JAYCE POV
Jayce has always known Blake was different.
Different the way dangerous things are different. Different the way a warrior who thinks too much is different. Different the way a male who questions orders instead of blindly following them is different.
Blake Sterling was always going to be a problem.
The assignment comes through routine channels. Go check on Blake. The mission should be complete by now. The female should be dead. The rebellion should be eliminated. Just verify that everything is handled and come home.
Jayce arrives at the compound perimeter two hours before dawn.
He hides in the tree line and watches. The compound is lit but not heavily guarded. That's the first wrong thing. If a Striker completed his mission, there shouldn't be a compound anymore. There shouldn't be wolves moving around like nothing happened.
Jayce moves closer.
He circles the building and peers through gaps in the structure. Inside, he sees Blake. And Blake is not interrogating anyone. Blake is not gathering evidence. Blake is moving through the compound like he belongs there.
Like he's choosing to be there.
Jayce's entire body goes cold.
He follows Blake through the building. Blake walks past training areas where rebels are learning combat. He walks past supply rooms. He walks straight to a private office where a single female is standing at a window.
Iris.
The fallen Luna. The female Blake was supposed to execute.
Jayce watches from the darkness as Blake approaches her. And in that moment, everything Jayce has always suspected about Blake becomes crystal clear.
Blake looks at Iris like she's the only thing that matters. He looks at her like she's breathing and he's been suffocating. He looks at her like she's everything he never knew he needed.
Iris looks back at him the same way.
And Jayce understands with complete certainty that Blake hasn't just failed his mission. Blake has joined the rebellion. Blake has chosen a female over his pack. Blake has become exactly the kind of threat the Alpha fears most.
A warrior with his own agenda.
Jayce moves through the compound documenting everything. He counts fighters. Estimates supplies. Notes the layout. But his mind is running ahead of his eyes.
Blake is compromised. Blake is a traitor. And Blake just handed Jayce the opportunity he's been waiting for his entire career.
For nine years, Jayce has watched Blake succeed. Watched him get promoted. Watched him earn respect and rank despite being born third. Jayce has always been good but Blake was always better. Jayce has always been strong but Blake was always stronger.
Now Blake is weak.
Now Blake is vulnerable.
Now Blake is bleeding loyalty for a female instead of serving his pack. And that weakness is going to cost him everything.
Jayce circles back to the forest edge and shifts to human form. He pulls out his encrypted phone and makes a single call.
"It's done," he says when his Alpha answers. "I found him. And I found the problem."
The Alpha's voice comes through sharp and immediate. "Report."
Jayce explains everything. Blake's position in the compound. Blake's clear integration with the rebellion. Blake's obvious emotional attachment to the female leader. The Alpha listens without interrupting.
"Blake has completely defected," Jayce finishes. "He's not gathering intelligence anymore. He's actively helping them. He's teaching them our strategy. He's giving them pack information. He's a full traitor."
The line goes silent for a moment.
"How certain are you?" the Alpha asks.
"Completely," Jayce says. "I watched them together. This isn't spy work. This is love work. This is a male who's chosen a female over his pack."
The Alpha takes a long breath.
"Bring him home," the Alpha says. "Or bring proof he's dead. Either way, I need Blake Sterling taken care of before he compromises our entire security apparatus."
"Understood," Jayce says.
"And Jayce?" the Alpha continues. "Do this right and there will be a promotion in it for you. Granite Peak needs a new Striker. Blake's old position could be yours."
Jayce feels something electric run through his body. His own position as Striker. His own authority. His own power.
"I won't disappoint you," Jayce says.
He ends the call and stands in the darkness thinking about exactly how this is going to work.
Blake is trapped. If Blake comes back, the Alpha will execute him for treason. If Blake stays with the rebellion, Jayce will hunt him down and execute him for the same reason. There's no winning move for Blake anymore.
Jayce drives back to Granite Peak territory and walks directly into the Alpha's office before dawn breaks.
The Alpha is at his desk like he hasn't slept. He looks at Jayce with cold eyes.
"Tell me again," the Alpha says. "Everything you saw."
Jayce repeats the details. The compound. Blake's integration. The female. The way they looked at each other. The evidence that Blake has completely converted.
The Alpha stands and walks to the window. He stares out at the territory below.
"Blake was my best Striker," the Alpha says quietly. "I raised him. Trained him. Gave him everything."
"He threw it away," Jayce says.
The Alpha turns to face Jayce.
"Send him a message," the Alpha says. "Tell him he has one chance. One opportunity to fix this."
"What kind of opportunity?" Jayce asks.
"He can choose," the Alpha says. "He can kill the female. Kill her and destroy the rebellion. Kill her and come home as my Striker again. Full forgiveness. Full reinstatement."
Jayce realizes what the Alpha is doing. The Alpha is giving Blake an impossible choice. Stay with the female and die a traitor. Or kill the female and lose everything that made him choose her in the first place.
There's no winning move. There's only losing slowly or losing fast.
"And if he refuses?" Jayce asks.
"Then you execute him," the Alpha says. "Make it public. Make it brutal. Show every warrior in Granite Peak what happens when you choose a female over your pack."
Jayce leaves the Alpha's office with new orders burning in his mind.
He has forty-eight hours to deliver Blake's ultimatum. He has forty-eight hours to give Blake the chance to choose. And he has the authority to kill Blake if Blake chooses wrong.
For the first time in his career, Jayce has Blake exactly where he wants him.
But as Jayce drives toward the rebellion compound, something unexpected happens. His phone buzzes with a message from an unknown number.
"Jayce. It's Cross. Blake's brother. We need to talk before you do anything stupid. Before you walk into something you don't understand. Meet me tonight. Alone. Or Blake's blood is on your hands."
Jayce stares at the message.
Cross is the oldest Sterling. He's a respected warrior. He's someone the Alpha listens to.
And he's asking Jayce to meet him in secret.
Which means either Jayce is about to discover information that changes everything, or Cross is about to try to stop him from doing his job.
Either way, something is about to shift.
Jayce has the power to destroy Blake completely.
But maybe Blake isn't the only one playing a longer game.