LOGINCaiusDax has that look on his face again.It is the look he gets when he finds a lie he can’t explain.He is holding a thin report, and I already know Senna’s name is on the front of it."Sit down, Dax," I said. I didn't look up from the map on my desk. He doesn't like it when things don't make sense. Neither do I. Usually, that is why we get along so well."I would rather stand, Alpha," Dax said. His voice was flat. "I finished the second round of checks you asked for. I went deeper this time. I contacted the regional healing guilds in the North and the coastal cities. I even sent a runner to the mountain temples.""And?" I asked. I finally looked at him. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. "What did they say?""They said she doesn't exist," Dax said. He dropped the report onto my desk. "There is no record of a healer named Senna matching her age or her description in any guild library. To be as good as she is, Alpha, she would need years of formal training. You don't jus
SennaI found it right away. Not a big mess. Not things tossed around. Just… wrong. My little room, usually a comfort, felt different. I’d just come back from the woods, my basket full of mugwort and comfrey. The air still had that morning chill smell, but my room felt… stale. I put my basket down. I looked around. Ten seconds. Maybe less.My mortar and pestle, sitting on the shelf by the window. I always pushed it back, just so. Today, it was two inches too far to the left. Just a tiny bit. Someone had used it, or pretended to, then put it back. But not my back.Then the chest, where I kept my spare clothes. The linens folded inside. I have a way. A particular order. Today, two were switched. A small thing. Very small. It meant someone had been there.My work table. I had a small stack of notes. Recipes, herb lists. All innocent. All clear. But the stack, I knew, had been handled. The top one, a list of remedies for winter coughs, was slightly askew. Not much. Just enough.I walked
SennaToday was the day. The very first step, out in the real world, for what I was really doing.My job was a healer, and I was good at it. Caius, the Alpha, he trusted me with things, like this monthly supply run to the eastern market. He’d signed off on it himself, back when we made our rules. It was a good thing, a real thing. But today, it was also a cover.My satchel was heavy on my shoulder. Full of a real shopping list for herbs and things the compound needed. But hidden deep inside, folded very small, was a piece of paper. Just three words. A date, a name, and “unopposed territorial claim.” Small words, big meaning.The market was loud. Smells of spice and sweat and things cooking. People pushed past me, their voices a mix of bargaining and gossip. I kept my head down, looking for the right stall. A patient had told me where to go. "Mira’s stall," she'd said. "Best mountain bark. Near the northern end."I found it. A simple stall, piled high with dried plants, roots, and bund
CaiusI like watching things break when I’m the one who can fix them.But Jax’s shoulder popping out of its socket wasn’t part of my plan today. It made a sound like a dry branch snapping, and then the whole training yard went quiet.Jax hit the dirt, grabbing his arm and cursing loud enough to wake the rest of the pack. I didn't move. I just stood there with my wooden training sword resting on my shoulder, watching him writhe. I was about to tell him to get up and walk it off when I saw her.Senna didn't wait for an invite. She didn't even use the gate. She just stepped over the low wooden fence, her medical bag swinging against her hip. "Don't touch it, Jax," she said. Her voice wasn't loud, but Jax stopped moving immediately.I stepped back to the edge of the circle. I usually see her in the infirmary. That place is hers. It’s all white walls, glass jars, and the smell of clean soap. She’s careful there. Methodical. But out here, in the dirt and the heat, she looked different. She
SennaMy bandages were neat, my supplies lined up just so. Three days had passed since I found that room full of old records, and the wrongness of this place felt heavier. But then Lyra found me.She was almost bouncing, eyes wide and bright like I’d never seen them before. Her hands kept fiddling with the hem of her tunic, not from nerves, but from too much energy. She practically ran into me in the corridor, her words tumbling out.“Senna! You won’t believe it, you just won’t!” she gasped, barely stopping to catch her breath.I paused, holding a stack of clean linen. “What is it, Lyra?” My voice stayed flat, even though her excitement was catching. “He’s gone! The wolf, the one who… you know.” Her voice dropped a little when she said ‘the one who,’ glancing around quickly. “The one who kept cornering me. He’s gone!”I raised an eyebrow, trying to show just enough interest without giving away the quiet alarm bells starting to ring in my head. “Gone where?”“Border patrol! Northern e
SennaI am a very good liar. I spend my days smiling at people who killed everyone I loved, and I do it so well that they give me keys to their rooms. It has been six weeks since I remembered that my name is Maren, not Senna, but I still answer to Senna. I have to. Senna is the girl they trust. Senna is the healer who fixes their cuts. Maren is the girl who wants to watch this whole house burn.I walked toward the records room with a clipboard held against my chest. My heart was thumping hard, but my face was as still as a pond."Morning, Leo," I said when I reached the heavy oak door.Leo was a young guard who liked to snack on dried apples. He looked up and grinned at me. "Oh, hey Senna. You look busy today. What’s on the list?""The infirmary is low on tinctures," I said. I showed him my requisition form. It looked very official. "I need to check the land maps for the eastern territories. We need to see which fields are safe for harvesting herbs this spring."Leo leaned back in his







