Chapter Five: The Alpha's Fall

The pack house buzzed with controlled chaos. Warriors doubled perimeter patrols while others swept the compound for signs of the intruder. Kael had left me with Luna, whose suspicious glare suggested she knew I was lying about something, even if she could not pinpoint what.

"Describe him again," Luna demanded, arms crossed. "The rogue who attacked you."

"Tall, blonde, scarred." All true, technically. "He did not speak. Just came through the window and left when he heard Kael approaching."

"Convenient." Luna's copper eyes narrowed. "Most rogues would fight, not flee. Unless they got what they came for."

My stomach twisted. "I do not know what he wanted."

"Do you not?" She stepped closer, her wolf pushing against mine in challenge. "Because it seems like trouble follows you everywhere, Ren. Or whatever your real name is."

"Luna, back off." Mira appeared in the doorway, her young face tight with worry. "Kael said to keep her safe, not interrogate her."

"Kael is too blinded by the mate bond to see clearly." But Luna retreated, heading for the door. "I am going to check the eastern perimeter again. Something about those tracks does not add up."

She left, and I sagged against the wall. Every lie compounded, building a tower that would eventually collapse and bury me.

"Are you alright?" Mira asked softly. "You look pale."

"Just shaken." Another lie. "Has anyone seen Marcus today?"

Mira's expression brightened. "Actually, yes. He is in meetings all afternoon. Some visiting pack leaders arrived this morning. Why?"

Because my brother poisoned him, and I need to know if the poison is working yet.

"No reason," I said. "Just curious about pack schedules."

An alarm bell shattered the afternoon quiet. Three sharp rings that made every wolf in the compound freeze.

"What is that?" I asked, but Mira had already gone pale.

"Emergency summons. Something is wrong." She grabbed my hand. "Come on. Everyone has to report to the central hall."

We ran through the compound with dozens of other wolves converging on the main building. The crowd pressed through the doors into a great hall lined with ancient weapons and faded banners. At the front, Kael stood beside his father's throne, his face carved from stone.

Marcus was not there.

"Everyone, quiet," Kael commanded, and the room fell silent. "My father collapsed twenty minutes ago during his meeting with the northern delegates. He is with the healers now."

Gasps rippled through the crowd. I felt the blood drain from my face.

"What happened?" someone shouted.

"We do not know yet." Kael's voice remained steady, but I saw his hands clenched white at his sides. "Vera is examining him. Until we have more information, I am assuming temporary command. All non-essential personnel return to your duties. Warriors, maintain heightened security."

The crowd began to disperse, but I could not move. This was my fault. Dante had done this, and I had said nothing. Marcus might die because I chose silence over truth.

"Ren." Kael's voice cut through my spiral. He stood directly in front of me, close enough that I could see the fear beneath his controlled exterior. "I need you to come with me."

"Why?" My voice came out hoarse.

"Because Vera wants to speak with both of us. Now."

Dread settled in my stomach like lead. We walked through silent corridors to the healer's wing, where the smell of herbs hung heavy in the air. Vera waited outside a closed door, her expression grim.

"How is he?" Kael asked immediately.

"Alive. Barely." Vera's ancient eyes found mine. "It is poison. Sophisticated, slow-acting. Someone with extensive knowledge of herbs and wolf physiology created this."

"Who?" Kael's dominance pressed against the space. "Who would dare?"

"That is what I need to determine." Vera gestured for us to follow her into a small adjoining room. "I need to ask you both some questions. The poison was administered sometime in the last twenty-four hours. Kael, has your father eaten or drunk anything unusual?"

"Just his normal meals and evening wine." Kael paced like a caged animal. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

"And who had access to his wine?"

"His personal servant prepares it every evening. The same woman who has served him for ten years."

Vera nodded slowly, then turned to me. "And you, child. Where were you last night?"

Every eye in the room locked onto me. "In the guest house. Alone."

"All night?"

"Yes." The lie tasted like poison itself.

"Did you see or hear anything unusual? Anyone moving through the compound?"

I thought of Dante, slipping through shadows. "No. Nothing."

Vera's gaze held mine for a long moment. She knew. Somehow, she knew I was lying.

"Very well." She turned back to Kael. "I need to examine everyone who had contact with your father in the last day. If we can identify how the poison was administered, we might trace it back to who did this."

"Do whatever you need to do." Kael's jaw clenched. "I want whoever did this found and executed."

"Kael," I whispered, touching his arm. "Maybe it was an accident. Maybe—"

"This was not an accident." He pulled away from me, and the rejection stung like a physical blow. "This was assassination. Someone wanted my father dead, and they will pay for it."

The door to Marcus's room opened. Silas emerged, his weathered face grave. "Kael. Your father is asking for you."

Kael moved immediately, but Silas held up a hand. "Alone. He was very specific."

Kael glanced back at me, something unreadable in his expression, then disappeared into his father's room. The door closed with a finality that made my skin crawl.

"Come," Vera said quietly, gripping my elbow. "We need to talk. Privately."

She led me to a storage room filled with dried herbs and glass bottles. The moment the door closed, her expression hardened.

"Your brother did this," she said flatly.

There was no point denying it. "Yes."

"And you knew. When you told Kael about the rogue attack, you knew Dante had poisoned Marcus."

"I did not know until after." My voice shook. "Dante told me what he had done. By then it was too late to stop it."

"It is never too late to tell the truth." Vera's disappointment cut deeper than anger would have. "Now Marcus is dying, and when Kael discovers you knew, that you protected your brother over his father, he will never forgive you."

"I know." Tears burned my eyes. "I know, but if I tell him now, he will hunt Dante down and kill him. He is the only family I have left."

"And Kael is your mate. Your future. Your fate." Vera shook her head sadly. "You cannot serve two masters, child. Eventually, you will have to choose."

Before I could respond, shouting erupted from Marcus's room. Kael's voice, raw with anguish, echoed through the halls.

Vera and I ran back to find Kael standing in the doorway, his face ashen. Healers rushed past him into the room, but their urgency seemed pointless now.

"He is gone," Kael said, his voice hollow. "My father is dead."

The words hit like a physical blow. Around us, wolves began to howl, the traditional mourning cry for a fallen Alpha. The sound rose and fell, filling the compound with grief.

But all I could feel was guilt, crushing and absolute.

Marcus Brennan was dead. Dante had succeeded in his revenge. And I had done nothing to stop it.

Kael turned to me, and I saw something break in his eyes. "He told me something before he died. About you. About a mark."

My blood turned to ice.

"He said I should ask you about your shoulder. About what you are really hiding." Kael moved toward me slowly, each step measured. "So I am asking, Ren. One more time. Who are you?"

The truth clawed at my throat, demanding release. Behind Kael, I saw Silas, Luna, Vera, and a dozen other wolves watching, waiting.

"I—" The words stuck.

"Show me your shoulder," Kael said quietly. "Please. Just show me, and we can make sense of this together."

But there was no making sense of this. There was only the truth that would destroy everything.

My hands moved to my sleeve, trembling. This was it. The moment everything ended.

The fabric slid down, exposing the crescent scar burned into my skin.

Kael stared at it, confusion giving way to recognition, recognition giving way to horror.

"No," he breathed. "That mark. It cannot be."

"It is," Vera said softly behind him. "The Grayfang crest. She is one of them, Kael. The daughter of the Alphas your father kil

led."

The howling continued outside, wolves mourning their fallen leader.

But inside, Kael looked at me like I had just driven a knife into his heart.