The Question I Couldn’t Answer

I stared at Selene, but for a moment, I couldn’t find a single word to answer her.

The garden suddenly felt too quiet. I could still hear the distant music coming from the hall, along with the laughter of pack members and the soft rustling of leaves above us, yet none of it seemed real anymore. All I could hear was the question repeating in my head.

Have you ever looked at Kael and wished he was yours?

“No,” I said.

The answer came so quickly that I almost regretted it.

Selene studied my face, and I forced myself to hold her gaze even though guilt was already twisting inside me.

“No,” I repeated, more calmly this time. “He’s your fiancé. I’ve never looked at him that way.”

It was a lie.

And because Selene was my sister, I hated how easily I had said it.

She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked toward the brightly lit hall, where the voices of our pack continued as though nothing had changed.

“I know what everyone thinks about me and Kael,” she said quietly. “We’ve been promised to each other for years. Sometimes I wonder if people expect me to be happy simply because I’m going to become Luna.”

I frowned.

“You’ve always wanted to be Luna.”

“I have.”

She looked down at our joined hands, her expression becoming thoughtful.

“But sometimes wanting something and being completely certain about it aren’t the same thing.”

I had never heard Selene speak like that before.

She had always seemed certain about everything. She knew what dress she wanted for the wedding, how she would organize the Luna’s charity program, which council members respected her, and which ones she still needed to convince.

She had spent years preparing for this life.

I had spent those same years preparing to stand beside her.

“Are you having doubts about Kael?” I asked carefully.

She immediately shook her head.

“No.”

The answer was firm enough to make me believe her.

Then she sighed.

“I love him. I think I do.”

Something inside my chest tightened.

I looked away before she could notice the reaction I couldn’t control.

Selene reached for my hand again.

“That’s why I asked you.”

I turned back to her.

“Why?”

“Because you’re the one person I trust enough to tell me the truth.”

Her words hurt more than she could have known.

I squeezed her hand, trying to keep my expression steady.

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I know.”

She gave me a faint smile.

“I just wanted to hear you say it.”

I nodded.

“You have nothing to worry about.”

She pulled me into a hug, and I closed my eyes.

For those few seconds, I allowed myself to forget everything, the mate bond, Kael, the guilt that had followed me since the night before. I let myself be her sister again.

Not her rival.

Not her fiancé’s mate.

Just Liana.

When she finally pulled away, she smiled.

“Come on. I need your help tomorrow.”

“With what?”

“The eastern villages.”

I frowned.

“What about them?”

“Kael wants the council to review the northern border situation tomorrow morning. Some of the village leaders have been complaining about missing supplies.”

My attention sharpened.

“Missing supplies?”

“Medicine, mostly.”

The same thing I had noticed before.

Two men carrying medicine toward the old forest.

“Did they say where the medicine was going?”

Selene shook her head.

“No. That’s why the council is concerned.”

I looked toward the dark line of trees beyond the garden. The old forest had already been bothering me since the first council meeting, and now the missing medicine made that uneasiness harder to ignore.

“What are you going to do?”

“Go with Kael to speak with the village leaders.”

I nodded slowly.

“Then I’ll come with you.”

Selene smiled.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

The next morning, Mooncrest’s council chamber was already crowded when I arrived.

Kael stood at the head of the table, speaking quietly with two guards. He looked up when I entered, and our eyes met across the room.

I looked away first.

Not because I was afraid of him, but because I was afraid of myself and what I might reveal if I allowed myself to look at him for too long.

I took a seat beside Selene.

She leaned toward me and whispered, “Don’t worry. We’ll be back before the evening preparations.”

I nodded, then turned my attention toward Kael as he placed a map on the table.

“The missing supplies aren’t random.”

The room immediately fell silent.

He pointed to several marked villages.

“Three villages reported missing medicine within the same week, and all three are close to the northern border.”

One of the council members frowned.

“Could be thieves.”

“Maybe.”

Kael pointed farther east.

“But the guards found tracks leading away from the villages.”

“Toward the forest?” I asked.

Kael looked at me.

“Yes.”

I leaned closer to the map. The tracks had been marked in red, disappearing near the eastern edge of the forest.

“These aren’t the same tracks from yesterday,” I said.

The room went quiet.

Kael’s expression changed.

“What do you mean?”

I pointed toward the markings.

“Yesterday, you said the patrol found a trail leading toward the eastern border.”

“Yes.”

“But this trail starts from the villages.”

One of the council members leaned forward.

“So?”

I looked at him.

“If someone was stealing medicine from the villages, why would they leave the supplies behind and take the same route every time?”

The man frowned as he considered it.

“They wouldn’t.”

“Exactly.”

I looked at Kael.

“Maybe they aren’t stealing it.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“You think someone is taking the medicine for another reason?”

“I think someone is moving it.”

“To where?”

I looked toward the map again, particularly at the forest.

“I don’t know.”

Kael remained silent for a moment before turning toward the guards.

“Double the northern patrols. No one enters the eastern forest alone.”

The guards nodded.

“And send someone to check the villages.”

His attention shifted to me.

“Liana is going with them.”

I blinked.

Selene looked at him.

“Why her?”

Kael answered without hesitation.

“Because she noticed something we didn’t.”

There was no softness in his voice and no hidden meaning behind his words. It was simply respect.

Somehow, that affected me more than it should have.

Selene smiled.

“Then I’ll go too.”

Kael nodded.

“Fine. We leave in an hour.”

As everyone began leaving the chamber, I gathered the papers in front of me. Selene touched my arm before following the others.

“You were good in there.”

I smiled faintly.

“Thanks.”

She walked away with the other council members, leaving me behind for a moment.

Kael was still standing over the map, studying the markings with a thoughtful expression.

I hesitated before speaking.

“Alpha.”

He looked up.

“What?”

“I don’t think the missing medicine is the biggest problem.”

His expression immediately became serious.

“Then what is?”

I lowered my voice.

“Someone knows those villages well enough to take supplies without being caught.”

Kael stared at the map for several seconds before looking back at me.

“You’re right.”

A strange feeling settled in my stomach.

This wasn’t just about missing medicine anymore.

Someone was moving through Mooncrest territory, someone who knew our borders well enough to avoid attention. They had access to our villages, knew where supplies were kept, and were deliberately moving toward the eastern forest.

Whatever their reason was, it wasn’t innocent.

Kael folded the map.

“We’ll find out who.”

I nodded.

As I turned to leave, his voice stopped me.

“Liana.”

I looked back.

He hesitated for a moment before saying, “Thank you.”

I frowned.

“For what?”

“For helping Mooncrest.”

A faint smile touched my lips.

“That’s what we do for our pack.”

Then I left the chamber.

But as I walked down the corridor, one thought stayed with me.

If someone was secretly moving through Mooncrest territory, why did they keep going toward the eastern forest?

And what were they looking for there?