Chapter 245
Two hundred and forty seven
Lisa POV
Six days later
Joanna took my phone and spread the image apart with her fingers. Kade’s messages filled the screen, He’d sent photos of a carved bone key. It matched the kind of key that should’ve opened the strange door in his mother’s
room.
It hadn’t.
Joanna read his latest messages where he informed me his mother had barely been home and the maid said she’d started leaving at strange hours.
Cassidy and I watched Joanna study the photos and scroll through the messages.
“Any clue what that is?” Cassidy asked when a hum escaped Joanna’s lips.
Joanna lifted a finger without looking up.
“Has he spoken with his sister?” She asked me.
“She insists she’s fine p>
Joanna kept reading, then she handed the phone back.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“Another thread p>
She slid a stack of photocopied pages across the table.
“Cameron’s beta has logged every hallucination Cameron reported. Dates, times and estimated duration. The attacks are becoming less frequent p>
“Could it be a blood anchor?” Cassidy asked.
Joanna stared at the papers instead of us, her fingers tapping the edge of the stack.
“A blood anchor feeds without interruption. Cameron doesn’t. He declines, then levels out. Then he declines again.
Her eyes found mine.
“Something keeps restoring the dominion. If an heirloom maintained the bond, Cameron’s sister or Beta would’ve found it by now. If another person served as the anchor, we’d already know who p>
“What about the locked room in Luna Catherine’s house?” I asked.
Another shake of her head. “False lead. No senior Meridian operative renews a dominion inside her own home p>
My heart skipped.
“If Catherine keeps leaving the territory, she’s feeding it somewhere else.” Joanna tapped the table. “The carving isn’t important. The pattern is. We need to find where it’s renewed p>
I followed every word but understood almost none of it.
1/4
Noceed and forty even
+15 Behus
“So… the key has nothing to do with Cameron p>
She held my gaze. “We don’t guess, child. We verify p>
Cassidy pushed back her chair. “I’ll keep tracking Catherine p>
“Good. We’re close. Meridian will notice if we push too hard. One mistake tells them we’re looking for the renewal.
11
Nobody needed to remind me what happened then. I’d be their first target.
Joanna smiled at me. “I think we have enough to move your initiation forward p>
I exchanged a glance with Cassidy.
“Initiation p>
Joanna looked at Cassidy. They laughed.
“You thought we’d just hand you our secrets?” Joanna said. “You’re still an outsider until you complete the rites p>
“I… right p>
“You didn’t think there’d be an initiation p>
I swallowed. The thought had never crossed my mind.
“Did you explain the regulations?” Joanna asked Cassidy who nodded. Joanna looked back at me.
“You expected to come here, ask for help, then walk away p>
“I’m sorry p>
“Prepare her for Friday night p>
Cassidy tapped my chair. “Come on p>
We left together. She stayed quiet as we walked down the hallway.
“We’re not eating your soul. We’re trying to get our lives back. At the very least, we’re trying to make someone answer for what was done to us p>
She stopped and faced me.
“You can still leave. But if you do, we can’t protect you. We can’t help someone who doesn’t want to stand with us.
“I’m not ashamed p>
“What, then p>
I remained silent. A faint smile crossed her face.
“We just make sure the checks and balances stay intact p>
“Of course p>
It was the only honest answer I had.
2/4
whunted and forty avon
+15 Behus
Every part of me wanted to reject this initiation. Kieran had been helped without becoming one of them. Why wasn’t Cameron being initiated? Why was it me?
My hand settled over my stomach. The child answered that question. Like Cameron, maybe even more than him, I needed what these women offered. That didn’t make any of this less unsettling.
I knew they weren’t evil. Not like the Veiled Meridian, yet it felt like I was walking toward something I would never understand.
The rest of the week slipped by, and every morning brought me closer to the initiation. It wasn’t taking place at Cassidy and Joanna’s chapter house. They were taking me somewhere else. Four hours beyond the city. The oldest chapter house, hidden behind rows of iroko trees that almost covered the road.
My palms were damp by the time Alpha Kieran’s jeep rolled through the iron gate. Mom reached across the seat and patted my shoulder.
“You’ll be fine, sweetheart. I know you don’t want to do it, but I know you can p>
Nadia agreed. “We’ll be right here p>
I wanted to believe them.
Alpha Kieran and Franklin stayed quiet and neither of them looked at ease.
I turned back to the building. It looked nothing like the chapter house I’d been visiting. It looked like an old estate. Rain and time had worn the stone walls smooth. Nothing about it looked modern.
Women dressed in crimson stood outside welcoming arrivals. The first thing I noticed were the pins on their collars. They weren’t all the same. Some greeted each other with hugs before disappearing into different corridors. Others arrived alone. Young women, elderly women, women in business suits.
I’d never seen so many of them together.
Joanna’s chapter house suddenly felt very small.
Franklin parked beside the entrance, and Mom came around to help me out. My swollen feet protested as soon as they touched the ground.
“Take a deep breath,” she whispered.
I did, then we walked inside.
The ceiling stretched several stories above us, held up by unpainted columns. Conversations carried across the hall. I suddenly felt underdressed.
Cassidy appeared wearing deep crimson instead of her usual plain clothes. She didn’t acknowledge Mom or Kieran. She simply nodded for me to follow.
“This is where we stop,” Mom said, pulling me into a hug.
Alpha Kieran stepped forward.
“If this is too much p>
“I’m fine p>
The answer came so quickly it caught me off guard. If I turned around now, I wasn’t walking back to safety.
3/4
we hund and forty ven
+15 Bcnus
“Go smash it,” Nadia said. “You’ve already survived worse p>
“Not sure about that,” I muttered as I followed Cassidy.
I looked back before we disappeared down the corridor. All four of them were still standing where I’d left them,
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Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.