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Chapter thirty-seven

Annabella

I woke, reaching for warmth that wasn’t there. My hand found only cooling sheets where Felix’s body should have been. For a moment, I kept my eyes closed, willing him to be there, to have just moved in his sleep or gone to use the bathroom.

But I knew better. The space beside me was empty. He’d had his fun with the freak, had taken a walk on the witch side, and now probably wanted nothing more to do with me.

Damn it. It had felt so good, the escape, the freedom, the mind-blowing orgasm he gave me.

How did anyone get any work done when they could do that all day?

How did people just walk around, going about their business when they had someone they could be holed up with in a bedroom somewhere, doing and feeling that ?

Fuck! How was I supposed to get up and snap back into being Annabella Team Leader? And we hadn’t even had sex! The thought of what that might feel like with Felix made my core clench with want.

No . I had to compartmentalize. Lock last night away in a box and pretend it had never happened. I couldn’t afford to waste mental energy on how desperately I craved his hands on me again.

I forced my eyes open to the warehouse’s gray predawn light seeping through the blinds.

Right. Back to reality.

Dawn was still hours away. Felix’s scent lingered everywhere—on the sheets, on my skin.

Pine, spice, and something deeper, wilder.

Us. Our scents had mingled into something new, something that made my wolf stir with satisfaction despite his absence.

I had to get it cleaned, or it’d be a constant reminder of what we’d shared.

Where had he gone? Had someone called him for patrol? Or had he simply… left?

Stop it. I was not going to lie there spiraling into self-pity like some lovesick teenager.

I sat up, biting back a groan as muscles I’d forgotten I had protested. The claw marks on my arm from the ripper were healing but still tender. I traced the marks with my fingers, remembering Felix Shifting to save me. His magnificent black wolf had killed for me without hesitation.

Then later, the way he’d touched me…

My wolf whined, missing his presence. I shoved her down ruthlessly, furious at my own weakness. This was exactly why I didn’t do relationships. Exactly why I kept everyone at arm’s length.

I couldn’t afford these feelings. Not with Talia Johnson in our custody and Vivienne trying to take over. We had to get Johnson mind-wiped and us out of here.

I dressed quickly in black pants, a dark gray henley, and boots. I needed coffee, needed to check on Talia, needed to get Lydia’s update on when we could proceed with the mind-wipe. Then we could all go home, back to the loft. Back to normal.

A sharp, urgent knock rattled my door.

I crossed the room in three strides and pulled open the door. Mira stood there, her face ghost-white, her fingers tapping rhythmically against her thighs. Her eyeliner was smudged, and the circles under her eyes told me she hadn’t slept.

“Annabella,” she said, her voice cracking. She swallowed hard, tried again. “I found something.”

My stomach dropped. I had a bad feeling about this. “What is it?”

She glanced down the hallway, her eyes darting nervously. “It’s better if I show you.”

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, slipped it into my pocket, and followed her out into the corridor. The industrial lights buzzed overhead, casting shadows across the walls. The warehouse felt different in the predawn hours—emptier, colder, every sound echoing through the cavernous spaces.

“Where’s Felix?” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual.

Mira’s step faltered for half a second. “He went to do a perimeter sweep; then he’s supposed to help Duke set up extra sensors.”

There, see? He’s working. At least someone’s got their head in the game.

I’d have to shower before Duke came back. He’d smell Felix all over me. My steps faltered at the thought that unless Felix had already showered, Duke would smell me all over him.

Fuck! I honestly had no idea how Duke would react.

“Annabella?” Mina noticed my hesitation.

“I’m fine. And Johnson?”

“Zeke’s monitoring her. She hasn’t said anything since Webster left. Lydia is running more blood tests now.”

“Good. We do the wipe and get out of here.”

Mira picked up her pace, leading me to a desk in what had once been a manager’s office.

Her platform boots twisted to one side as she slid into the chair.

“What’s going on?” I asked, crossing my arms.

Her leg bounced so rapidly under the desk that the entire desk vibrated. “You know how you asked me to find anything on Sam Shaw?”

My pulse quickened. “Did you find him?”

I moved behind her, watching as she unlocked one of her laptops. Her password was absurdly long—I counted twenty-six characters before she finished.

“I couldn’t sleep after… you know, the attack.”

I nodded. I needed to keep a closer eye on Mina. She was our tech genius, and normally, we were able to keep her out of the physical fights. She wasn’t used to it. After we were done with Johnson, I’d order her to take a break. Maybe send her somewhere hot.

“Well, I got all our systems up and running. Duke’s out extending our perimeter so we have more warning, and I thought I’d pick up where I left off in the search for Shaw.

” She pulled up a series of documents—Council records, security clearances, deployment logs.

“There really isn’t much on him. I’m not surprised the others are having trouble tracking him down.

He’s still too new on the Council to have many records, and they must have done their usual internet sweep when he first joined.

There’s nothing; no school records from his school in Three Rivers, no medical files, no tax documents, no photos anywhere. ”

“Sounds like standard procedure for the Council so far,” I said, trying to ignore the prickling sensation at the back of my neck. My wolf was suddenly alert, sensing something was wrong before I could put it together.

“Right.” She clicked to another folder. “Since I couldn’t find anything on Sam Shaw directly, I thought I’d try his twin brother.”

“Derek Shaw,” I said. The Beta of the Three Rivers Pack. The one my mom always thought would end up with Sofia.

“Right. I didn’t know if they were identical twins or not, so I wasn’t sure how much help photos would be. Most of the images I found of Derek weren’t useful—too grainy, too distant. But then I managed to track down this. It’s from when Derek graduated from military academy.”

She pulled up a photo showing a young man in uniform, smiling broadly at the camera.

The man had the all-American look of someone who’d probably been quarterback of his high school football team—square jaw, bright teeth, short-cropped sandy hair, and the confident posture of someone who’d never questioned his place in the world.

The kind of human who moved through life with all doors magically opening for him.

He was not at all what I had expected. “That’s Derek Shaw?”

“That? No. That’s one of Derek’s classmates, Justin Hooper. I was going through all the photos I could find of people with connections to Derek. I found this buried in Justin’s mom’s social media,” Mira explained, her voice tight. “Look in the background.”

She clicked on the image, zooming in on a section behind the main subject. The picture quality degraded with the magnification, but I could make out a group of people standing near a row of chairs. Mira zoomed in further on two figures.

“That’s Derek,” she said, pointing to one of the men.

I studied him carefully. Derek Shaw looked nothing like the easy, open-faced Justin Hooper.

Even in that grainy profile, I could see the hard lines of his face—serious, intense.

His stance was pure predator, shoulders back, chin up, the classic military posture that screamed “Alpha wolf” even in human form.

But there was something familiar in the shape of his jaw, the cut of his cheekbone.

Then my eyes shifted to the person standing next to Derek. It was a side-angle view, partially obscured but unmistakable.

The same angular jaw. The same posture, even in military stance. The same profile I’d seen countless times during mission briefings. The same face I’d kissed just hours ago. The same man whose scent still clung to my skin.

“Felix,” I whispered as the bottom dropped out of my world.

Mira nodded, her expression grim. “Or rather, Sam Shaw.”

The room spun around me. My wolf clawed to the surface, suddenly desperate to emerge, to run, to fight. I forced her back, but my claws had already partially extended, digging into my palms.

Sam Shaw. Wolf Council member.

My enemy.

The man I’d just opened myself to completely.

All the breath left my lungs like I’d been punched in the chest. I’d told him about Ellie. I’d shown him my partial Shift. I’d trusted him with everything. And all along, he’d been Sam Shaw. The one we’d been trying to find. The Council’s newest attack dog.

I stared at the grainy image until it blurred, my mind racing through every moment, every conversation, every touch, looking for the lies. They were everywhere. Everything had been a lie.

Blood roared in my ears as rage and humiliation warred inside me. I’d been played. Completely and utterly played.

“Annabella?” Mira’s voice seemed to come from far away. “Annabella, what do you want to do?”

The taste of copper filled my mouth. I forced myself to breathe, to think. To become ice rather than fire.

“Find Duke,” I said, my voice deadly calm. “Tell him to prepare the containment room. We’re going to have another guest.”