When I imagined the West's silver mines, I pictured images of underground caves like the one where Cole showed me the geodes, with single-track rail cars and damp, enclosed conditions where workers hammered away with pick axes and hardhats with lights attached to them.

In other words, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs-style

The reality of the Western mines blew away any of my preconceived notions. The mines were giant, open areas of exposed, stripped away concentric circles, carved out by large machines. They roared, processing through the receded mountainside with the ease of a scoop pushed through softened ice cream.

Our first and mandatory stop was within a small yellow trailer on the edge of the pit-like dig site. Inside, an older man sat behind a dusty makeshift office area. His dark brown eyes directed to us and he scratched at the hint of salt dusting his black hair underneath his orange construction hard hat.

"Vincent," he coughed out in a rough, groggy voice. His eyes ran over my appearance, a twinkle of amusement flashing at my knee-high leather boots.

After he pushed his chair and stood up, I walked closer and shook his hand. "Thanks for having us." I flashed Vincent what I hoped was an appreciative smile, then introduced us. "I'm Zara, this is Raina and Idris."

Still bruised-up, Raina and Idris joined me and the never-cheerful Meredith, while Rose, Elena, and Cole were at the hospital. Rose shadowed Dr. Edwards for as long as he'd have her. Cole informed me that, after Elena was discharged, he and Tobias would meet up with us this afternoon at the artillery range.

In good news, Dr. Edwards was pleased with Elena's response to the anti-nausea medications and permitted her recovery to be moved into the packhouse.

"Other than the QR review suits, we don't get many visitors." Vincent offered a broken grin. "I've told the guys to stay on good behavior, but no promises because the QR staff don't have pretty faces."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," I assured him as my cheeks warmed at his indirect compliment. At this point, I expected stares and whispers since I'd gotten them from the hospital.

His only response was a smirk. After Vincent fitted us with hard hats, he handed us bright orange safety vests. Plumes of dried dirt fell from mine as I put it on, swirling brown puffs in the air, and I coughed. Giggles erupted from my mouth when I saw how out of place we all looked. Stepping outside, like walking orange parking cones, Vincent escorted us to the edge of the mine.

The Western territory had a fleet of mining equipment, which included typical construction vehicles like gigantic front loader trucks, diggers, and scoopers. Vincent explained each one's extraction role and was most proud of what he called a dragline. The room-sized machine lifted several hundred tons of rock in a single scoop with a bucket the size of a two-car garage.

For all the advanced equipment, the working conditions looked harsh, grimy, and unforgiving. Many of the worker's faces were creased from long working hours, short breaks, and relentless work from sun up until sun down.

As expected, all eyes turned to me curiously, but other than a few catcalls and whistles that warmed my cheeks, the miners weren't that bad.

Unlike Meredith looking bored and expressionless during the entire tour, I was fascinated by the process. Raina and Idris exerted passive attention to Vincent's tour information but stayed silent.

The miners carved out an entire mountain layer by layer until a manmade amphitheater-like structure remained, which future plans to do the same for three nearby sites. The sheer volume of earth they displaced was impressive.

"We process twelve thousand cubic tons of dirt and rock every day, to extract roughly thirty kilograms of silver," Vincent yelled over the roar of machines below us.

"That's silver?" I pointed to the gray, ordinary-looking rock.

"It's sulfide ore. We send it -" He pointed to the nearby fleet of dump trucks lined up along one side road. "- to a nearby beneficiation processing facility, where they strip out the silver, lead, and zinc concentrates. Last year's mine produced over two hundred thousand tons of lead and fifty thousand tons of zinc."

"Wow," I breathed.

It all looks like... rocks to me.

He gestured for us to follow, leading us to the end of the mining site. The ground vibrated when a large dump truck hauled past us on tires taller than me. The driver shot us a quick wink and blasted his horn, which Vincent raised his arm at.

His arms crossed over his chest and his dark eyes narrowed at me. "Ordinarily, the tour would continue at the beneficiation processing facility, but Alpha Fenris didn't send me your clearance." His eyes darted to Meredith, who remained expressionless but her eyes glazed over.

Vincent's eyes shifted too, but I wouldn't have expected the next words out of his mouth with my best guess.

"So... looks like your tour's over."

***

"That was a load of crap," I whisper-grumbled to Raina on the ride back to the packhouse.

We rode away from the silver mine site in the same silver Mercedes GLS that we'd ridden out in. Alpha Fenris had his own fleet of more rugged vehicles, but insisted that we ride in one of his fancier options.

In a setup oddly familiar to when I lived in my father's house, Meredith and Tobias had their own personal driver Wilms. The older man's - I mean werewolf's - face wore more creases than anyone I'd seen here so far. His hair was streaked pure white and despite his formal, navy blue uniform, his persona radiated nothing but kindness. He looked at Meredith during our drives like a second father and I assumed he worked out of preference rather than mandatory need.

"I don't get it," Raina replied in a similar tone, then darted her eyes to Meredith. "Talk later."

"So, Meredith..." My own eyes met hers. "Can we visit the rest of the silver process?"

"Figured you wanted to skip the middle part of the process." Her eyes shifted away, looking out her window. "And the weapons research lab is off-limits."

"Even on my father's behalf?" I forced an edge of irritation into my voice.

She didn't say anything but her reflection looked at me through dark, narrowed eyes. Idris sighed not very quietly while Raina tossed me shrugged shoulders. We rode back to the packhouse in a thick, uncomfortable silence.

Once the circular drive and entrance of the pack house pulled into view outside, we all unclipped our seatbelts. As I reached to remove mine, Meredith's hand grabbed my wrist.

"You stay," she half-whispered, half-growled.

"Zara?" Raina's eyes on Meredith looked like she wanted to toss her into a ditch.

Given her sour attitude, I wouldn't mind.

The intensity of Meredith's glare froze me in my seat, including the words in the back of my throat. I swallowed and tipped my head in a nod at Raina, who slammed her door shut and entered the packhouse with Idris.

Meredith's lips pressed into a line and her eyes glazed over slightly, but stayed fixated on mine. She must have told the driver to exit, because after another slam of the door, we were alone.

"Look," I sighed and peeled her fingers off my wrist with my other hand. "I know you don't like me, but -"

"What's your angle here?" She sneered, her eyes narrowed into slits and fists squeezed shut. Suspicion soaked each word as she accused, "Money? The silver? Weapons? Proprietary research lab advancements?"

My reaction was quite the opposite expression. Pulling my eyes wide, I stared at her, unblinking with my mouth gaping.

She's serious.

My lips parted and a soft laugh escaped. Once I started laughing, it became uncontrollable and louder. I squeezed my eyes shut as my belly ached.

"Ahhh - I'm sorry." I gasped once my eyes cracked open and saw Meredith scowling at my reaction. "Definitely not why I'm here, but don't you think my father already has access to all that?"

She didn't answer, so I pushed further, "Who really controls and pays for everything here? Whose family name is on the pharmaceutical labels?"

She blinked a few times, then released the tension of her glare. She sat back in her seat and mumbled, "So, you're not here on behalf of your father?"

"My father acts enough on his own interests." The words tumbled out a lot more bitter than I would've liked to admit and now my eyes narrowed at her. "He doesn't need me for that."

Her expression softened slightly, and when she spoke again, her voice was more neutral. "Why are you here then, Zara?"

"Completely selfish reasons," I admitted honestly, dropping my eyes to my hands folded in my lap.

"Your mate selection tour," she groaned. "You have to know by now Tobias is not your mate."

"Of course he's not." I shook my head, then rolled my lower lip under and nibbled on it a few times.

Sometimes trust takes a leap of faith.

"I'm not here for your brother, Meredith." I looked her straight in her eyes. "I'm here for mine."

A soft gasp left her lips as she stared at me. She didn't look as surprised as I would've assumed for someone who knew nothing about him.

She knows something. And I need to figure out what.

Fortunately, I didn't need much time to figure that manipulation out, because her lips curled up into a small smile. After days of seeing her scowl, her smile looked foreign on her chinadoll expression.

"Finally." Her smile widened. "Now we're getting somewhere."

My eyes widened, jaw dropped, and I squeaked out the only thought in my brain, "Huh?"

I probably couldn't have worn a stupider expression on my face if I tried.

'Probably.'

Oh, now you're joining in. Thanks, Lumi. I'm trying here, really.

'Try harder.'

"Sorry..." I frowned at Meredith, whose eyes glazed over.

Before she answered, the driver's side door opened and Wills sat behind the wheel.

My heart lurched when the door locks clicked. "Where are we going?"

Meredith ignored me and barked out to Wills, "To the pharmaceutical research lab."

My heart hammered in my chest walls like one of the silver mine's digging machines the drive over to the research lab, attached to the hospital through a long, elevated glass corridor. I frowned when we pulled up in front of the hospital entrance, where Cole waited outside with, of all people, Raina and Tobias.

How did Raina get here so quickly?

My forehead tensed as I frowned at Meredith. "I thought we were going to the research lab."

"I am," she chirped and exited the car. Before she left, her head stooped lower and she whispered, "You're going tomorrow."

Figures.

"Oh." The muscles in my face relaxed as my expression fell. My shoulders sagged against my seat as I watched Tobias, Cole, and Raina slip inside.

"Hi, Miss Zara," Tobias greeted me in an even-toned voice, sitting next to me.

I nodded at Cole and Raina, then forced my lips into a smile. "Hi, Tobias."

"I'm supposed to escort you to the artillery range." He nodded at Wills.

The ride to the artillery range was quiet and uncomfortable. Cole's face and muscles were both more relaxed, and he reported Elena rested in their guest room. Rose was still in the hospital, attached to Dr. Edwards' hip. Idris packed up and coordinated with the Western Territory's kitchen for their Northern border trip tomorrow.

Casual conversation about the Northern mine retrieval trip swirled around me, but most of it went in one of my ears and out the other. Stone-silent, I chewed on my own thoughts about Meredith, what the hell she was doing in the research lab, and whether or not I made another mistake trusting her with the information that I knew about Solomon.

This could end badly. She could easily report back to Alpha Fenris, who tells my father.

Right then, I remembered the trail Cole made me sniff out to get to the hospital alone.

Maybe a solo trip tonight is in order.

I tugged at Raina's sleeve, and since I couldn't whisper my request to her, I opted to text her on my phone instead.

me: Can you get a message to Rose?

Her phone message went off, which she pulled out of her coat pocket.

Raina: Idris can. Why?

me: Can he ask her for a hospital/research lab access badge?

Raina: He can try. I'll ask.

me: Thanks.

While Raina's eyes glossed over with the request, I tucked my phone away and watched the now-familiar scenery pass by. With as many trips to the hospital for Elena, I could find its location in my sleep, but the artillery range sat isolated within the dense forest edge of the mountains around the packhouse.

Ten minutes later, we pulled onto a winding, bumpy dirt road. I tossed Cole a smile since the overgrown trees and grasses that slapped against the sides of the SUV reminded me of our drive out here. Humming, Wilms navigated through all the turns with an ease like he made this drive several times. The wheels traded bumps and potholes, jiggling us in our seats.

After one bump snapped my neck back, my stomach wasn't sure how much more it could take. I cupped a hand over my mouth when Wilms pulled up a long, narrow driveway. The trees opened up to a nondescript brick building.

"Thank you, Wilms," I smiled at his dark eyes reflected in the rearview mirror.

My legs twitched with stiffness and my spine appreciated when I stretched my arms overhead with my feet on solid ground. Cole, Raina, and I followed behind Tobias to a front glass door with no markings on it except an etching of the Western territory's sigil. A full-body wolf's silhouette ran under three large triangles, which I now knew were representations of the surrounding mountains.

"Welcome," a male voice called.

A tall, thin man with dark hair and round glasses stood behind a glass counter within the gun range. By the looks of the interior's glass cabinet and wall displays showcasing guns of all shapes and sizes, this was also a store.

"I have something that will interest you." His eyes focused on me, but his hand jerked behind the counter and out of my line of vision. "I'm Ethan."

My eyes widen on my approach and what sounds like extreme forwardness in his words. "Zara, this is Cole and Raina. You obviously know Tobias."

"Obviously." A twinkle in his eyes distracted me from the gliding movements his hand made under the counter. Curiosity won over and my eyes dropped, and my shoulders relaxed when I saw that his hands stroked a white cloth over a small, silver-colored gun.

Oh, thank goodness. I thought he was...

My cheeks flushed warm and I had no interest in finishing that thought. Instead, I coughed against the dryness in my throat and ignored Cole smirking. Ethan laid the cloth flat on the counter, then laid the gun down on its side.

I pointed out the obvious, "It's silver."

"Sweetie, everything in the West is made from silver." His mouth curled up at his own words. My smile was more forced, like it threatened to crack my face. Before I asked further, he explained, "It's silver-coated polycarbonate, then dipped into a coat of epoxy."

"It's beautiful." As my index finger traced along the barrel, Ethan's spine straightened and he stood tall.

"Newest model, called the Silencer. First model with the new suppressor tech." His eyes shifted from mine to Raina's, then back to mine. "Designed more for females, obviously based on the size but light-weight."

The question as to why the Western territory's weapons research lab first developed a gun designed for females hung unanswered in the back of my mind. I was too distracted by the silver beauty I turned over in my hands to ask why.

"Looks like a squirt gun." Cole snickered over my shoulder. "Ethan, set me up with a standard semi-automatic handgun. Your choice."

"You got it." Ethan turned, stepped away, and called over his shoulder, "Self-guided tour isn't much but the range is the third door on the right. I'll meet you there with some practice ammo."

My eyes met Raina's. "Are you going to shoot?"

"Of course." Her dark eyes studied my handling of the Silencer. "But I'll sit out the first round. Something tells me I want to see you in action, Flower."

"Suit yourself."

I, on the other hand, embraced the flutters of excitement that rushed through me. While I imagined needing gun handling and shooting experience for my grandiose but off-the-mark mafia delusions, shooting practice was a very calming and empowering experience. I hadn't held a gun, even for practice, in over two months.

My fingers twitched after I set down the Silencer on Ethan's counter. They twitched again when we entered the gun range.

After a few minutes of preparation, Ethan joined us inside the range. The walls and ceiling of the stale, windowless room were made entirely of brick. Rows of overhead lighting cast horizontal beams of yellowy light and shadows that alternated like a pattern.

The large, open-air space had five targets positioned thirty to forty yards away from a high wood counter. Ethan spaced out a Silencer for me on a spot fifteen feet away from Cole's handgun, along with our safety equipment.

My feet dragged me to the Silencer, which gleamed despite the room's dull lighting. A faint smell of lead twitched my nose. I slipped a pair of black-eared noise canceling headphones around my neck and clear protective eyewear up the bridge of my nose like sunglasses. My long, straight hair was braided, so it wasn't a distraction.

"Okay, Princess." Cole smirked at me as he slipped his headphones over his ears. "Let's see what you've got."

"Funny." I glowered at his insinuation, then slipped out the Silencer's magazine, pulled back the slide chamber, and arched one of my blonde eyebrows at him.

"What?" He lifted one ear protector off.

"Three shots?" I looked at the nearly empty magazine clip, shook my head, then looked back at Cole.

"Consider it three strikes," was the deadpanned response.

"Good thing I only need one." I slipped on my headphones, pushed the mag back in place, and unhitched the safety.

Shuffling my heels, I spread my legs outside hip width, rolled my shoulders, then clasped my middle and ring finger around the handle. After my arms raised the gun up into position, I rested my pinky finger on the handle but kept my index finger off the trigger.

My chest heaved a deep breath in, my shoulders pulled down, and my other hand's palm cupped around the base's handle. I squinted down at the target and smiled, picturing the profiled head was a certain doubtful someone's face.

With steady hands, my index finger moved to the trigger. Any sights and activity stirring around me vanished as I narrowed my eyes. Movements around me blurred, even the dust particles stilled in the air. My pulse slowed in my veins and I exhaled smooth, even breaths. Taking particular aim at the target hung in line with my stance, my fingers pulsed then squeezed the trigger tighter once.

Pow!

Wow, that is quiet.

The noise emitted from the Silencer sounded anything like a gunshot explosion. If anything, it sounded like a broken kid's birthday party favor, where the air blew out instead of the kazoo-like noise.

My forearms jerked on the kickback but I tightened my grip, and made slight aim adjustments to hit different parts of the target. In my next breath, my fingers squeezed the trigger, twice.

Pow! Pow!

With a satisfied smirk, I unclipped the now empty magazine and set the gun down. My hands cupping around my headphones, I lifted them off my ears and hung them around the back of my neck. My arms crossed over my chest while Cole pressed the button to retrieve my target sheet.

"I'm envious, Flower," Raina spoke up from behind us. I turned to her leaning against the back wall, a pair of headphones hanging around her neck. "You look pretty natural doing that."

"This is amazing." I picked up the small, hand-sized gun and turned it over in my hands. Ethan was right; it was silent, lightweight, and not much kickback.

This thing would fit in my purse, or light enough to sit in my bra strap.

"Hmm..." Cole mused as I outlined the trigger with the tip of my finger, reset the safety, removed the now empty mag, and waited for the target paper to return. The carrying belt's metal grinding filled the silence between us.

He reached up, grabbed the paper, and frowned. I peered over his shoulder and grinned. I hit the target right where I intended - one to the shoulder, one to the ribs away from the liver, and one to the upper thigh.

"You need a lot more practice, Zara." Cole scowled. "You're a terrible shot."

"What are you talking about!?" I exclaimed and pointed at my marks. "Those are three perfect, non-lethal shots. Suspect would have been immobilized but still survives."

"Try some lethal ones." He snapped in another mag, this one with a clip of twelve shots, then slammed the gun sideways down on the table with the barrel pointed away.

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. "Head or heart?"

"Surprise me."

Grunting, I slipped on my headphones, reset myself, and took a slow, cool breath in. Cole stepped back, then nodded without setting another target sheet.

Guess I'm aiming for the other four.

Without flinching, I fired off shot after shot at the remaining four targets spread across the room. Using expectation on my side, the second round fired off smoother, with less kickback into my palms. Grounding my heels, my leg muscles locked into place but my breath relaxed my pace.

Once the clip was empty, I hit the safety and pulled back. Exhaling slowly through pursed lips, I fought the urge to bring the muzzle up to my lips and blow across it. I didn't even wait while Cole retrieved the four papers. I knew from my adjusting to the gun's slight pull to the right that every shot was perfect.

"Stop smirking," Cole grunted as the papers returned.

A few seconds later, I grinned. As expected, every shot was dead center, between the eyebrows.

I felt no urge to brag or gloat, instead lifting my shoulders. This wasn't talent, only two years' worth of forced shooting practice. Still, I felt quite satisfied when the surprise in Cole's eyes changed to an unfamiliar emotion. His eyes dragged over to mine, full of a warm emotion he hadn't expressed before, at least not with me.

He looked... impressed.

And the sight swelled my heart with warmth.

"So, I'm coming with you tomorrow, right?" I asked as Raina, Cole, Tobias, and I left the shooting range.

Ethan caught me as I tried to smuggle the Silencer out in my purse. Twice.

Pun intended, it was worth a shot.

While Raina joined in for Cole's first round, Tobias leaned against a wall near a corner the entire time we shot six practice rounds. Standing by himself, he was as interactive as a painting hung on the wall. His dark eyes tracked every one of my movements but I couldn't read the intent held in them.

He's either surprisingly amused by me or doesn't trust me at all.

Lumi wasn't a lot of help on the situation either.

'Not mate.'

Again, pun intended but think we're dodging a bullet on this one.

"I can offer some protection, Cole," I boasted with an uplifted chin. "You have to concede that much."

"You're a good shot, Princess." He scoffed and lowered his eyes to the ground. "More than good. But shooting a fixed, stationary target is one thing, a fast-moving wolf is different."

"Are you sure I can't come?" I asked him for the tenth time once we all had climbed back into and sat in the SUV. "Not even for security?"

"No Zara," was his tenth reply.

"You saw me at the range." My lower lip trembled and I suppressed the urge to pout. "I think I can handle -"

"Guns and disarming then moving underground IED's couldn't be more different," he reminded me. "Idris, Raina, and I will be more than busy enough without keeping an eye on you."

My eyes shifted sideways and narrowed at Raina. "If you say you're worried about me breaking a nail..."

She rolled her dark eyes, then scoffed. "More like blow your entire hand off, Flower."

"Besides," Cole reminded me in a lower voice. "You, Elena, and Rose need to visit the pharmaceutical lab."

"Fine," I muttered and rested my head back against the seat.

His eyes narrowed. 'Elena's got an appointment with one of the doctors under the false idea that she's not feeling better. We've arranged for you to meet with Simon while Rose will distract Meredith, your escort.'

Bitterness soaked into my mindlink, and I didn't even bother to ask who Simon was, 'Some escort she is. She said we'd go today, but then went by herself.'

'She was getting your access badge.' I blinked at Cole, so he continued, 'Your restricted access badge.'

The suggestive tone of his voice in my head, plus the gleam in his eyes, pulled a small smile onto my lips. I sat up with a jolt.

'Wait... You want me to gather secret intel for you about the vaccines, right? Like secretive spy stuff with hacking into hidden hard drives? Oh, of -'

Cole slapped one hand over his eyes. 'Or, you can ask a question.'

'Fine.' My tongue slipped out before I realized how childish the gesture was. He responded with a raised eyebrow, then silently shook his head.

"Guess I'm going to the pharmaceutical research lab tomorrow." My gaze shifted to Tobias' every-present stoic expression, who nodded.