The Nightfall Mates

The Coffee Ban

The five attackers were locked in the old pack holding cells beneath the Carter pack house.

One by one, they had been stripped of their weapons, searched, and chained with reinforced silver restraints.

They were awake now.

And very angry about it.

Will stood outside the first cell, arms crossed over his chest.

Trey leaned against the wall beside him.

Elijah stood on the other side, silent and watching.

Luke waited behind them with a tablet in hand.

Five attackers.

Military-grade equipment.

Custom wolfsbane ammunition.

And one clear objective.

Take one of the Alphas alive.

Will opened the cell door.

The man inside looked up.

“You’ve got nothing to say?” Will asked.

The attacker smiled.

“Nothing to say to you.”

Will’s eyes hardened.

Trey stepped forward.

“That’s unfortunate.”

The attacker looked at him.

“Why?”

Trey smiled.

“Because we have all night.”

Elijah gave Trey a sideways glance.

“Try not to enjoy this.”

“No promises.”

Will ignored them.

“Who sent you?”

Silence.

“Who hired you?”

Nothing.

“Why us?”

The man smiled again.

“You’re not as untouchable as you think.”

Will stepped closer.

“You fired wolfsbane rounds at my pack.”

“We weren’t targeting your pack.”

Will’s jaw tightened.

“My people were standing beside me.”

The man’s smile disappeared.

“That wasn’t the objective.”

Trey’s expression turned serious.

“Then what was?”

The attacker looked between the three brothers.

“One of you.”

The room went quiet.

Will exchanged a glance with Trey and Elijah.

“We already know that,” Elijah said. “What we don’t know is why.”

The attacker said nothing.

Elijah stepped closer.

“You had photographs.”

The man’s eyes flickered.

“Photographs of all three of us.”

Still nothing.

“Someone gave you those photographs.”

Silence.

“Someone told you which one to take.”

The attacker finally looked at him.

Elijah’s eyes narrowed.

“There it is.”

Trey folded his arms.

“Which one of us?”

The attacker smiled.

“You really want me to tell you?”

Will’s voice dropped.

“Yes.”

The man leaned back against the wall.

“Then you’re going to have to find out.”

Trey sighed.

“I hate people who think they’re mysterious.”

Elijah looked at him.

“You talk enough for three people.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I chose to take it as one.”

Will rubbed his forehead.

“Focus.”

Luke stepped forward.

“We’ve searched everything they had.”

He held up the tablet.

“Encrypted communication devices. Military-grade suppressors. Custom ammunition. No identification. No pack markings.”

Will looked at the screen.

“Anything connecting them to Nightshade?”

“Nothing definitive.”

Trey’s smile disappeared.

“But?”

Luke hesitated.

“There are similarities.”

“Explain.”

“Two of the weapons were traced to an underground supplier that has previously sold equipment to supernatural mercenaries.”

Elijah’s expression hardened.

“Nightshade?”

“Possibly.”

Will looked back at the prisoner.

“Whoever hired you knows exactly what we are.”

The attacker smiled.

“More than you realize.”

Will stepped forward.

The man’s smile vanished.

“You have one chance.”

The Alpha command rolled through the room.

The attacker’s body stiffened.

For the first time, fear flashed across his face.

Will noticed.

So did Trey.

So did Elijah.

But before Will could speak—

A loud buzzing came from Luke’s tablet.

Luke glanced down.

Then blinked.

“Uh…”

Trey looked at him.

“What?”

Luke looked uncomfortable.

“We have another situation.”

Will stared at him.

“Another attack?”

“No.”

“Nightshade?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Luke slowly lowered the tablet.

“It’s Rae.”

Elijah’s eyebrows lifted.

“What did she do?”

Luke cleared his throat.

“Apparently…”

He looked between the three brothers.

“Rae has been banned from the local coffee shop.”

Silence.

Trey blinked.

“Come again?”

Luke sighed.

“She’s been banned.”

Elijah stared at him.

“For what?”

“Coffee.”

Trey’s mouth twitched.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m afraid I am.”

Will stared at Luke like he had lost his mind.

“Why would a coffee shop ban a paying customer?”

Luke pulled up the report.

“The owner believes Rae has a coffee addiction problem.”

Elijah’s lips slowly curved upward.

Trey looked offended on Rae’s behalf.

“She’s a grown woman.”

“I know.”

“She pays for her coffee.”

“I know.”

“So why is she banned?”

Luke looked at the tablet again.

“Apparently she ordered six coffees before noon.”

Trey paused.

“Six?”

“According to the owner.”

Elijah started laughing.

Trey looked at him.

“What?”

Elijah shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“You’re laughing.”

“I’m imagining Rae without coffee.”

Trey’s expression changed.

“That’s actually terrifying.”

Elijah nodded solemnly.

“Exactly.”

Luke continued.

“The owner said Rae argued that six coffees was not excessive because two of them were technically espresso drinks.”

Trey stared.

“That sounds like Rae.”

Luke nodded.

“And apparently she told the owner that if caffeine was illegal, then half the town needed to be arrested.”

Elijah laughed harder.

Trey shook his head.

“She’s going to kill someone.”

“Probably the owner,” Elijah said.

Trey pointed at him.

“Don’t encourage her.”

Elijah’s grin widened.

“I’m just saying…”

He looked at Trey.

“Maybe you should go talk to the owner.”

Trey frowned.

“Why me?”

Elijah’s grin became downright wicked.

“Because you seem to care a lot about what happens to Rae.”

Trey went still.

Will glanced between his brothers.

Luke suddenly became very interested in his tablet.

Trey narrowed his eyes.

“She’s my friend.”

Elijah raised an eyebrow.

“Of course.”

“She is.”

“Absolutely.”

“Stop.”

Elijah folded his arms.

“I’m not saying anything.”

“You’re saying plenty with your face.”

“That’s because your face is turning red.”

Trey’s eyes widened.

“It is not.”

Luke coughed to hide a laugh.

Will finally spoke.

“Can we get back to the people who tried to kill us?”

Elijah looked toward the holding cells.

“Probably.”

Trey pointed at him.

“We’re finishing this conversation later.”

Elijah smiled.

“Looking forward to it.”

⸻

The War Room

Twenty minutes later, the Carter brothers sat around the massive wooden table inside the pack house war room.

A map of Bayou Falls covered the center.

Several smaller maps showed surrounding territories.

Photographs of the five attackers were spread across the table.

Luke stood near the large screen.

Noah stood beside him.

Will stared at the information.

“Let’s go over everything again.”

Luke nodded.

“Five attackers. Highly trained. Military-grade weapons. Custom wolfsbane ammunition.”

Noah added, “Their movements were coordinated. Whoever trained them knew how to move against wolves.”

Elijah leaned forward.

“They weren’t amateurs.”

“No,” Luke agreed. “They knew exactly where to position themselves.”

Trey tapped one of the photographs.

“And they knew we would be there.”

Will nodded.

“Which means someone is watching us.”

Silence settled over the room.

Elijah’s eyes moved toward the photographs of Remi, Rae, and Del.

“They also had pictures of the women.”

Will’s expression immediately hardened.

“What exactly did they know about them?”

“Not much,” Luke said. “According to Rae’s vision, they weren’t the objective.”

Trey looked at him.

“But they had photographs.”

“Yes.”

“Then someone is keeping tabs on all of us.”

Elijah’s jaw tightened.

“That concerns me.”

Will looked at his brothers.

“It concerns me too.”

Trey leaned back.

“And there’s something else.”

Will looked at him.

“Rae.”

Elijah smirked.

“Not the coffee this time.”

Trey glared at him.

Elijah held up his hands.

“I’m serious.”

Trey rolled his eyes.

“Go ahead.”

“She knew where the attackers were before we did.”

Will nodded.

“Her vision.”

“Exactly.”

Elijah looked at Luke.

“How much do we actually know about Rae?”

Luke shook his head.

“Not enough.”

Trey became thoughtful.

“She’s not normal.”

Elijah looked at him.

“Neither is Del.”

Trey nodded.

“And Remi.”

Will went completely still.

The room seemed to tighten around him.

Elijah noticed.

“You feel it too.”

Will didn’t answer.

Trey looked between them.

“What?”

Elijah’s gaze stayed on Will.

“The way he reacts around Remi.”

Trey’s eyebrows rose.

Will’s voice became warning.

“Enough.”

Elijah didn’t back down.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

Will stared at the map.

He knew.

His wolf had known since the moment Remi stepped back into Bayou Falls.

Mate.

Every instinct inside him screamed it.

But Remi didn’t know.

And Will wasn’t ready to tell her.

Not yet.

Not until he understood what was happening to her.

Not until he knew why the dormant wolf inside her had remained silent for so long.

Not until he understood why Rae was having visions.

Why Del’s presence felt different.

Why all three women seemed to be awakening at the same time.

Luke broke the silence.

“There’s another problem.”

Will looked up.

“What?”

Luke glanced at his tablet.

“The coffee shop owner.”

Trey groaned.

“Seriously?”

Luke nodded.

“Apparently Rae has already appealed her ban.”

Elijah smiled.

“How?”

Luke looked at the screen.

“She sent the owner a twelve-page document arguing that caffeine consumption is not grounds for discrimination.”

Trey covered his face.

“Oh, God.”

Elijah laughed.

“I like her.”

Trey looked at him.

“You like her because she’s insane.”

“No.”

Elijah leaned back.

“I like her because she terrifies you.”

Trey opened his mouth.

Then closed it.

Will looked at both of them.

For the first time that night, the tension in the room broke.

A small smile tugged at Luke’s mouth.

Even Noah laughed.

Trey shook his head.

“You people are impossible.”

Elijah’s grin widened.

“Maybe.”

Then Will’s phone buzzed.

His smile disappeared.

He looked down.

One message.

From an unknown number.

You should have taken the warning.

A second message appeared.

Next time, we won’t miss.

Will slowly stood.

The room went silent.

Trey’s expression hardened.

Elijah reached for his weapon.

Luke looked at the screen.

“Nightshade?”

Will stared at the message.

“I don’t know.”

Then a third message appeared.

This one contained a photograph.

Will’s blood ran cold.

It was a picture of Remi.

Taken that morning.

Outside the hospital.

Someone had been watching her.

And they were close.

Very close.

Will’s Alpha instincts exploded.

“Find her.”

Trey was already moving.

Elijah grabbed his jacket.

Luke reached for the communications system.

Because whatever had started in the Bayou—

was no longer coming for the Alphas alone.

It was coming for their mates.