15

SIENNA

When I woke up the next morning, the camp was buzzing. Not the usual chatter of morning duties,  this was sharper, heavier, like everyone was holding their breath and waiting for someone to pull the trigger.

I stepped out of my tent, clutching the thin blanket around my shoulders. The air was damp and cold, carrying the smell of smoke and wet earth. Two rogues standing by the fire stopped talking the second they saw me. One of them, a scarred man named Bren, tilted his head just enough to let me know they’d been talking about me.

Typical.

I ignored them and kept walking toward the kitchen hut. My body still ached from the fall, and every step felt like I was being reminded of the mess I’d been dragged into. I wasn’t even sure if I was angry anymore. Just tired.

Inside, the morning fire was already lit. I grabbed a kettle and started boiling water, pretending not to notice the silence that followed me everywhere I went these days.

“Morning,” a soft voice said behind me.

I turned and found Nira, one of the younger rogues who’d taken pity on me after the accident. Her eyes flicked nervously toward the door before she leaned in. “You should know… the Alpha called a meeting last night. Everyone’s saying it was about you.”

My stomach twisted. “And what exactly are they saying this time?”

“That you’re the reason the supplies went missing.” She hesitated. “And that you’ve been lying about the pregnancy.”

I froze. “What?”

She shrugged helplessly. “Elira was there. She didn’t say your name, but she didn’t have to.”

Of course. Elira.

I forced my voice to stay calm. “Thanks, Nira. You should get out of here before someone sees you talking to me.”

She nodded quickly and slipped out.

For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the boiling water. My hands were shaking. It wasn’t just about what they were saying, it was that Rhys hadn’t come to me himself. He’d promised he’d find out the truth. And now… what? He was sitting in that room letting Elira whisper poison into his ear?

I slammed the kettle down harder than I meant to. “Coward,” I muttered.

That’s when I heard footsteps behind me.

“Talking to yourself again Goldie?”

I didn’t need to turn around to know it was him. His voice always did something to me, cut through the noise, even when I wished it wouldn’t.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I said, not looking up. “You just caught me in a bad mood.”

“I can see that,” Rhys said quietly. “You shouldn’t be working. You’re still healing.”

“I’m pregnant, Rhys, not dying.”

He sighed, stepping closer. I could feel the heat of him behind me, even without turning. “The camp’s restless,” he said. “They’re talking about you.”

“Let me guess… Elira helped them find their voice?” I turned then, meeting his eyes. “You called a meeting and didn’t think I should be there to defend myself?”

His jaw tightened. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Then tell me what it was like,” I snapped. “Because from where I’m standing, it sounds like you sat there and let them tear me apart.”

“I was trying to protect you.”

“By keeping me in the dark?”

He took a step closer. “If I’d told you, you would’ve walked straight into that hall and made it worse.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But at least I would’ve known you were on my side.”

That shut him up. For a long moment, neither of us said anything. The only sound was the crackle of fire and the rain starting again outside.

Finally, he said softly, “You think I don’t care, Sienna?”

“I think you care when it’s convenient.”

His gaze darkened. “That’s not fair.”

“Neither is any of this.” I pushed past him, heading for the door, but he caught my wrist not hard, just enough to stop me.

“Sienna,” he said quietly, “you’re not alone in this.”

I turned back to him, meeting his eyes. “Then start acting like it.”

For a second, I thought he’d say something to apologize, maybe, or explain but who was I kidding I knew who I was dealing with and when it came to Rhys, he never apologized, ever. But then a shout came from outside, breaking the moment like glass.

“Fire! The supply shed’s on fire!”

Rhys’s head snapped toward the noise. He let go of me instantly and ran outside, and I followed.

The entire left side of the camp was lit up in orange flames. Rogues were rushing with buckets, shouting orders, trying to keep it from spreading. Rhys was already in the thick of it, barking commands, dragging barrels of water.

And then someone yelled, “She was seen near it!”

I didn’t even have to ask who “she” was. Every head turned to me at once.

“I wasn’t anywhere near…”

But it didn’t matter. In the chaos, logic was a luxury. Two men grabbed me roughly, dragging me toward the center of the camp.

“Let her go!” Rhys’s voice thundered over the noise, but no one listened until he shoved one of them aside himself.

“She’s innocent,” he growled. “Anyone who touches her answers to me.”

The men backed off instantly, muttering under their breath.

Elira appeared through the crowd then, her face lit beautifully by the fire. She didn’t look panicked. She looked… composed.

“How convenient,” she said softly. “Another disaster, and the healer just happens to be nearby.”

I glared at her. “You think I’d set fire to your supplies when I can barely walk straight?”

She smiled faintly. “Desperation makes people do strange things.”

Rhys turned on her. “Enough. You’re out of line.”

Her eyes flicked to him, all wounded innocence. “I’m only saying what they’re already thinking.”

The tension was a living thing, thick, choking. The fire roared behind us, and for a second, I thought Rhys might actually strike her. But he didn’t. He just said through gritted teeth, 

“Everyone back to work. Now.”

The rogues scattered.

I stood there, shaking, soaked in rain and sweat, watching the fire burn out. When I looked at him again, his face was unreadable.

“Get inside,” he said quietly. “I’ll handle this.”

“No,” I said. “You’ll pretend to handle it while she plans the next thing.”

“Sienna…”

“I’m done being your problem to fix, Rhys. Like I said, as soon as I have my child, I'll leave you and your camp… it's only a matter of time.”

I turned and walked away before I could lose my nerve. He didn’t stop me this time.

Back in my room, I sat down on the bed, pressing a hand to my stomach. My little pup kicked softly, a reminder that I wasn’t fighting just for myself anymore.

Outside, I could still hear Rhys shouting orders, trying to restore order in a world that had already chosen sides and I knew, deep down, that something was about to break.

Whether it was the pack, Elira, or Rhys himself, I couldn’t tell but I was done waiting to be saved.