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“We need to think,” Darian says, finally looking at me. His voice is controlled, but his eyes aren't. “Running around Silver Moon isn't going to find them.”

I hate that he's right. The trackers found nothing. The scent blocker erased Selena and Arlene from Cypress Moon Park, and whatever transportation magic the rogues used destroyed the trail after that. We have four surviving rogues, two missing mates, and no fucking direction.

My Lycan snarls. Kill.

"After we find them."

A familiar scent reaches me before footsteps sound behind us.

Ronan.

I turn as my younger brother walks through the trees with his shoulders straight and his chin lifted, carrying himself with the same confidence he had when Alpha power backed every step. That power is gone now. So is his wolf. He's an Omega, and I see the exact moment he gets close enough to feel my presence. His stride falters, his shoulders tighten, and his gaze drops for half a second before he forces it back to mine.

Apparently losing his Alpha power didn't do a damn thing for his mouth.

“If you're finished standing around,” Ronan says, “I know where you should start looking.”

Darian's eyebrow rises beside me.

I stare at my brother. “Talk.”

His body reacts to the command before his pride can hide it. His shoulders tense, but he forces himself to remain standing straight. “Former Gamma Vale. Look into the training he arranged, then start looking at everything else he's been doing.”

“Why?” Darian asks.

“Because twenty rogues somehow made it this deep into Silver Moon while Vale has most of your warriors hours away at mandatory training.” Ronan folds his arms and looks at me. “You really think that's a coincidence?”

No. Not anymore.

“How much do you know?”

“Enough to tell you where to look.”

I study him. Ronan has given me plenty of reasons not to trust him, and he knows it. “Why are you helping me?”

Something flashes across his face before his familiar arrogance returns. “Selena is mated to you now, but she was my mate first. No one harms what's mine without permission.”

My Lycan goes perfectly still. Ours.

"I know."

“Selena isn't yours.”

“She was mine first.”

Oh, he's really going to do this right now.

I release a small amount of Alpha pressure, and Ronan's knees immediately buckle. His hand shoots toward the nearest tree, catching the trunk before he hits the ground. Darian turns his face away so quickly that I almost miss the twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Is he fucking laughing?

“Rylan!” Ronan grits out.

I increase the pressure just enough to make his arms tremble. I'm not giving him anywhere near my full strength. I don't need to. Ronan's Alpha power is gone, and so is his wolf. His mouth might remember being an Alpha, but his body knows exactly what he is now.

“Whose mate?”

“You are such an asshole.”