The Question I Couldn’t Answer

I stared at Selene.

For a moment, I couldn’t find a single word.

The garden suddenly felt too quiet. I could hear the distant music from the hall behind us, the laughter of the pack members, even the soft rustling of leaves above our heads.

But all I could hear was her question.

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

“No,” I said.

The answer came too quickly.

Selene studied my face.

I forced myself to hold her gaze.

“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 told it.

She didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she looked toward the hall.

“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 her hands.

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

I had never heard her speak like that before.

Selene had always seemed certain.

She knew what dress she wanted for the wedding. She knew how she would run the Luna’s charity program. She knew which council members respected her and which ones needed convincing.

She had spent years preparing for this life.

I had spent years preparing to stand beside her.

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

She immediately shook her head.

“No.”

The answer was firm.

Then she sighed.

“I love him. I think I do.”

Something inside my chest tightened.

I looked away before she could notice.

Selene reached for my hand.

“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.

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I know.”

She smiled faintly.

“I just wanted to hear you say it.”

I nodded.

“You have nothing to worry about.”

She pulled me into a hug.

I closed my eyes.

For those few seconds, I let myself forget everything.

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’d 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.

Something about it had been bothering me since the council meeting.

“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 with two guards.

He looked up when I entered.

Our eyes met.

I looked away first.

Not because I was afraid of him.

Because I was afraid of myself.

I took a seat beside Selene.

She leaned toward me.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be back before the evening preparations.”

I nodded.

Kael placed a map on the table.

“The missing supplies aren’t random.”

Everyone became quiet.

He pointed to several marked villages.

“Three villages reported missing medicine within the same week. 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.

They disappeared 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 at the map.

“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.

“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 at the forest again.

“I don’t know.”

Kael was silent for a moment.

Then he turned to the guards.

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

The guards nodded.

“And send someone to check the villages.”

He looked at me.

“Liana is going with them.”

I blinked.

Selene looked at him too.

“Why her?”

Kael answered without hesitation.

“Because she noticed something we didn’t.”

There was no softness in his voice.

No hidden meaning.

Just respect.

And 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 room, I gathered the papers in front of me.

Selene touched my arm.

“You were good in there.”

I smiled.

“Thanks.”

She walked away with the other council members.

I stayed behind for a moment.

Kael was still studying the map.

I hesitated before speaking.

“Alpha.”

He looked up.

“What?”

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

His expression 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.

Then he looked at me.

“You’re right.”

A strange feeling settled in my stomach.

This wasn’t just about stolen medicine anymore.

Someone was moving through Mooncrest territory.

Someone who knew our borders.

And they had a reason for being there.

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 paused before speaking.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For helping Mooncrest.”

I smiled faintly.

“That’s what we do for our pack.”

Then I left.

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?