Claimed by the Alpha I Hate – Episode 41
Klaudius’s crest lay on Nolan’s desk beneath a circle of lamplight. Someone had carried it through the mansion’s service gate after the attack, and the guards had found fresh tracks leading inward rather than out.
“We have a traitor,” Elias said. The words confirmed what Nolan already suspected.
Daisy studied the black insignia. Her father’s symbol looked almost identical to the mark that appeared in her shared dreams, a crown surrounded by thorns.
“Who knew the patrol changed after the attack?” she asked. Nolan listed guards, household staff, council members—and several Eastwind residents assigned to supply duty.
Mila’s name appeared near the bottom. Daisy felt an old instinct sharpen, but dislike was not evidence.
Nolan ordered quiet interviews rather than an arrest. If the traitor believed the crest remained undiscovered, they might lead Blackwood to Lucien.
Daisy insisted on participating. She could now detect the cold trace left by vampire magic, a sense no wolf investigator possessed.
They searched the service passage together. Near the gate, Daisy found a faint residue matching the seal Lucien placed over her power.
The trail continued toward the residential quarter and vanished beside several overlapping scents. Whoever carried the crest knew how to hide among ordinary pack movement.
Mila approached while they worked and demanded to know why guards had searched her room. Her outrage sounded genuine enough to fool anyone who had not known her for years.
“Standard security,” Nolan said. “Unless there’s something you want to tell me.”
Mila looked wounded. “After everything Daisy brought here, you’re investigating me?” She turned suspicion into another accusation with practiced ease.
Daisy watched her pulse. The returning vampire sense detected a sudden quickening when Nolan mentioned the crest, but fear alone did not prove betrayal.
“Everyone is being investigated,” Daisy said. “Loyal pack members should want the intruder found.”
Mila met her gaze and smiled. “Of course. I hope you find whoever invited the vampires in.”
After she left, Daisy told Nolan about the change in her heartbeat. He trusted the observation but refused to act without evidence.
“You defended me when the council wanted fear to be enough,” Daisy admitted. “You can’t condemn her because I hate her.”
Nolan touched her shoulder. “That is the difference between you and her. You still care whether judgment is fair.”
That night, Mila burned a message from Lucien before guards reached her street. The next instruction was simple: learn where Nolan kept Vera Storm’s recovered belongings.
In the ashes, one line remained readable—Klaudius believed Vera had stolen something capable of controlling their daughter’s power.