Chapter 21 · Moonclaim - Chapter 21: His Name on the Kill Order

The chip sits in Rena's palm like a little piece of evidence that's about to blow the whole night open.

Ivy doesn't move. Leon's still got his claws half out, standing between her and the rest of the pack. Blood all over the concrete. The hunter's body cooling ten feet away.

Rena flips the chip between her fingers. "Cleanup order came from Moonclaim's top floor. Your floor, Leon."

Leon's shoulder twitches. "I didn't send it."

"No?" Rena's voice stays level. Too level. "Then who's got access to your terminal?"

Ivy's heart kicks hard against her ribs. She knows where this is going. Knows the pack's already running the numbers in their heads—Leon's the exile prince, half the wolves think he sold out, and now there's a dead hunter with a Moonclaim signature on the kill sheet.

Leon takes one step forward. Rena doesn't back up. "I said I didn't send it."

"Yeah, well." Rena closes her fist around the chip. "Someone did. And she's still breathing."

The wolves shift. Not a lot. Just enough that Ivy can feel the air tighten.

Leon moves before anyone else does.