Chapter 3 Old Wound, New Threats

Jackson's POV

Seeing her once more was like a gut-pulverizing punch.

Ava Thorne The one I had turned aside. The one I persuaded myself I had no need for. the person who carried my kids without notifying me once at least. Rejecting her seemed to be the correct thing-hell, the only thing keeping the pack safe. But now my world spun on its axis as she stood there with two children I knew did not exist.

My offspring.

The term kept bouncing off the walls of my already disintegrating sanity in my head. These were Lily and Caleb, mine. Although I should have been angry, betrayed even, all I could concentrate on was the weight of guilt smothering me. I had turned them down as well as Ava.

I refused to look at her. Not at the moment.

"We have to pay attention to the threat," I murmured, attempting to ignore the simmering resentment under surface level. Though my voice sounded harsher than I wanted, I needed time to sort through all of this before I lost control.

Ava stood sharply next to the twins, her hand still firmly clutching theirs. Her eyes showed the same fire that had once pulled me in and made me weak. Seeing her like this, strong and rebellious, yet managed to set something inside me ablaze. I loathed this.

She choked it down even though her lips parted like she wanted to speak more. Correct action. Not now, not as everything was falling apart, I was in the mood to have this talk.

Riley sprang up to me as we were strolling across the packhouse's main hall. He was angry, and I could see waves of it rolling off him. My beta had never trusted Ava; he had always been mercilessly protective of the pack and me. She was back, and it felt as though she was fueling a fire already ablaze.

"You're actually letting her in after all this time?" He mumbled beneath his breath, his black eyes sharply pointing toward Ava with hardly veiled contempt. You know we cannot trust her.

"I know exactly who Ava is," I responded, keeping a quiet, under control voice. But a menace exists out there. And we need all the information we can gather if she is reporting the truth about the rogues.

And if she is not? Riley pushed back. "If this is some sort of game she's playing?"

I stood dead still, turned to face him. "then I'll handle it." The harshness in my words quieted him, but I could still see uncertainty flickering in his eyes. Riley had never been adept at letting things go, particularly with regard to Ava.

Ava was quiet, but I could sense conflict radiating from her. She was not here to engage in games, I knew much about it. She had actual terror in her eyes when discussing the rogues. And something told me the narrative had more layers than she was revealing.

We went inside my office, and although Ava hesitated, I waved for her to sit. With their curious eyes searching the strange room, Caleb and Lily stayed by her side. It dawned on me then how much they resembled her-like myself also. Lily had Ava's will etched all over her face; Caleb had my eyes, my scowl.

A stinging regret turned inside me.

At last Ava sat, and I inhaled deeply to slip into the chair behind my desk. We neither spoke for a moment. The weight of all that had been omitted for five long years permeated the air.

My voice low, I started, "tell me about the rogues."

Ava looked at the twins then started talking. Jackson, that was not a typical attack. They were orderly, as if they knew just where to locate us. For weeks now, they have been trailing constantly one step behind.

I grumbled. Though they were dangerous, true, most of the time Rogues hunted with less accuracy. It was more like they grabbed when a chance presented themselves than followed their victim with purpose. " How many were there??"

five. But there might be more as well. They came *for* them, not only for me. Her face pinched with concern, she nodded at Lily and Caleb.

My heart thumping, I sat up straight. "What do they want with my children?"

"I'm not sure," Ava answered, her voice quivering slightly but immediately under control. Still, I believe they know you-who you are.

I sensed the blood leaving my face. The pack was under threat if the rogues learned Lily and Caleb were my heirs. Their bloodline meant something to everyone who wished to question my alpha position, not only to me.

Riley moved near me, his face black. "This could be part of something more if they are aiming at the twins. Perhaps someone aims to upset the pack.

"Exactly," Ava murmured, her eyes connecting with mine. I came back for this reason. We cannot be safe on our own out there. Also neither are you.

Her statements really hit hard in terms of truth. Pushing her away, I had been so fixated on the rejection that I had not thought through the wider issue. It was too late to discount it now. The wolves outside my area, the ones chasing my kids, were coming for everything I had created, not just for me.

I stood suddenly, pacing the space while I tried to think. This has to be more than just something I missed. Unless they had a motive, the rogues wouldn't only target the twins.

"How did they come across you?" My voice was more sharp than I had meant, I asked.

Ava moaned, but she did not turn away. "I'm not sure. Years of off-grid living have seen us constantly relocating and hiding. Still, they began popping up approximately one month ago. I originally assumed it was haphazard. But now... She trailed off with disturbed expression.

I couldn't get rid of the impression that she was hiding something absolutely crucial. "There's more, isn't there?" I pressed, staring at her narrowingly. " What are you not saying?"

Ava stopped, bit her lip, and I knew whatever it was-bad. Her hands squeezing into fists at her sides, she stood, timing the room exactly as I had seconds earlier.

She whispered at last, her voice just above a whisper: "They're not just after the twins." "They are after *you*.

The words chilled me down from the back. Me here? Why might they be interested in me?

Ava went on, her voice trembling, before I could question. Before we fled, I heard one of the rogues chatting. Jackson, they replied, you have been designated for death. They will not stop until you are dead; they are coming for you.

My mind whirling, I fixed her eyes. Designed for death? Who would want me dead? And why right now, following all this?

Riley swore beneath his breath and walked beside me. We have to bring in the border patrols and strengthen security.

I nodded while my head spun to try to understand the circumstances. Too many questions and too many parts that didn't fit abound. One thing was very evident, though: this was more than simply a lone strike. Someone had planned this and wanted me-along with my kids-gone.

I was not ready to let that occur, though.

Turning to face her, I said, "Ava." You are lingering here. I will designate guards to watch after the twins and you.

Her eyes gleamed with defiance, and I briefly considered her perhaps arguing. She nodded, though, the struggle in her gradually giving place to the terror I knew she was hiding. "I'll be here. But just till we work this out.

Good, I said with a forceful voice. "Because I'm not letting anybody touch my family."

The words came out of my mouth and I knew how much had changed in not too long. Believing it made me weaker, I had pushed Ava and the concept of a family far away for years. But now, the threat is closing in, I understand the truth. Protecting what was mine gave me strength-not from being alone.

And I would do whatever necessary to ensure their safety.

Riley said softly just as I turned to go. Jackson, we have a more serious issue here.

My heart hammering in my chest, I froze. "what is it?"

He looked back at me, stern. "We have a pack traitor here. Someone has been feeding the rogues knowledge.

The room went quiet, his words weighing me like a black fog. A traitor? In my pack?

Ava's eyes grew wide, shock sending her palm leaping to her mouth. But who-?

Riley remarked, his voice tight with irritation: "I don't know." But they are overly knowledgeable about our patrols and defenses. Someone on the inside is really necessary.

My blood turned chilly. I had been so preoccupied with the exterior threat, with the rogues and whoever was visiting me, that I had not given any thought to the notion that the actual risk might be nearer than I had assumed.

One thing was for sure as the awareness crept in: this was far from done.

Whoever was following me was not only coming from the outside. Already here, hiding in the shadows, they were waiting for the ideal chance to attack.