Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Joseph got off the couch the second the alarm went off. The sound tore through the house in a way that did not allow hesitation. It was sharp, urgent, and ugly, the kind of sound that made the body react before the mind could fully catch up. Joseph had known an attack would come. Ever since Malcolm’s warning, ever since the strange movements around Ethan and Meadow, ever since the night turned bloody and suspicious, Joseph had carried that expectation in his chest like a stone. But knowing something would happen one day was not the same as hearing the alarm now, this soon, this suddenly, while the truth about Ethan was still fresh and the

house was still stretched thin.

He had expected trouble. He had not expected it tonight. Not like this.

He grabbed his phone at once and called Adam. Adam answered on the first ring, and that alone told Joseph how bad things already were. There was no sleepy confusion in the connection. No delay. No casual greeting. Just urgency meeting urgency.

“We are on our way to the mansion; all residents have been asked to remain indoors. Those close to the bunker have been ordered

to go there, but it seems the attack is targeted at your estate,” Adam said.

Joseph’s jaw tightened. Of course it was. The words settled something dark inside him immediately. This was not a scattered attack on the whole pack. Not random violence breaking out at the edges. They had come for the mansion. For the heart of the McCloud

estate. For the people inside it. For him.

The two of them hung up quickly because there was nothing more to say on the phone that could not be said with blood instead. Joseph headed outside at once, moving fast, every muscle in his body already preparing for impact. By the time he stepped into the

grounds, he saw what was happening clearly enough.

It was a full battle.

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The mansion grounds had become a war zone. Wolves were already crashing into one another outside the estate, dark shapes slamming through the night with growls, snarls, and the wet sounds of violence. It was as if the attackers had bypassed everything

else and come straight for the people in the mansion alone. The hatred in that choice was obvious. This was not only conquest. This

was a strike meant to cripple the house at its centre.

Joseph’s eyes flicked briefly beyond the immediate fight, toward the nearby Whitewood residences. Those closest to the mansion

had already gone through drills for moments like this. The people would know to move for the bunkers once the alarm sounded. He

held onto that fact because he needed to. He needed to believe they would make it to safety while he dealt with what was

happening here.

But as he took in the fight more fully, another problem became obvious almost at once. There were many attackers. Too many. And

the warriors defending the mansion were nowhere near enough. Josephy’s stomach went cold with that realisation. He looked around

harder, trying to pick out familiar wolves among the chaos, trying to understand where the rest of their strength was.

Where were all their warriors?

That question hit him with enough force that he linked immediately.

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Chapter 182

“What is going on here?” Joseph asked through the link.

For one ugly heartbeat there was only battle and noise and the taste of blood in the air. Then someone answered.

“Renegades,” the person replied through the link.

That one word told Joseph enough. Malcolm’s fate had reached them. What happened at Ceenas had not ended there. It had only

moved down the line. Renegades. Wolves who were no longer standing with the pack. Wolves who had defected. Wolves bought

turned, or seduced into betrayal. Whitewood was rotting from inside too, and Joseph felt the truth of it slam into him like a physical

blow.

He shifted immediately. There was no room left for anything else. One second he was Joseph, the next Rex tore free, full of fury,

muscle, and instinct. The shift came with violent relief. Joseph’s human mind did not disappear, but Rex surged over it with all the

brutality the moment demanded. The wolf wanted blood. Wanted bone. Wanted punishment for every traitor stupid enough to step

on McCloud ground and think they would leave breathing.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna