Chapter Six: Not Enough

Moana’s POV

The guard’s grip bruised my skin as he shoved me through the heavy oak doors, sending a sharp jolt up my arm. My heart thundered against my ribs so loudly that I was certain they could hear it echoing through the quiet room.

Think, Moana. Think.

Behind me, just on the other side of that threshold, my father’s letter lay face-down in a moldy corner. A fragile, blood-stained secret waiting to be crushed beneath a careless boot. And if I looked back or panicked, they would notice. All it would take was one glance in the wrong direction, and someone here would start asking questions I am not sure I can answer.

I have to keep my eyes forward and pull myself together.

“I caught her lurking behind the door, Alpha,” the guard reported, his fingers digging deeper into my collarbone as he forced me a step closer to the massive desk. “She was pressed right against the wall like a spy when I saw her.”

My stomach tightened in an instant.

Eldrick’s gaze snapped to mine.

And for a fraction of a second, the terrifying Alpha vanished. His broad shoulders looked unusually tense, and his skin carried a faint paleness beneath its usual tan. He looked… sick.

A raw, exhausted strain shadowed his sharp features, and the sight stirred an ache in my chest that I didn’t want to examine too closely. He is the man who shattered my heart in front of the entire pack. And he is the reason I wake up every morning feeling like something inside me is broken.

So why is he looking broken too?

And why does a small part of me suddenly want to step closer? I mean, why do I feel this foolish urge to ease whatever pain is eating him up?

For one brief moment, it felt as though the bond between us pulled tight again, stretching invisibly through the room. I could almost feel his exhaustion pressing against my own skin.

Then his jaw clenched, and the moment shattered.

His ruthless mask slammed back into place, and the Alpha standing behind that desk became a stranger once more.

“Release her,” he commanded, his voice sending a low, lethal vibration through the room.

The guard’s hand disappeared from my shoulder instantly.

I pulled my arms tightly against my body and rubbed the sore spot on my shoulder, keeping my eyes fixed on the floorboards. I couldn’t risk looking toward the doorway. I need to stop thinking about the letter and keep my attention focused here.

Elder Marek stepped into my field of vision, the heavy tap of his cane announcing his approach before he even said a word. The lamplight caught in his gray hair, making it shine like a crown of frost. He looked at me like he could sense something.

“She is a viper, Eldrick,” Marek hissed as he moved closer to my space. “Eavesdropping outside your door? Her father’s treachery runs deep, and the blood hasn’t changed at all. Exile her tonight before she infects the rest of the pack with her curse.”

The word hit me like a punch to the stomach.

Deep inside my mind, my wolf curled into a trembling ball. If they threw me out now, the broken bond would finish what the rejection started. And I fear that if I am too far away from the Alpha, the pain might even kill me.

Yet even if I pulled out the letter right now, what would happen?

Who would even believe me? I am still Moana Ashclaw. I am still the traitor’s daughter.

And a single old letter stained with blood isn’t enough to erase years of hatred. It isn’t enough to erase the stories they have told about my father. They will say I forged it. They will say I am desperate and trying to save myself. They will come up with every excuse they can think of before they ever admit the truth.

Just the letter isn’t enough. I need proof to back my claim if I am going to have any chance of saving the pack. Real proof.

I need something so undeniable that even Eldrick will not be able to look away from it. Something that will force the entire pack to see what they have done.

I need more.

But how do I find that kind of proof?

My fingers tightened around the old map tucked beneath my arm, the worn parchment crackling softly under my grip.

My thoughts raced.

Use the map.

Buy yourself some time.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” I said, forcing the words past my dry throat.

I stepped forward and pulled out the map, unfolding it with trembling fingers and holding it between myself and the two powerful men in front of me like a shield.

“I… I came to find you, Alpha. I found something in the old records. While I was cleaning, Alpha, I discovered that the North Border maps we use are wrong.”

Eldrick’s jaw tightened, a muscle ticking near his ear. He began to walk around his desk, his steps slow, deliberate, and heavy.

“A servant digging through restricted pack archives?” he asked. “You expect me to believe you were doing chores?”

“There are hidden paths through the mountains,” I pressed on, my voice gaining strength as I pointed to the faded ink lines. “Look here. Dotted trails drawn behind the mountain ridges. Someone who knows the terrain could move an entire army through those passes, and your border patrols would never know they crossed.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Marek.

His fingers tightened around the silver handle of his cane until his knuckles turned white.

It lasted only a second, but I saw it. The snake with the crown of gray hair. My father’s warning echoed through my mind. Marek knew about the paths. He had to.

“Ridiculous,” Marek snapped, his voice sharp with irritation. “The girl is spilling nonsense to make herself look useful and escape the cellar. Do not indulge a traitor’s daughter, Alpha.”

Eldrick didn’t even glance at him.

Instead, he stopped directly in front of me, his gaze fixed on the map.

The distance between us disappeared, and almost instantly, the ache that had been clawing at my chest since morning began to ease. The sharp pain faded little by little, replaced by a strange warmth that spread through me whenever he was near.

I hated that it was happening. I hated that my body noticed him at all.

The scent of pine and rain clung to him, familiar and impossible to ignore. Without meaning to, I found myself leaning slightly toward his warmth, drawn to it the same way a freezing person reaches for a fire.

My wolf stirred inside me, no longer curled up in misery.

And for one weak, foolish moment, I wanted to stay exactly where I was.

“Leave us,” Eldrick said, his voice dropping to a gravelly whisper.

Marek’s chest puffed up in protest.

“Eldrick, she is a security threat—”

“Out. Both of you.”

The sudden weight of his Alpha aura rolled through the room like a heavy wave, making the air thick and hard to breathe. The guard bowed immediately and retreated. Marek glared at me, a silent promise of violence burning in his eyes before he swept out of the room.

The moment the heavy oak doors clicked shut, the silence stretched between us.

Eldrick loomed over me, his chest rising and falling in rapid, uneven breaths. With an impatient movement, he snatched the map from my hands.

Our fingers brushed.

A sharp spark shot up my arm and straight into my chest.

We both flinched.

A low groan escaped Eldrick’s throat as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“You disobey me at every turn,” he rasped, his voice rough and laced with anger that seemed directed more at himself than at me. “Why can’t you just stay where you are put?”

“Because the pack is in danger,” I whispered, looking up at him. “And so are you.”

He stepped closer.

Then closer again.

Before I realized it, the edge of his desk was pressing against the small of my back. He had boxed me in without ever touching me.

I should have felt trapped.

Instead, the sickness that had been eating away at me all day began to fade. The ache in my chest eased, and for the first time since morning, I could breathe without feeling like my ribs were being crushed from the inside.

His gaze dropped to my lips.

Just for a second.

Then he looked away so quickly it was almost violent, his expression twisting with something that looked painfully close to agony.

“You think these old scribbles prove anything?” he asked, his voice unsteady despite his attempt to sound firm. “Your father was caught with a blade, Moana. He—”

“Check the borders yourself,” I interrupted, finding a little courage somewhere beneath my fear. “Or send Kaelen to look at the ridges. Please, Eldrick. Just look.”

Hearing his name on my lips made him go completely still.

His jaw tightened.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists at his sides as though he was fighting something I couldn’t see.

“Tomorrow,” he finally said, his voice tightly controlled. “Kaelen will take a patrol to the northern boundaries. Until then, you stay in the library during the day. You work, and you do not wander the hallways at night. If I find you outside your designated areas again…”

He left the threat unfinished.

He didn’t need to.

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Get out.”

I turned and fled the study, my pulse racing.

The dim hallway was empty, with torches flickering low against the stone pillars. I dropped to my knees near the corner, pretending to fumble with the broken strap of my worn boot. My fingers swept frantically across the cold floorboards until they closed around the thin, crisp parchment.

Relief flooded me, but it was short-lived.

I slid the letter deep into the inner pocket of my dress, burying it beneath the heavy layers of fabric.

Proof, I thought to myself.

But not enough.

At least not yet.

A single letter from a dead man accused of treason would be torn apart or ignored immediately. I needed more—witnesses, records, and connections that tied Marek to the real betrayal.

I would have to search quietly and carefully through the shadows of the library and the forgotten corners of the pack house. One misstep, and the Elders would bury me before I ever got the chance to speak.

As I stood on trembling legs and hurried back toward the cellar, the weight of my father’s secret felt heavier than ever. Eldrick was suffering. Marek was watching me. And somewhere in the darkness, the real enemy was already moving.

A distant howl echoed from the borderlands—sharp, unnatural, and far too close.

The rogues were testing us again.

Time was running out.

I clutched the hidden letter tighter and disappeared into the shadows, knowing that the next time I stepped into the light, I would need irrefutable evidence…

Or we would all fall.