Don’t Poke the Luna Chapter 201

Xena’s POV

"DAD!" Ryder roared as he burst through the office door.

I was shocked to see my father sitting in the office. "Dad?" I asked, confusion evident in my voice.

"Xena." Dad stood up and gave me a hug. His face was flushed red with anger, and I knew they had been arguing. The tension in the air was suffocating.

"This is a private meeting, Ryder," Alpha Benedict said firmly.

"No. I'm done with you excluding me. I'm done watching you continue making questionable decisions for this pack and my mate. I don't know what you're involved in, but this ends now." Ryder slammed his fist down on Alpha Benedict's desk.

The thunderous sound made my heart race, adrenaline beginning to surge. I could feel the anger and protectiveness radiating from Ryder, which both moved and worried me.

"What is he talking about?" Dad released me and walked over to face Ryder and Alpha Benedict. This formed a triangle of masculine confrontation.

"Penelope and Ama were able to find out through the damn internet that the mechanical shop is for sale—just an empty building. That entire attack was useless! Not only did we not get revenge for Xena, we lost our advantage! Now he knows we're coming for him!" Ryder's voice was raw with fury.

"All my intelligence told me that building was operational, one of their biggest assets!" Alpha Benedict roared back.

"Who the fuck is giving you intelligence, because it's obviously wrong," Ryder spat, his tone dripping with contempt.

"That's none of your concern," Alpha Benedict said in a dangerously low tone.

"You said the phone was connected to that building, that you'd been watching him for a while. Why?" I asked. Alpha Benedict looked at me with surprise, clearly caught off guard by the question.

"He was never an ally! I monitor all enemies!" He dismissed my question with a wave of his hand.

My instincts told me there was something deeper here, something he was hiding.

"Where is Gamma Tom?" I asked quickly.

Alpha Benedict's body tensed before he tried to relax. I glanced at Ryder and Dad—they obviously noticed Alpha Benedict's reaction too. "On a mission."

"Is he undercover in Alpha Wiley's pack?" Ryder asked the question directly.

"Why would you ask that?" Alpha Benedict's face reddened.

Without hesitation, Ryder pulled out his phone and showed them the photo William had sent him.

"Where did you get this?" Alpha Benedict looked at Ryder in disbelief, asking urgently.

"From my own sources. The man next to Tom—we believe he might be Penelope's father," Ryder told my dad.

"Explain. Now!" Dad's face turned a shade of red I hadn't seen in a long time as he glared at Alpha Benedict, clearly leaving no room for negotiation.

"Yes! I sent Tom on an undercover mission! I knew Wiley would become a problem eventually, and I wanted to gather all the information I could about him." Alpha Benedict's face contorted with pain, and after hesitating for a moment, he said through gritted teeth.

Although I had suspected it, hearing Benedict's confirmation was still shocking.

"How long has he been there?" Dad asked.

"Nine months!" Alpha Benedict grabbed his hair with his hands.

"Nine months?" Ryder roared. "You put your Gamma's life at risk for nine damn months? What about his family? His mate? His own life? What if they discovered him and forced him to give you wrong information? They would have found him months ago, and he's been living in torture every day!"

I could feel the primal anger radiating from Ryder, that impulse to destroy everything.

"When was the last time you spoke with him?" Dad planted both hands on the desk, glaring at Benedict.

"We communicate through text messages. He sends me updates and his code word," Alpha Benedict began to sound anguished.

"They could have broken him already and been using that code word!" Ryder punched the wall, creating a fist-sized hole. This obviously escalated Alpha Benedict's anger as well.

"Ryder! Calm down!" I rubbed Ryder's back, whispering soothingly.

"What else are you hiding?" I asked as Alpha Benedict opened his mouth to lash out at Ryder. His eyes turned to me, narrowing into slits.

"What? What right do you have to question me—"

"Answer the damn question, Dad!" Ryder stepped back in front of me, positioning himself between me and Alpha Benedict.

Dad looked at me, then at Ryder and Benedict. "Answer him, Benedict," Dad's tone seemed exhausted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alpha Benedict muttered, turning to look out the window.

"You do know, and you need to tell us now! It's time for your damn secrets to come to light. Xena told you about the tunnels. Why has Wiley been planning an attack on us for years? Why did you place a spy in his territory?" Ryder stood firmly in front of his father, arms crossed over his chest.

The silence stretched between us like a taut wire. Alpha Benedict's jaw worked as he stared out the window, his shoulders rigid with tension.

"Benedict," Dad's voice cut through the silence like a blade. "My daughter was kidnapped. My son-in-law's life was put at risk. Your pack members were evacuated from their homes. People could have died tonight because of whatever game you've been playing. You will tell us what's going on, or I swear to God, I'll—"

"ENOUGH!" Alpha Benedict spun around, his face twisted with anguish and fury. "You want to know? Fine! Twenty-three years ago, Wiley and I were best friends. We trained together, fought together, planned to rule neighboring territories in peace."

The admission hit the room like a physical blow. I felt Ryder's body go rigid beside me.

"But Wiley wanted more than just his territory. He wanted mine too. He wanted the resources, the strategic location, everything. When I refused to merge our packs under his leadership, he began planning ways to take it by force."

"Twenty-three years?" Ryder's voice was barely a whisper.

"I've been watching him, waiting for him to make his move. Tom volunteered for the mission when I told him what Wiley was capable of. He knew the risks." Alpha Benedict's hands shook as he spoke.

"You knew he would come after us eventually, and you said nothing?" I found my voice, though it felt foreign in my throat.

"I was protecting this pack! I was trying to stay ahead of him!" Benedict slammed his hand on the desk. "But he's been smarter than I anticipated. Using his son to get to you, creating these elaborate tunnels, playing the long game while I've been scrambling to keep up."

"The building —" Dad started.

"Was supposed to be his command center. My information said he was coordinating everything from there. But apparently, he's been feeding Tom false intelligence, or Tom has been compromised, or—" Benedict's voice cracked.

"Or you've been played for twenty-three years," Ryder said coldly. "Every decision you've made, every move you've planned, he's been one step ahead because he had a man on the inside telling him exactly what you were thinking."

The truth of Ryder's words settled over us like a shroud. All this time, while Benedict thought he was the master strategist, Wiley had been manipulating him, using his own spy against him.

"The tunnels," I said suddenly. "If he's been planning this for decades, those tunnels aren't recent. They're part of a - ."