Page 33 of Conall (The Sunburst Pack #3)

He was planning to use me, she said, her voice hollow. All of it—sending me after you and Quinton, making me believe you’re the ones who killed him. He expected me to have murdered you both by now and then continue killing the rest of your leadership.

She paused, a terrible thought forming. What if he killed himself? What if Gregory orchestrated his own death to make sure I’d have the motivation to hunt you down?

Conall knelt beside her chair, his hand covering hers. You didn’t know. How could you have known?

I should have questioned why the evidence pointed so specifically at you two. Why it was all so convenient. She stared up at him, pain and confusion warring in her chest. The blood trail, the scents at the scene—what if he arranged it all? Set up his own murder to look like you were responsible?

That’s ... Conall blinked and paused, as if struggling with the implications. That’s an incredibly elaborate setup.

But it would explain everything. Nadine’s voice grew stronger as the pieces clicked into place. He needed me angry enough, motivated enough to become his weapon. What better way than making me believe the people I was supposed to kill had murdered my father?

It has a certain kind of twisted logic, Conall agreed. Though I don’t get why he’d kill himself to get you to come after us rather than simply trying to take us on himself.

Nadine rubbed a hand across her eyes. You’re right. And there’s more I still don’t understand—was he working for Chimera or against them? He says he was playing both sides, but for what purpose?

The note makes it sound like he had his own agenda, Conall said. Using Chimera’s resources while pursuing his own goals.

But what goals? And why eliminate your leadership if he was trying to fight Chimera? Nadine shook her head. None of it makes sense. He says not to trust anyone who knew about Vincent’s programs, but he was Vincent’s enforcer.

Maybe that’s exactly why he knew not to trust Vincent. Our last alpha wasn’t exactly a good guy.

Or maybe he was compromised by Vincent. Frustration threaded through Nadine’s tone, and she blew out a harsh breath. He says he doesn’t even know which monsters serve which masters anymore. How are we supposed to figure out his true loyalties if he couldn’t?

At least now we know you were hunting the wrong people, Conall said. Whatever Gregory was planning, whether he staged his own death or someone else killed him, it had nothing to do with us actually being his murderers.

No, she agreed, though her expression remained troubled. But it had everything to do with him using me to systematically murder your entire leadership structure. And if he did kill himself to frame you... She shuddered. That’s a level of manipulation I’m not sure I can forgive.

At the sound of approaching vehicles, Nadine’s head snapped up from Gregory’s note.

Through the open storage unit door, she watched three black SUVs pull into the facility’s parking lot with military precision.

That’s Anders, Conall said, standing and moving to her side. Faster response time than I expected.

Nadine folded Gregory’s letter carefully and slipped it into her jacket pocket. The shrine around them—Vincent’s portraits, the behavioral modification protocols, decades of Chimera infiltration—felt like evidence of her own blindness.

How had she missed the signs that her father had been compromised?

Anders emerged from the lead vehicle, his movements carrying the controlled urgency she’d learned to recognize. Behind him came a team of five pack members, all armed and alert, along with Dr. Chen.

And there, stepping out of the second SUV with tension radiating from every line of his body, was Quinton.

Even from fifty feet away, his posture radiated pure fury. The way his hands clenched into fists at his sides. The deliberate distance he maintained from his twin as the team approached.

Status report, Anders called as he reached the storage unit entrance.

We found Gregory’s real investigation, Conall replied, gesturing to the contents around them. Everything he gathered on Chimera’s operations. Including their endgame.

Anders stepped inside, his sharp gaze cataloging the shrine-like arrangement. Vincent memorabilia?

More than that. Nadine stood, her professional mask sliding back into place despite the emotional turmoil churning beneath. Gregory seems to have been running his own convoluted ops. These are all trophies from successful behavioral modifications.

She handed Anders the Omicron Protocol folder. And here are the full details on Chimera’s plans for simultaneous activation of neural interfaces across dozens of packs. Mass behavioral control leading to territorial acquisition.

Anders flipped through the documents, his expression growing grimmer with each page. Timeline?

Soon, Conall said. The acceleration of attacks suggests they’re in the final preparation stages.

We need to move these materials to a secure location, Anders decided. Full analysis, cross-reference with our existing intelligence.

Agreed, Nadine said, but her attention had shifted to Quinton, who remained just outside the storage unit. His dark eyes—identical to Conall’s—were fixed on his twin with an intensity that made her wolf nervous.

Quinton, Anders called. Help coordinate the evidence transfer.

Quinton stepped into the storage unit, and Nadine immediately understood his agitation. His nostrils flared as he caught the mingled scents clinging to both her and Conall—the unmistakable evidence of intimacy that no amount of showering could completely erase.

Her stomach clenched. Of all the ways for Quinton to discover what had happened between them, this was possibly the worst.

Interesting discovery, Quinton said, his voice dangerously calm as he surveyed the shrine. But his gaze kept flicking between Nadine and his brother, tension pouring off him in waves.

Gregory’s final communication indicates he planned to have Nadine eliminate Sunburst’s new leadership, Conall said, either oblivious to his twin’s growing fury or choosing to ignore it.

Right. Quinton’s laugh was sharp enough to cut glass. Because that explains everything. Including why you smell like—

Quinton. Anders’s voice carried a warning. Focus on the mission.

But Quinton wasn’t listening anymore. His attention was fixed on Conall with laser intensity.

You slept with her, Quinton said flatly.

The words dropped into the storage unit like a grenade. Anders went very still. The other pack members suddenly found the ceiling fascinating. Nadine’s neck crawled with heat, mortification mixing with defiance.

That’s not— Conall started.

Don’t. Quinton’s voice cracked with emotion he rarely showed. Don’t lie to me. Not about this. I can smell her all over you.

I wasn’t going to lie, Conall said calmly. I was going to tell you it’s none of your business.

Personal matters can be discussed later, Anders said firmly. Right now we need to—

Personal matters? Quinton’s attention snapped to the lead guardian. My brother is compromised by an enemy asset, and you think that’s a personal matter?

She’s not an enemy asset, Conall said, his own anger finally sparking.

Isn’t she? Quinton stepped closer to his twin, the space between them practically crackling with his anger.

Conall’s back straightened, his eyes narrowing to slits as he stared into his twin’s identically furious gaze. No matter what Gregory might have planned, Nadine is not his tool.

A woman shows up hunting us for murder, conveniently gets captured alongside you, saves your life just enough times to build trust, and now you’re sleeping with her? That doesn’t strike you as professionally orchestrated?

You’re being paranoid—

I’m being realistic! Quinton’s composure finally cracked completely. Mate bonds can be faked, Con. Neural interfaces can manufacture attraction, emotional connection, even sexual response. Everything you think you feel for her could be artificial.

The accusation hit Nadine so hard she nearly bent over.

Not because she believed it, but because Conall’s doubt about it was bleeding through their connection.

The possibility that everything between them—the electric attraction, the growing trust, the desperate need that had driven them into each other’s arms—might be nothing more than sophisticated manipulation.

Just as her doubt had panicked her when she woke.

But Anders was right—this was neither the time nor the place to deal with it.

That’s enough, she said, her voice cutting through the brothers’ argument. You want to know if I’m an asset? Fine. Dr. Chen can scan me once we’re done here. But right now, we have bigger problems than your jealousy.

Jealousy? Quinton’s eyes flashed with hurt and anger. You think this is about jealousy?

I think this is about you being terrified of losing your brother to someone else, Nadine replied, meeting his gaze directly. And instead of dealing with that fear, you’re looking for excuses to eliminate the threat.

The threat being you.

The threat being change. She gestured around the storage unit, at the evidence of decades of manipulation surrounding them.

Your pack has been infiltrated for years.

People you trusted have been compromised.

Everything you thought you knew about your history has been a lie.

And instead of facing that reality, you’re focused on whether your brother’s mate bond is genuine.

Because his mate bond is the only thing keeping you alive, Quinton shot back. Without it, you’re just another suspect who needs to be neutralized.

Enough. Conall’s voice carried an almost alpha-level authority despite his position as enforcer. Both of you.

He turned to his twin, their identical features reflecting different kinds of pain. Quinton, I know this is hard. I know it feels like I’m choosing her over you. But the mate bond—real or artificial—doesn’t change my partnership with you. Nothing could change that.

Doesn’t it? Quinton’s voice went quiet.

And through their connection, Conall’s recognition that his twin wasn’t entirely wrong shimmered—the mate bond had changed his priorities in ways he was still struggling to understand.

We’re brothers, Conall said finally. That’s never going to change.

No, Quinton agreed, but his voice carried a finality that made Nadine’s chest tight with dread. But everything else is changing. Including us.

He turned and walked out of the storage unit, leaving behind all their years of absolute trust fractured by forces none of them fully understood.

The rift between Conall and his twin widened with each moment, every decision.

But with shifter communities under assault, personal conflicts would have to wait, Nadine knew.

I just hope they get the chance to repair the breach .