The VIP Safety Pass

Chapter 1 The Stolen Convoy

The five armored convoy passes sat in my palm. Six months of permits and route planning had come down to five metal tags.

I had arranged and paid for the trip to the Arctic Summit. Caleb's family liked to travel as though the Blackwood name still meant money.

The armored route included heated cabins, patrol escorts, and emergency medical access. Every line on the itinerary had gone through my office.

Ten minutes before departure, Caleb entered the lounge with Lily on his arm. His ex-girlfriend had returned a week ago, pale and tearful, with a long story about hard times.

She held his sleeve with both hands. Caleb barely looked at the passes before deciding which traveler could do without one.

“Serena, Lily needs one of the passes.”

He used the same tone he used with pack servants. No greeting. No request.

I closed my fingers around the tags. “There are five travelers and five passes.”

Lily coughed into a silk handkerchief and leaned against his chest. “Caleb, don't trouble your mate. My anemia is manageable. I can travel alone.”

“Don't be ridiculous. You're coming with us.” Caleb faced me. “Give her your pass. You can take the Shadow Canyon route.”

He pressed his Alpha presence against the room. The display might have impressed a stranger. I knew exactly which of my potions gave it weight.

Three pack members had died in Shadow Canyon last month. Rogues watched the narrow trail, and territorial predators hunted after dark.

Travelers crossed it without patrol cover. Once the polar light faded, the nearest medical station was hours away.

“The passes are for pack members,” I said. “You called this a family trip.”

“Lily is family!” His shout carried through the hall. “She needs protection. Make the sacrifice, Serena. That's what a proper mate does.”

Chloe hurried over before I answered. Caleb's younger sister looked straight past me.

“You must be thirsty, Lily. Here.”

She took the insulated flask from my pharmacology bench. I had filled it with a high-potency nutritional blend for the canyon journey.

The formula was measured for my metabolism and the cold. Chloe never checked the label.

Lily accepted it and drank. “Thank you, Chloe. You're so sweet.”

Martha arrived with a thick fur wrap and tucked it around Lily's shoulders.

The wrap had been packed for me. Martha smoothed its collar beneath Lily's chin before turning to the person expected to prepare her son's medicine.

“Keep warm, dear.” She finally glanced at me. “Serena, you'll arrive later by the long route. Have Caleb's stabilization dose at our hotel suite by ten. Don't be late.”

They expected me to survive the canyon, reach the hotel, and go straight back to work for them.

No one asked whether the nutritional blend had a replacement or how I would carry Caleb's dose through a route that killed three wolves last month.

“Of course,” I said.

Caleb relaxed. He pulled a pass from my hand and buckled it around Lily's neck.

The metal tag rested above her new sapphire clasp. He adjusted it until it sat straight.

“See? Settled.”

He led Lily, Chloe, and Martha to the armored convoy. Its blast doors locked behind them, and the vehicle rolled through the estate gates.

Through the lounge windows, I watched its reinforced wheels take the northern road. They had heat, guards, and the supplies I packed.

I took out my satellite phone.

“Ready the *Harbinger* for takeoff in five minutes. Destination: the Arctic Palace Hotel.”

My second call went to the Guild's chief financial officer.

“This is Serena. Authorization code Blackwood-Omega-Zero. Freeze every credit line and account linked to the Blackwood family. Start with the Centurion black card.”

The officer confirmed the order. I gave him one more.

“Stop all Moonsilver Potion shipments to the Blackwood pack. Effective now. No exceptions.”

He went quiet. Moonsilver was the only treatment keeping Caleb's defective Alpha genetics stable.

Without it, his body would stop holding the strength he claimed as his birthright. The officer knew that, which was why he asked me to repeat the order.

“No exceptions,” I said again.

The *Harbinger* was descending over the landing pad when I ended the call.

Once I was aboard, the bank sent an alert: fifty thousand dollars charged at the capital's most exclusive jeweler.

Caleb had bought Lily a farewell gift with my money.

I accepted a glass of champagne and opened the account controls. The charge was still marked pending when the jet lifted off.

Below the window, the Blackwood estate disappeared beneath cloud. On my screen, the Centurion account changed from frozen to review pending.