CHAPTER 52

ASHINA’S POV

The scent of smoke and iron still lingered in the air, the sounds of battle slowly fading behind me. My breath was shallow, tight with disbelief, and my heart pounded against my ribcage like it was trying to escape the reality I had just been plunged into. I was surrounded—encircled by the enemy, betrayed, humiliated.

But none of that hurt as much as the truth that settled in my chest like ice.

Esther had sold us out.

She hadn’t just made a mistake. She hadn’t just been reckless or manipulated. She had chosen this—chosen to align herself with the Blackfang Tribe, our sworn enemies, for reasons I still couldn’t fully grasp.

If she had hated me so much, she could have challenged me in front of Alpha Boris. She could have waited. We had a war to win, a people to protect. But no. She chose to gut us from the inside out.

And now, because of her, I was alone and trapped. There seemed to be no remorse in her eyes. They just glowed with triumph and more mischief.

“You see the co