said honestly. For the first time since… Well, maybe for the first time ever, I know who I am. Who I want to be.

Anders stepped closer, his hand coming up to brush a strand of hair from her face.

She gestured to the territory spread out before them. I meant what I told the alphas. This feels right.

It is right, he said. You belong here.

With me , he didn’t say—but he didn’t need to.

As if in response to his words, Etta felt something shift deep inside her—her wolf, rising ever closer to the surface as the last remnants of chemical suppression continued to fade.

The sensation was no longer frightening but exhilarating, like recovering the use of a limb she hadn’t known was missing.

Chimera was still out there, still hurting others like her.

But for now, in this moment, Etta allowed herself to feel something dangerously close to hope.

She had a name—her real name.

She had memories, painful but authentic.

She had a pack willing to accept her despite everything.

And she had Anders.

For the first time in her newly remembered life, Etta Barone—Eliana Thornwood—was exactly where she belonged.