Sylvia’s POV

Three days had passed since my message to Caesar, and while Frostline’s stock had stabilized against all expectations, the knot of worry in my chest had only tightened. Every notification on my phone made my heart leap with hope, only to crash back down when it wasn’t him.

Charna paced restlessly within me, her anxiety mirroring my own. Our mate was out there, potentially in danger, and we were stuck in boardrooms pretending everything was normal.

I stared at the quarterly reports spread across my desk, the numbers blurring before my eyes. The sun had begun its descent, casting long shadows across my office when a soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

"Sylvia?" James stood at the doorway. "There’s someone here to see you. Says it’s urgent. A Ms.Rosalie Bennett."

The name jolted me from my stupor. Rosalie—the young Omega I’d helped escape from Hugo’s abusive pack two weeks ago. I’d placed her in a safe house under Frostfang protection, far from Gray’s reach.

"Send her in immediately," I replied, alarm rising in my throat.

When Rosalie entered, I barely recognized her. Gone was the bruised, terrified woman I’d helped spirit away in the dead of night. Though still visibly nervous, there was a new determination in her amber eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, rushing to her side. "It’s not safe for you to be out. If Gray’s men—"

"I had to come," she interrupted, her voice trembling but resolute. She extended a flash drive. "I couldn’t stay hidden while you were in danger."

I took the small device, confusion evident on my face. "What is this?"

Rosalie glanced nervously at the door before leaning closer. "When I was... with Hugo, he would often have meetings with William Blackwood at our house."

"William bragged constantly about having someone inside Vertex," she continued. "Someone close to Caesar. He called him ’Owl’ whenever they spoke about him. Said this person was his eyes and ears in Conrad’s inner circle."

I felt Charna snap to attention, her protective instincts flaring. "Did you hear a name? Any details about who this might be?"

Rosalie nodded toward the flash drive. "Better than that. I recorded one of their meetings. And I... I stole Hugo’s laptop on my way out. All his emails to William about their spy are on there."

I stared at her in astonishment. "You risked your life going back to that house."

She met my gaze steadily. "This was the least I could do."

After Rosalie left, I spent the next four hours combing through the data she’d provided. The recordings were damning—Hugo and William discussing their "asset" inside Vertex who had been feeding them information on Caesar’s movements and business decisions for months.

Cross-referencing with Vertex’s personnel records that Noah had quietly acquired for me, I zeroed in on a recent hire in Caesar’s executive team: Victor Reynolds, who had joined Caesar’s inner circle just six months ago as a strategic advisor. His hiring coincided perfectly with William’s first major move against Caesar’s territory.

Every major leak, every security breach at Vertex had happened after meetings Reynolds attended. The pattern was undeniable.

My hands shook as I prepared the encrypted file containing all the evidence. I hesitated only briefly before adding a personal message:

"Meet me at the Silver Ridge Mine. Let’s end this together."

I pressed send, then waited, my heart hammering against my ribs. Caesar had been planning a raid on William’s main compound tonight—information Noah had reluctantly shared with me yesterday. My message would reach him just in time.

When my phone buzzed with his response minutes later, I nearly dropped it in my haste to read it:

"Wait for me."

"You’re doing what?" Selene’s voice rose in disbelief as I quickly packed a small duffle bag with essentials. "Going to a mining site in the middle of the night to meet your mate? Have you completely lost your mind?"

I zipped the bag closed with more force than necessary. "I don’t have time to explain everything, Selene. But I need your help."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "With what exactly?"

"William Blackwood has been systematically targeting both Frostline and Vertex. He’s got financial tendrils throughout our subsidiaries—shell companies, hidden investments. I need you to freeze them. All of them."

Selene blinked in surprise. "You want me to handle financial defense? Alone?"

For a moment, I saw the flash of insecurity behind her usual mask of confidence. Despite our complicated relationship, I knew Selene was brilliant with finances—perhaps even better than me. She just hadn’t been given the chance to prove it.

"Yes," I said firmly. "You’re the only one who can do this quickly enough. Our secure server has the files you’ll need—the red folder marked ’contingency.’"

"But Mother always said financial defense was too critical to delegate—"

"Mother was wrong about a lot of things," I cut in. "Including underestimating you."

A complex mixture of emotions crossed her face. "Fine. I’ll handle it. But when this is over, you’re going to tell me exactly what’s going on between you and Conrad."

I almost smiled. "Deal."

My next call was to Noah. "I need your security team at Silver Ridge Mine by midnight. Full perimeter, no one gets out once William’s forces arrive."

"Already done," he replied, surprising me. "Caesar contacted me an hour ago. Said you might be calling."

Of course he had. Even now, he was trying to keep me safe.

"Noah," I said hesitantly, "if this goes wrong—"

"It won’t," he interrupted firmly. "We’ve got your back, Sylvia. Both of you."

Before heading to my car, I made one final stop. Rosalie was settling into her new safe room when I arrived, her few possessions already neatly arranged. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"You’re leaving?" she asked, noticing my travel bag.

"Yes, but I wanted to give you something first." I pulled out a small silver pendant bearing the Frostfang Pack symbol—a wolf’s profile encircled by frost crystals. "This is a protection amulet. Anyone who sees this will know you’re under my personal protection. No one will hurt you again, Rosalie. That’s my promise as the Frostfang heir."

Her eyes widened as she took the pendant with trembling fingers. "But I’m not—I don’t belong to any pack anymore."

"You do now," I said softly. "If you want it. The Frostfang Pack protects its own."

Tears welled in her eyes. "Why would you do this for me?"

"Because someone should have done it long ago," I replied simply. "And because you risked everything to help me when you could have stayed hidden and safe."

As she clutched the pendant to her chest, I felt the rightness of the moment.

"Will you come back?" she asked quietly.

I thought of Caesar, of the battle ahead, of William and his schemes. Of Helena, whoever she was to Caesar. There were so many unknowns, so many ways this could end badly. But I thought also of the message Caesar had sent, and of the promise it contained.

"Yes," I said with more certainty than I felt. "I’m coming back. We both are."

As I drove toward Silver Ridge Mine, Charna’s presence grew stronger, more insistent. She knew, as I did, that tonight would change everything.

The snow began to fall as I approached the mountains, dusting the landscape in silver. Ahead, the lights of vehicles were already visible near the mine entrance. Caesar was here. And soon, so would William be.

I parked my car at the designated spot where Noah’s men waited and stepped out into the cold night air.

It was time to end this—together with my mate.