The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven

Chapter 168: Distracted

Draven.

Ten minutes later, my office door opened, and Jeffery stepped in first, followed by Dennis, a step behind him.

Neither bothered with a greeting; they knew better. The room itself felt too heavy for small courtesies.

I leaned back in the chair, gaze steady on Jeffery. "Update me," I said, voice even. "The fake investigation team," I clarified when he hesitated.

Jeffery clasped his hands behind his back. "Superficially, there is no real progress, Alpha," he began. "Duskmoor’s team keeps looping the same questions. It’s deliberate — they’re not searching, they’re performing. Their questions lead nowhere, and their routes double back on each other."

I nodded once, as expected. "Anything useful?"

Jeffery’s eyes flickered, just slightly. "Yes. While they kept circling, some of their men spoke too freely. I caught them mentioning a facility — they called it the ’South Block Reserve’ — as one of the restricted areas. I passed this to Dennis."

"Good," I murmured, turning my gaze to my brother. "And your team?"

Dennis shifted his weight, but his eyes stayed level. "We’ve traced the disappearances back months. The pattern points south, near the industrial edge of the city. But it’s more than that."

He paused, glancing at Jeffery before continuing.

"I suspect the humans have a secret laboratory. Somewhere off-record. And I believe that’s where they’ve been taking our missing people."

The words dropped into the silence between us like a stone into deep water.

My jaw tightened. "A laboratory," I echoed softly. "You’re sure?"

Dennis shook his head. "Not completely. But the signs fit. We’ve tracked deliveries at odd hours, unregistered trucks. And always around that area. The trail ends there."

I sat forward, resting my elbows on the desk. "And what do you think they’re doing there?" I asked, though, already having the idea.

"Testing," Dennis said without hesitation. "They could be experimenting with werewolf blood, our strength, trying to replicate it. These people are greedy for power and are insatiable."

Jeffery added, "It aligns with how carefully the missing are chosen. Younger wolves, fit, no close family nearby."

I let silence stretch, thinking. The humans had stopped hunting openly. But if Dennis was right, they hadn’t stopped completely — they’d just gone more secretive.

"Any recent complaints?" I asked, gaze moving between them. "Has anyone come to you, saying a brother, a cousin, or a friend is missing?"

They both shook their heads.

"No, Alpha," Jeffery confirmed.

"Not a single report," Dennis added.

I exhaled slowly. "That’s good," I said. "For now, it means they’ve paused. Likely distracted."

Dennis raised a brow. "By what?"

"By the killings," Jeffery answered before I could. "More humans have turned up dead these past two weeks, right?"

Dennis nodded grimly. "Right. I’d say the humans have stopped kidnapping our people because they’re too busy trying to figure out who’s hunting them now."

"They’re buying themselves breathing room," I said quietly. "But it won’t last."

A beat passed before Dennis spoke again, softer this time. "Are you going to tell the Mayor? About the vampires?" noveldrama

My gaze cut to him, sharp as a blade. "No," I said. "Brackham would seize it, twist it. He’d pin the werewolves’ deaths on us, too — claim the vampires are our allies or some mad creation of our blood."

Jeffery’s lips thinned. "And he’d bury his own government’s guilt in the chaos."

"Exactly," I muttered. "The minute the word ’vampire’ enters the discussion, the humans will stop looking inward. They will blame us entirely. And whatever hidden work they’re doing will vanish into shadows forever."

Dennis crossed his arms. "So we keep it quiet."

"For now," I confirmed. "Until we have evidence. Until we know what they are really doing in that lab."

The quiet settled in again, heavy and close.

"Dennis," I said finally, lifting my gaze to meet his. "I want you to be careful. You are leading the real investigation, which makes you their biggest threat if they find out."

He arched a brow, feigning lightness. "Careful is my middle name."

"Don’t test me," I snapped, though my tone held a thin edge of warmth. "Search every hospital, every private clinic. Discreetly. Use only wolves you trust absolutely."

"I know just the men," Dennis replied. "They won’t breathe a word unless I order it."

"Good."

I pushed back from the desk, letting the chair creak under me.

"We meet at the usual location, at the usual hour tonight," I ordered. "The whole circle. I will speak to them directly."

Jeffery dipped his head. "Understood, Alpha."

"And Jeffery," I added as he turned, "keep your ears open with Brackham’s men. If they slip again, I want to know before dawn."

"Yes, Alpha."

They started toward the door, the quiet scrape of boots on wood the only sound.

But Dennis paused, glancing back at me. "You know," he said, voice lower, almost thoughtful, "it still feels wrong that the humans thought they could get away with this. Kidnapping us, dissecting us like cattle."

"It was never about whether they could get away with it," I said, my voice a shade colder. "It’s about how far they’d go before they were stopped."

"And we’re the stop," Dennis finished.

"Yes," I murmured. "We are."

Tonight, the circle would gather.

And very soon, we’d learn exactly what the humans had hidden away behind locked doors, and what it meant for the rest of us.

The door had barely clicked shut behind Dennis and Jeffery when I leaned forward again, my hand already reaching for the landline.

The dull hum of the line connected almost instantly, a practised habit from the Mayor’s office.

"Mayor Brackham’s office," came the assistant’s brisk voice.

"Put me through," I said. My tone left no room for questions.

A soft rustle, then a faint beep.

"Alpha Draven!" Brackham’s voice slid into my ear, as slick and polished as ever. "Always an honour to hear from you—"

"Mayor Brackham," I cut in, voice flat. "Progress. Your investigation. What have you found regarding the deaths of my people? On your land."

There was a pause, slight, but it told me enough.