Chapter Thirteen

Lila’s POV

The war room smells like old paper, pine smoke, and the faint metallic tang of tension.

I walk in last, still pulling my hair back into a messy knot. The table is already full, Kade at the head, Darius to his right, Ronan to his left. Sarah stands near the map wall, arms crossed. Jace and Cole lean against the shelves, shoulders brushing. Maya sits on the edge of the table, one leg swinging. A few other senior wolves fill the remaining chairs quiet, watchful. Everyone looks up when I enter.

Kade doesn’t smile. He just nods once.

“Close the door,” he says.

I do. The click feels louder than it should.

He waits until I take the empty chair near Maya before he speaks.

“Scouts again,” he says. “Closer this time. Three sets of prints within a mile of the southern perimeter. Same claw pattern Lila identified. Silver Moon.”

A low growl rumbles from Darius. He doesn’t say anything, but his knuckles are white around the arm of his chair.

Kade taps the map. “That’s not all. Shadowfang pack, Finn’s wolves, have been pushing north. Small raiding parties testing the river cut. They haven’t crossed yet, but they’re watching. Coordinating.”

Jace leans forward. “You think Silver Moon and Shadowfang are talking?”

“I think they’re planning,” Kade says. “Silver Moon wants their omega back. Shadowfang wants territory. They both benefit if we’re distracted. Or divided.”

The room goes still. I feel every pair of eyes flick toward me, then away. Not accusing. Just… aware.

Kade’s gaze settles on me. Steady. Expectant.

“Lila. You know Silver Moon better than anyone here. What would Thomas do in this situation?”

I swallow. Lean over the map. My finger traces the southern trail, the narrow one that funnels straight toward the lodge if you don’t know better.

“He’d use the scouts to map our patrols,” I say. “Find the gaps. Then he’d send a small strike team, ten, maybe twelve, to hit fast and retreat. Draw us out. While we chase, Shadowfang moves in from the river. They split our attention. We lose cohesion. They pick off whoever’s isolated.”

Cole nods slowly. “Classic feint.”

“Exactly,” I say. “My father doesn’t like big, messy fights. He likes surgical. Precise. He’ll sacrifice the scouts if it means getting what he wants.”

Darius’s voice is rough. “And what he wants is you.”

I meet his eyes. “Yes.”

Kade doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t look surprised. He just studies the map like it’s a puzzle he’s already half-solved.

“Then we don’t chase,” he says. “We fortify. Double the southern patrols, but make them visible, let the scouts see us watching. Force them to commit or back off. On the river, we rig the shallows like Lila suggested weeks ago, nets, trip lines, weighted branches. Slow them down. If Shadowfang crosses, they hit a bottleneck. We hit back harder.”

Ronan speaks for the first time. Low. Thoughtful. “And if they coordinate a night attack?”

“We light the perimeter,” I say before I can stop myself. Everyone looks at me. I keep going. “Torches every twenty yards. Not enough to blind us, but enough to silhouette anyone coming out of the trees. Add motion traps, simple bells on wires. They can’t move quiet. We’ll hear them before they’re close.”

Sarah nods. “Old trick. Works.”

Kade’s eyes stay on me. “You’re thinking like a defender. Not a runner.”

Heat creeps up my neck. “I’ve had time to think about how I’d defend this place if I belonged here.”

“You do belong here,” he says. Simple. Final.

The room quiets again. Not uncomfortable. Just… heavy with agreement.

Kade straightens. “We implement tomorrow. Jace, Cole, lead the southern patrols. Maya, coordinate the torch line with the younger wolves. Sarah, get the traps ready. Darius, Ronan, you’re with me on the river tomorrow night. We walk it ourselves.”

Nods all around.

Then Kade looks at me again.

“Lila. Stay.”

The others file out. Darius lingers longest, his gaze flicking between me and Kade, but he goes when Ronan touches his arm. The door closes.

It’s just us.

Kade walks around the table. Stops in front of me. Not sitting. Standing close enough that I have to tilt my head to meet his eyes.

“You see things the rest of us miss,” he says. “Patterns. Weak points. Ways to turn defense into advantage. That’s not instinct. That’s training. And it’s rare.”

I don’t know what to say. So I don’t say anything.

He exhales slowly. “I want you as my strategic advisor. Official position. You sit in on every planning session. You advise on defense, alliances, long-term moves. It’s not ceremonial. It’s real authority. Real responsibility.”

My heart stutters. “Why me?”

“Because you earned it,” he says. “Because you’re smart. Because this pack needs every edge we can get. And because I trust you.”

The last part lands hardest.

I look down at my hands. They’re still rough from training, nails short, knuckles scabbed. Not the hands of someone who belongs in a war room giving orders.

But maybe they could be.

“I accept,” I say quietly.

Kade nods once. “Good.”

He doesn’t smile. Doesn’t clap me on the back. Just reaches out, slow, deliberate, and rests his hand on my shoulder. Firm. Warm. The touch is brief, but it lingers in the air after he pulls away.

“The others will approve,” he says. “They already do. Darius wants you protected. Ronan wants you understood. I want you here. Beside me.”

Beside him.

The words settle in my chest like stones in still water.

He steps back. “We meet again at dawn. Bring whatever ideas you have. No holding back.”

I nod.

He walks to the door. Pauses with his hand on the knob.

“You’re not just pack anymore, Lila,” he says without turning. “You’re one of the ones who decides what pack means.”

Then he’s gone.

I sit there alone in the quiet room, heart pounding, staring at the map like it might give me answers.

Silver Moon is coming.

Shadowfang is circling.

But for the first time since I ran, I’m not thinking about escape.

I’m thinking about how to win.

And how to keep what I’ve finally found.