Page 34 of Conall (The Sunburst Pack #3)

T HE TENSION IN THE storage facility pressed against Nadine’s skin like an approaching thunderstorm. She watched Anders process the intelligence they’d uncovered, racing through implications while the emotional wreckage of the Stewart twins’ argument still poisoned the air around them.

Cross Timbers Pack confirmed their asset this morning, Anders told them, his voice cutting through the aftermath of Quinton’s accusations with military precision. Female, mid-thirties, veterinary assistant. Medical access, perfect cover.

The news made Nadine’s stomach clench. Another pack compromised. Another sleeper agent positioned for maximum damage when the Omicron Protocol activated. The scope of Chimera’s infiltration was even worse than she’d feared.

Assets aren’t gathering intelligence anymore, she said, forcing her voice to remain steady despite the growing horror of what they were facing. They’re positioned for maximum damage when activated.

Her assessment aligned with everything they’d discovered in Gregory’s shrine—this wasn’t about espionage anymore. This was about positioning weapons inside pack territories, ready to detonate when Chimera gave the signal.

Anders’s expression darkened as he absorbed the implications. What else have you found here?

Nadine hesitated, her hand hovering over one of the evidence boxes. What she was about to reveal would make their situation exponentially worse, would confirm every paranoid suspicion about infiltration and betrayal that had been eating at the pack’s foundation.

The storage unit contained psychological profiles on current pack members, she said finally. Behavioral patterns, personal weaknesses, relationship dynamics.

She pulled out the thick folder with hands that barely trembled, opening it to display files that made everyone present go rigid with shock.

Conall’s psychological profile stared back at them—a clinical dissection of his fighting capabilities, emotional triggers, and absolute devotion to his twin brother. The analysis was disturbingly accurate, mapping his mental landscape with the precision of someone who’d been studying him for years.

Detailed analyses of pack hierarchy filled the pages, noting which members could be manipulated, which relationships exploited, which loyalties turned into weapons. Malcolm and Larissa’s coalpha dynamic was dissected with surgical precision.

Anders’s emotional detachment was cataloged as both strength and vulnerability. Even Quinton’s protective instincts toward his twin were identified as potential leverage points.

Conall’s shock mixed with her own growing horror as they both recognized the scope of the betrayal.

Someone’s been feeding Chimera our psychological vulnerabilities for years, Anders said, his voice deadly quiet.

The lead guardian was clearly processing security breaches, identifying how such detailed intelligence could have been gathered without detection.

But Nadine was thinking beyond the immediate implications—if Chimera had this level of psychological intelligence on the Sunburst Pack, they likely had similar profiles on every pack they’d targeted.

The question is whether our traitor knows they’re compromised, she said, or if they’re being manipulated through neural interface technology.

It was a crucial distinction that could mean the difference between hunting an enemy and helping a victim.

Does it matter? Quinton’s voice cut through her analysis like a blade, carrying an edge that made every instinct she possessed scream danger. Compromised is compromised.

His gaze found hers with uncomfortable intensity, and Nadine’s wolf’s hackles rose at the threat implicit in his posture.

Our response should be eliminating the threat, Quinton continued, his meaning unmistakable, not making excuses based on theoretical neural manipulation.

The words were ostensibly about unknown assets, but Nadine could hear the deeper accusation.

Quinton wasn’t just talking about pack security—he was talking about her.

About eliminating the threat she represented to everything he’d built with his brother.

About eliminating her .

She kept her voice level despite his obvious hostility. Understanding the method helps us identify other potential assets—

Maybe we should question everyone who’s shown up recently with convenient explanations, Quinton interrupted, his meaning crystal clear. The words were aimed directly at her, but his eyes never left Conall’s face. And God knows your judgment’s been questionable since she arrived.

Heat flooded Nadine’s face—not embarrassment, but anger at the public attack combined with recognition of the truth underlying his accusation.

Conall’s judgment had been compromised since her arrival.

The mate bond, whether real or artificial, had reshaped his priorities in ways that were obvious to everyone present.

Through their connection, she felt Conall’s shame and frustration, his inability to deny his twin’s charges completely. But she also felt something else—the way his protective instincts flared every time Quinton attacked her, the automatic response that put her safety above everything else.

Including his relationship with his twin.

Guilt overwhelmed her.

Whatever was happening between her and Conall, whatever the mate bond represented, it was tearing apart the most fundamental relationship in his life.

For fuck’s sake. Stand down, both of you, Anders commanded.

Dr. Chen, Conall called, apparently recognizing the need for concrete action. Did you bring your scanning equipment?

I did, the geneticist confirmed.

Good. We’re going to need it. Conall met Quinton’s gaze directly, and Nadine felt his desperate attempt to bridge the gap between them. Both for the evidence here and for anyone who wants their neural patterns verified.

The offer was intended as a peace gesture—proof that he was willing to subject both himself and her to scientific scrutiny if it would ease his twin’s concerns. But Quinton’s expression suggested he heard it as further evidence of Conall’s compromise.

Yeah. We need to keep searching here, she continued, choosing to focus on mission objectives rather than the interpersonal wreckage she’d helped create. If Gregory’s been running assets for years, there might be communication logs, contact protocols we missed.

Let’s get started, Conall said as soon as Dr. Chen had the equipment ready.

But even as he spoke, Nadine caught Quinton’s expression out of the corner of her eye. Familiar disapproval mixed with something deeper—the recognition that his twin was once again turning to her for partnership instead of honoring the bond that had defined them both since birth.

Anders began coordinating the logistics of their expanded investigation, already adapting to the new intelligence they’d uncovered.

We’ll need full psychological profiles on everyone with access to pack intelligence over the past year.

Cross-reference with medical records from Vincent’s era, identify anyone who might have been compromised.

I’ll focus on Gregory’s files, Nadine said.

Anders moved with his characteristic efficiency, coordinating the departure of his team.

The evidence from Gregory’s storage unit had been cataloged and secured, ready for transport back to Sunburst territory where people Conall trusted—people who weren’t her—would analyze the psychological profiles that could save or damn them all.

Dr. Chen stays with you two to interpret the scanner output, Anders announced, his sharp gaze moving between Conall and her with the kind of calculated assessment that missed nothing.

I want complete neural mapping of everything in this facility—looking for interface signatures, behavioral modification residue, anything that might indicate ongoing Chimera activity.

Nadine nodded, watching as the other pack members loaded equipment into their vehicles. The afternoon sun cast harsh shadows across the storage facility’s parking lot, giving everything a stark quality that matched the hollowness spreading through her chest.

The lone wolf representative will meet us in downtown Roswell, Anders continued, checking his tablet for coordination details.

We need to brief them on what we’ve discovered—if Chimera’s planning something as large-scale as the Omicron Protocol suggests, the unaffiliated shifters need to know what’s coming.

Quinton, Conall called out as his twin loaded the last evidence box into one of the SUVs. Maybe you should—

I’m going with Anders, Quinton cut him off, his voice carrying the kind of finality that ended conversations. The lone wolves need to hear from someone with practical experience. Someone whose judgment isn’t compromised.

The last words were designed to cut deep. Nadine felt them lodge in Conall’s chest like shrapnel.

But she also felt Quinton’s desperation beneath the cruelty—his terror of losing his brother to something he couldn’t compete with, couldn’t understand, couldn’t control.

The vehicles began pulling out of the parking lot, leaving behind only dust and the three of them standing in the shadow of Gregory’s emptied shrine. The silence stretched until Dr. Chen cleared his throat and began unpacking his scanning equipment with practiced efficiency.

Well, the geneticist said mildly, this should be interesting.

Nadine almost smiled despite everything. Chen had a gift for understatement that rivaled Anders’s precision.

How long for a complete facility scan? she asked, grateful for technical focus that didn’t require examining the wreckage of relationships or the authenticity of feelings that might be manufactured.