Brad’s POV
Mira’s patience was clearly wearing thin. She thrust the contract toward him with barely contained irritation.
“Eric, just sign it, will you?
That’s when one of my wolves stepped forward from the shadows behind Mira, extending a pen toward Eric.
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Yes, you recognize him, don’t you, Eric?
The wolf in question was one of my most trusted operatives – a hunter whose claws had been stained with the blood of more traitors than Eric could count. His presence here could only mean one thing, and Eric was smart enough to know it.
My operative gestured toward the contract in Eric’s other hand, and Eric’s eyes widened as he actually read the document for the first
time.
The color that returned to his face was sickly green.
The transferee was not Mira Collins. It was me.
I watched as understanding dawned in his eyes – slow, terrible, and complete. Mira had thought she was playing him, but I’d been playing
them both all along.
Eric didn’t dare look up at Mira. He knew, as I knew, that she’d played her part perfectly without even realizing it. She’d done all the work,
taken all the risks, and in the end, the prize would be mine.
Eric’s hand moved across the paper almost of its own accord, his signature appearing in shaky letters. He knew there was no point in
resisting now. I’d had evidence of his treachery long before tonight – this was just the final nail in his coffin.
When he finished signing, Eric set the pen down with the resigned air of a man accepting his execution.
Mira snatched up the contract with triumph blazing in her eyes, but my operative’s low warning cut through her celebration.
“We can’t stay here long.”
She swept toward the door with my operative and the others in tow, clearly eager to examine her prize. As they reached the threshold, my operative turned back to Eric with a meaningful look.
The door closed behind them with a soft click.
Eric collapsed to his knees on the carpet the moment they were gone, the weight of his situation finally crushing him completely.
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F:
Through the audio feed, I could hear his ragged breathing, the whispered words of a man who knew he was about to die.
“I’m finished, he whispered to the empty room. Completely finished.”
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Within minutes, masked figures appeared in the room as if materializing from the shadows themselves. Eric remained on his knees,
broken and accepting.
“I’ll cooperate,‘ he said without looking up. “I’ll die exactly as you require. I have only one request – please, let Brad spare my mate and
children. I’ll give him everything I have left, everything, if he’ll just let them live.”
One of the figures noddedt.
The masked wolf examined the contents briefly before speaking. “The Alpha said you could have option three.”
Eric’s shoulders sagged with what might have been relief. Option three was quick, painless, untraceable
accepted their fate with dignity.
a mercy I granted to those who
“Tell him… tell Brad I’m grateful.”
Eric took the small vial without hesitation and drank its contents in one swallow. Within hours, he’d be found dead from an apparent overdose, and all suspicion would fall on Mira Collins.
I closed the surveillance feed and stood, walking to the window to admire the moon hanging full and bright over Moonshade Bay.
But Mira’s obsession with the European organ trade networks… why that specifically? What makes the organ trade so special to her?
A knock at my door interrupted my thoughts.
“Come in.”
Alex entered, carrying a thick manila folder. “Alpha, the investigation report from Thailand has arrived.”
I took the folder, noting the Thai script across the official seals. As I read through the document, everything began to make sense. When I reached the final signature, I found myself laughing – a sound completely devoid of humor,
So that’s your secret, Mira. That’s why you disappeared for six years. That’s why you need access to the organ trade networks.
I threw the report onto my desk and looked up at Alex, who was waiting patiently for orders.
“Time to finish this. Bring me Mira Collins.”
By the time I found Mira, she was already in bad shape. Whatever drug my operatives had used was clearly taking effect – she knelt on the
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noor of a nondescript room, swaying and hitting herself in the head repeatedly as if trying to clear her vision.
My wolf brought a bucket of ice water which he promptly dumped over her head and shoulders.
🙂))
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Mira jerked awake with a gasp, het body shaking from cold and shock. As awareness returned, she tried to move but found herself unable
to do more than twitch her fingers.
When she looked up and saw me sitting calmly in the chair, her first instinct was exactly what I’d expected tears began to well in her
eyes as she prepared to play the victim one last time.
“If you’re planning to cry,” I said conversationally, “I suggest you remove your eyeballs first. Save us both some time.”
The tears stopped immediately.
I pulled out my lighter and began turning it over in my hands. The soft click of the mechanism was the only sound in the room for
several long moments.
“You know,” I said finally, “I don’t think I’ve ever actually asked you directly about your disappearance six years ago.”
Mira’s body gave an involuntary shudder. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I looked up from my lighter, letting a small smile play across my lips. “Is that so?”
“Funny thing happened recently. I met a doctor – brilliant surgeon, apparently. Specializes in organ transplants. Name’s Jeff Lincoln.
Perhaps you know him?”
The reaction was immediate and devastating. Mira’s entire body began to shake, her face going white as fresh snow.
“How did you… you already know?” she whispered, the words barely audible.
Then, as if suddenly remembering where she was: “Wait… how am I here? How did I…?”
I didn’t bother to explain how thoroughly I’d infiltrated her operation, how completely she’d been outmaneuvered. Instead, I smiled wider.
I should probably thank you, actually. If you hadn’t been so helpful in collecting those stock certificates, it might have taken me months
longer to consolidate my holdings.”
The blood drained from Mira’s face as understanding hit. “Those stocks… they were all yours? The whole thing?”
“What do you think?‘
She looked like she might be sick. “That’s impossible. The wolves I approached, the people around me… they were all…”
“Mine?” I finished helpfully. “Yes, most of them were.”
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I leaned forward slightly, enjoying the way she flinched back.
“Now then, let’s discuss why you’re so interested in European organ trade networks.”
When she remained silent, I chuckled softly.
“No wonder you were always so evasive when I pursued you years ago. All that pushing and pulling, never letting me get too close. I respected your boundaries then – thought you were just young, nervous. But the truth is, you couldn’t risk me discovering your secret.”
Mira’s breathing became rapid and shallow.
“You’re intersex, aren’t you, Mira?”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
