ログインThe main hall felt different when you were looking for lies.Wolves ate their breakfast in clusters, laughing at someone's joke, arguing over patrol schedules. Normal. Ordinary.But I couldn't stop watching Theron.He sat alone at the corner table, hunched over a bowl of porridge like he wanted to disappear into it. His shoulders curved inward, making him look smaller than I remembered. Every few bites, his gaze drifted toward the door.Who are you watching for? I wondered.Grey leaned against the pillar beside me, arms crossed. "He's always been quiet," he murmured. "That's not evidence.""I know."But Mira had been quiet too. Polite. Helpful. Right up until she tried to kill us."Rina followed him yesterday," Kael said, joining us. "He visited the old cemetery. Spoke to no one. Just stood there.""That could be grief," I said. "He's lost friends over the years.""Or it could be meetings." Kael's voice was flat. "Hard to tell when no one else is there."We watched Theron scrape the l
I stared at the parchment until the symbols began to blur together.The same circled names. The same jagged markings carved into trees north of the river. And at the bottom of the page, a single letter that now felt heavier than all the rest.W.The candle on Kael's desk had burned low hours ago. Wax spilled across the wood in pale rivers. Dawn light crept through the windows, gray and cold, but I barely noticed.All I could think about was Nyra's voice echoing through the cells.A third child.The Shadow had hidden another heir somewhere beyond the reach of the pack. A son. Or maybe a daughter. Someone raised in secrecy while the rest of us believed the bloodline ended with Drakon and Mira.A soft knock sounded before the door opened.Kael stepped inside carrying two steaming cups of tea. His hair was still damp from the rain outside, shadows heavy beneath his eyes."You haven't slept," he said quietly.I huffed and leaned back in the chair. "Neither have you."He handed me a cup and
The cells beneath the pack house were colder in the morning.Moisture clung to the stone walls. The narrow corridor smelled of rust and damp earth. Torches flickered weakly in their brackets, throwing long shadows across the floor as I descended the stairs.Nyra sat exactly where I'd left her the night before.Back against the wall. Wrists bound. Expression unreadable.For a moment, I just watched her through the bars.Most prisoners changed after a night in the cells. Fear crept in. Exhaustion wore down anger.Not Nyra. She looked almost untouched."You're wasting your time," she said without lifting her head. "I won't betray him."I crossed my arms. "The Shadow is dead."That finally made her glance up."You're betraying no one," I continued. "Just yourself."Something flickered in her eyes – small, gone quickly. But I saw it. Pain. Or doubt. Maybe both."You don't understand," she murmured.I crouched near the bars. "Then make me understand."Above us, I heard the pack house waking
I woke before dawn with my heart already racing.For a few seconds, I stared into the darkness of my room. Then memory returned all at once. The meeting near the river. The trap. Darin.My fingers tightened around the carved wolf still resting in my hand. I must have fallen asleep holding it again.Carefully, I sat up and placed it on the windowsill where pale moonlight brushed against the worn wooden edges.A strange thought flickered through me. If this failed, would this room still feel like home tomorrow?I shoved the thought away before it could root.There wasn't room for fear today. Only focus.I dressed in dark clothes and tied my hair back tightly before slipping from the room.The pack house was quiet at this hour. Most wolves still slept, unaware of the trap beyond the territory.Outside, cold air bit sharply against my skin.Kael, Grey, and Rina waited near the tree line with several trusted warriors already positioned behind them. No one spoke loudly. Even armor had been
Morning light barely touched the windows when we gathered in Kael's study.The suspect list lay open on the table. Darin and Micah circled at the top. Grey leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Rina stood near the door, already armed."We split up," Kael said. "Grey, you watch Darin. Rina, Micah. Selene and I coordinate."Grey nodded. "And if they notice us?""Then we change tactics," Selene said. "But we need to see who they contact.""We'll be shadows," Grey replied.Kael turned to me. "You'll stay close to Elara. She might be a target – or she might know more than she's saying."Unease prickled through me, but I agreed.---Darin moved through his morning like any other wolf.Breakfast. Training. A few quiet words with the other refugees.Grey followed at a distance, patient as stone. Hours passed. Nothing seemed out of place.Then Darin slipped away from the training yard.Grey's signal came sharp and low. Selene and Kael converged from different angles, silent as the shadows we
Gray light spilled weakly across my room when I opened my eyes.For a moment, I didn't move.The carved wolf rested in my hands again, my fingers curled tightly around it like I'd been afraid to let go during the night. My neck ached from restless sleep. Shadows still clung beneath my eyes.I barely slept at all.Every time I drifted off, I saw the council chamber again. The hesitation in the elders' faces. The suspicion. The way Bran had looked at me like I was something dangerous pretending to be tame.I swallowed hard and pushed the blankets aside.Fog hung low across the forest outside my window, turning trees into dark smudges against the pale morning sky.The whole world felt colder lately.---The tension inside the pack house hit even harder than yesterday.At breakfast, wolves sat only beside those they trusted completely. Conversations stayed low and cautious. Several warriors stopped talking the second someone unfamiliar walked too close.No laughter. No warmth. Just suspic







