Page 94 of Bad Wolf's Nanny

“Let’s move,” Felix barked, voice suddenly sharp.

The pack scattered into motion.

Dane moved on autopilot, following muscle memory through Rick’s armory. Weapons, radios, earpieces, packs. The world had narrowed to one singular mission.

Get to the club. Get to Lola.

He pulled on his flak vest and holstered a blade. Nearby, Nicolas snapped on gloves, sleeves rolled up, mouth pressed in a tight line. His eyes were shadowed. He hadn’t spoken since the footage.

Across the room, Felix bent to his bag. Dane watched him reach for something inside, then pause. When his hand came out, it was holding a photo.

Cassie.

Felix stared at it for a moment, unreadable. Then folded it and tucked it into the inner pocket of his vest.

Resolve. Steeled in silence.

Rick sat at the table, calmly sharpening a blade. The rhythmic shink, shink, shink of metal on stone was somehow louder than everything else.

Dane turned away.

He closed his eyes and exhaled, forcing himself to picture Lola’s face. Her smile. Her dry wit. The way she curled around Sam in sleep, arms protective and tender.

He hadn’t said what he needed to say. And he wasn’t sure if he’d get the chance to.

But hewouldget her out.

He wouldn’t let Red Teeth touch her. Not ever.

Felix reappeared at the center of the room, voice clipped. “We go in two teams. Entry from the grounds. Target the back entrance and the emergency access corridor. I want eyes everywhere. No solo movement, no unnecessary shifts unless in combat. We do this smart; we do this clean.”

Everyone nodded.

“You know your roles. You know what’s at stake.”

Dane’s heart thudded like a war drum.

Rick rose, flipping the blade in his hand before slipping it into a sheath at his belt.

“Then let’s hunt,” Rick said.

They moved out.

***

The woods were black and still, the moon low and distant. The Iron Walkers shifted between human and wolf, whisper-quiet through the undergrowth of the Pine Shadow Club gardens. They were trained for this. Had bled for this.

But tonight felt different.

Tonight, they were walking into the mouth of a beast.

Dane’s thoughts were a snarl. He could barely breathe around them.

Hang on, Lola. Just hang on.

The trees thinned as they neared the edge of the neatly kept lawn.

Dane crouched low, his breath steaming in the chilled air, eyes fixed on the looming silhouette of the Pine Shadow Club. It stood like a ghost, shrouded in smoke and moonlight, the structure battered but still intact. The front wall bore the scars of the explosion, scorched black, sections sagging, broken glass glinting like scattered stars in the dirt.