Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 167

Chapter 167

Joseph, Adam, and Brian left the cabin the next day with the kind of tiredness that sat deep in the bones and made even silence feel heavy. None of them had gotten the rest they needed. They had moved through the night on urgency alone, and now morning had

come without any of the clarity it should have brought. Everything still felt wrong. Too many things had happened too quickly. Too many names had been dragged into matters they should never have touched. Doctors. Therapists. Meadow. Ethan. Malcolm. A nameless Alpha taking packs by force. Whitewood suddenly feeling less safe than it had a few days ago. It was too much for one

night, and yet that had been their reality.

Before leaving, Joseph had promised Ethan he would send some people over to guard the place. Even that felt like a gamble. No because he wanted to leave his brother unprotected. Never that. But because he no longer trusted certainty. Trust itself had become thin under his feet. After everything they now knew, or thought they knew, even simple decisions carried weight. Which men could/

be relied on? Which eyes in the pack still looked straight? Which hands would hold the line if things turned ugly? Joseph could not answer all of that cleanly yet, but he had to do something. So he decided they would pick from the few wolves who had helped fight at the border. Those men, at least, had earned some measure of confidence. Their loyalty had been tested in blood, not just words.

Right now that mattered more than rank, charm, or old familiarity.

The drive back from the cabin was mostly silent. None of them felt like talking. None of them knew what to say that would not

sound weak against the size of what was happening. There were no clever conclusions to offer. No easy sense to make of it. Everything about the last day had shattered the normal shape of life in Whitewood. Ethan’s condition might have been engineered. Meadow’s therapy had become dangerous enough to draw violent men. Malcolm had lost his pack. Somewhere out there, something bigger was moving, and nobody could yet guess the true reason behind any of it. The lack of reason gnawed at Joseph most. Men did terrible things for power, yes. But this? This had too many layers. Too much patience. Too much planning. It felt personal and strategic at the same time, and that made it harder to read.

When they got to the mansion, Joseph went into the building while Adam and Brian stayed behind to park the van and switch back

to their own cars. The Beta and Gamma looked as wrecked as he felt, though none of them complained. Joseph knew both men

would probably sleep most of the day after this. They had earned it. Their bodies had kept moving through adrenaline and duty, but

sooner or later exhaustion always collected what it was owed.

Joseph moved through the halls of the mansion with a heaviness settling over him now that the immediate night work was done.

Every step seemed to bring him closer not to rest, but to another problem waiting where he had left it. He had spent all night

dealing with ambushes, secrets, dead bodies, terrified people, and brothers who were trying not to drown in the truth. Yet even after

all of that, Ashley was still there. That loose thread. That stupid, stubborn, irritating problem he had not finished handling before

Ethan’s call interrupted him.

By the time he reached the door to his room, he remembered it fully. Ashley. He stood outside for a brief second and closed his

eyes. Then he took a deep breath and opened the door. Ashley was on the couch crying. The sight irritated him more than it moved

him. She looked worried, frightened, worn thin in the face as if the whole night had dragged her through the same kind of horror he

had actually lived through. Joseph knew immediately what she must have been thinking. She had spent the night imagining the

worst in the most self-centred way possible. She had probably convinced herself he had gone to be with Cynthia. The thought alone

made something bitter rise in him.

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12:25 Wed, Jun 17

Underwater: The Silent Luna