The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 673

Chapter 673: You Remember Me? I Remember You.

Serena knew the face. He was the dealer who captured her, still in the business of trafficking women and children, still working with Viremont, still a specialist in horrid things done to women.

She could never forget his face. She had heard women scream in camps from this man and was powerless to do anything at the time. She knew his voice because she had heard it giving instructions to handlers whose instructions involved methods she would carry in her memory until the day she died.

Her hands pressed flat against the iron armrests. The pressing was the only visible response she permitted. Everything else, the cold, the recognition, the inventory of every crime this man had committed against women whose names she knew and women whose names had been taken from them before she could learn them, all of it went behind the composure and stayed there.

"Identified as a known affiliate of the Silkchain Trafficking Network," Captain Ravenhall stated, voice professional. "We captured him last night at the eastern border. He was trafficking three minors under the age of ten and four women. All were drugged and bound in silver. The victims are rogues who were passing through Shadowclaw territory."

Serena dragged her eyes away from the man and looked at the captain. "Have the women and children been looked at by a healer?"

"No, Luna."

"Admit all to the infirmary at once to be looked at by our Master Healer, Elias Quell, on my order. Have him check for secondary doses. Silkchain drugs in layers. One to sedate, one to suppress memory. If there’s a second compound in their blood, they’ll start seizing within twelve hours if it’s not flushed. They are granted protection and treatment as pack members for as long as they choose to stay in Shadowclaw."

Captain Ravenhall held her gaze one second longer than duty required. Whether he was questioning the order itself, because a future Luna, but a non pack member had just granted pack-member status to rogues, or if he was questioning how she had a knowledge base about the Silkchain Trafficking Network, it didn’t matter. The silence between them was not a negotiation.

She held his gaze right back and her face gave nothing.

"Yes, Luna," he finally said.

"Thank you, Captain. I expect to be notified once Elias has examined them."

"Right away."

No one in the throne room argued. The elders were looking at one another. But the optics for them would look bad if they fought Serena on this and everyone knew it.

The man lifted his head.

His eyes found the throne. Found the woman sitting in it. Found her face, her hair, her green eyes, and the finding produced a recognition that crossed his features the way disease crosses a body: visibly, progressively, and with zero interest in concealing its progress.

His mouth split into a grin.

The grin was the worst kind. Wide. Genuine. The grin of a man who had just received a gift he hadn’t expected and whose gift was the presence of a woman he recognized from a different context and whose context was about to make this room very uncomfortable.

Griffin’s hand went to his blade. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Serena raised one finger. The finger said hold.

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