Chapter 38: The Witness Who Vanished

Atlas remained in the records room long after midnight.

The old files lay scattered across the table.

Every document pointed to the same conclusion.

Someone had changed Rowan's final mission records.

Someone had removed the name of the physician who treated him.

And someone had made certain that no one questioned it.

Atlas picked up the missing witness report again.

The physician's name was Dr. Elias Mercer.

He had served the Blackwood Pack for nearly twenty years.

Three days after Rowan's death, he disappeared.

No farewell.

No transfer request.

No official resignation.

Just gone.

Atlas's fingers tightened around the paper.

If Rowan had trusted Mercer enough to leave him as a witness, then Mercer had known something important.

The question was whether he was still alive.

...

The following morning, Atlas summoned his most trusted guard.

“I need you to find someone.”

The guard looked at the file.

“Who?”

“Dr. Elias Mercer.”

The guard's expression changed.

“That name hasn't appeared in Blackwood records for years.”

“I know.”

“What happened to him?”

“That's what I want you to find out.”

The guard nodded.

“I'll start immediately.”

Atlas stopped him before he left.

“Don't tell anyone.”

The guard understood.

“Not even the elders?”

“Especially not the elders.”

...

Across the territory, Mara was sitting in the nursery with her son.

A maid entered quietly.

“Mara, the Alpha returned late last night.”

Mara looked up.

“Did he say where he'd been?”

“No.”

Mara's fingers tightened around the blanket.

“Did anyone see him in the archives?”

The maid hesitated.

“I don't know.”

Mara dismissed her.

Once the door closed, the softness disappeared from her face.

She stood and walked toward the window.

Atlas had been different since finding Elena.

He no longer reacted to Mara's tears the way he once had.

He no longer rushed to her side whenever she claimed she was frightened.

And now he was searching through records that should have remained buried.

Mara's breathing became shallow.

She picked up her phone.

“We have a problem.”

A voice answered from the other end.

“What happened?”

“Atlas is investigating Rowan's death.”

There was a long silence.

Then the voice said quietly, “Then you need to stop him.”

...

Two days later, Atlas received a message from his guard.

The message contained only an address.

And three words.

“He is alive.”

Atlas immediately left Blackwood.

The address led to a small mountain settlement several hours outside the territory.

When he arrived, an elderly man opened the door.

Atlas recognized him immediately.

Dr. Elias Mercer had aged considerably, but there was no mistaking his face.

The doctor stared at Atlas.

“I wondered when you'd come.”

Atlas froze.

“You knew I'd find you?”

“Eventually.”

The doctor stepped aside.

“Come in.”

Atlas entered the small house.

The walls were covered with old medical books and faded photographs.

One photograph showed Rowan standing beside Atlas during their early days in the pack.

Atlas stared at it.

“Why did you disappear?”

Mercer looked toward the window.

“Because Rowan told me to.”

Atlas's eyes widened.

“Why?”

“Because he knew someone inside Blackwood wanted him dead.”

Silence filled the room.

Atlas's wolf snarled inside him.

“Who?”

Mercer shook his head.

“I never learned the full name.”

“Then tell me what you know.”

The doctor sighed.

“The night before Rowan left for his final mission, he came to me with injuries that weren't caused by battle.”

Atlas went still.

“What kind of injuries?”

“Wolf claw marks.”

“Whose?”

“That's what frightened him.”

Mercer looked directly at Atlas.

“The scent belonged to someone from inside his own household.”

Atlas's face drained of color.

“Mara?”

Mercer didn't answer.

He opened a locked drawer and removed a small envelope.

“Rowan gave me this before he left.”

Atlas stared at the envelope.

His name was written across the front.

But beneath it was another name.

Elena Hart.

Atlas's heart began pounding.

“Why didn't you give this to me?”

Mercer looked at him sadly.

“Because Rowan told me not to trust anyone who still believed Mara was innocent.”

Atlas couldn't speak.

The doctor placed the envelope on the table.

“He said that if he didn't return, Elena would eventually need to know the truth.”

Atlas reached for it.

His fingers trembled as he broke the seal.

Inside was a single handwritten page.

The first sentence made his blood run cold.

“Atlas, if you're reading this, then I've failed to protect the person I was most afraid of losing.”

Atlas read the next line.

“Mara is not the helpless woman you believe she is.”

He stopped.

For years, he had defended Mara.

For years, he had blamed Elena.

For years, he had built his entire life around a lie.

Now the first crack had appeared.

And behind it was a truth that could destroy everything he thought he knew.