38. ACCUSATIONS

KIERAN

I didn’t even knock. I slammed the door open, the sharp bang echoing through the walls like a thunderclap, and stormed straight into Selene’s room. She barely had time to turn around before I was in her face, my voice booming.

“What the hell were you thinking, Selene?!”

She blinked, unfazed, arms folded over her chest like she’d been expecting me. “Nice of you to come knocking, brother,” she said dryly, but I wasn’t here for her sarcasm.

I jabbed a finger toward her, my teeth gritted. “Don’t play smart with me. You embarrassed Vee in front of everyone. Everyone, Selene. You called her out in the most humiliating way, accused her of hiding something like she was some traitor.”

She didn’t flinch. In fact, she smirked, eyes gleaming with an annoying mix of confidence and defiance.

“Exactly. Because if she is hiding something, that’s the best way to get a reaction. You saw how she froze, didn’t you?”

I laughed bitterly and took a step back, running both hands through my hair in frustration.

“You’re such a damn fool,” I said under my breath, but loud enough for her to hear. “You just made her ten times more cautious if she really is hiding something. You think you cornered her? No. Now she’ll cover her tracks better than ever.”

Selene’s smirk faltered. Her eyes darted away for a second. She tried to say something, but I wasn’t done. “We had a plan,” I snapped. “A plan you knew about. A slow, careful strategy to gain her trust, to observe, to collect proof. But no, you decided to play queen interrogator in the middle of a goddamn gathering.”

“I—” she started, but I cut her off.

“You what? Thought you were being clever?” I shook my head, my voice softening but still sharp. “You wanted to test her? You just warned her, Selene. Gave her all the reason in the world to hide even deeper.”

Her face dropped. Just like that, the arrogance melted from her expression. She looked… small. Regret bled into her eyes, her mouth parting slightly like she couldn’t believe what she’d done. “I didn’t… I didn’t think it through,” she murmured, voice low now. “I thought if I pushed her, she might slip. Say something. I didn’t expect her to look so… betrayed.”

I stared at her for a moment. “Yeah. Because she was. And if she wasn’t hiding anything, then congratulations, you just pushed an innocent girl into a corner for no reason.”

Selene slowly sat down on the edge of her bed, her shoulders slumped. “I messed up,” she whispered.

“You did,” I replied bluntly. “But now, you better retrace your steps. Find a way to fix this. Apologize if you have to. Make her trust you again. Because whether or not she’s hiding something, she’s important to the plan. And you almost ruined it.”

She looked up at me, guilt and realization etched across her face. “I’ll make it right. I swear.”

“You’d better,” I muttered, turning to leave. “Because next time you pull something like that without talking to me first… it won’t just be Vee who doesn’t trust you.”

"I think it’s time we planted someone in Lucian’s rogue pack,” I said, my voice low but firm as I closed the file in front of me and looked up at Dorian. The flickering lantern above us gave the room a dull orange hue, but I could see the frown already forming on his face.

“A spy?” Dorian echoed, clearly displeased as he folded his arms across his chest. “Kieran, you do realize how dangerous that is, right? Lucian isn’t stupid. He keeps track of everyone who enters his territory, rogue or not. He’ll sniff out a stranger faster than a bloodhound on a trail.”

“I’m not underestimating him,” I said, pushing back my chair slightly and standing up. “That’s why we need someone smart. Someone who can blend in and not draw attention. We need to know what he’s planning, where they’re moving, what their numbers are. I’m not willing to wait around for the next ambush.”

Dorian sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Still… Lucian’s pack is unpredictable. You could send someone in and never hear from them again.”

“I know the risks,” I said, stepping closer to him. “But I’d rather take those risks than be caught unprepared. We’ve been reactive for too long. It’s time we were proactive.”

He studied me for a long second before shaking his head slowly. “Alright. Say we do this. Who do you suggest we send? Because I sure as hell am not picking someone just to get them killed.”

“I was hoping you’d have someone in mind,” I replied, but the moment I said it, Dorian gave me a look that said don’t throw this on me.

“Kieran…” he started with a growl in his voice. “You want this spy idea? You name someone.”

I walked to the window, peering out at the training field where a few of our wolves were still sparring under the moonlight. “It has to be someone Lucian wouldn’t recognize. Someone not closely tied to me. Someone good at keeping their mouth shut and their head low.”

Dorian followed my gaze, then let out a breath. “You thinking about Jaxon?”

I turned my head slowly to face him. “Jaxon’s reckless. Too hotheaded. He’ll blow the whole thing up within a day.”

“Alright,” he muttered, pacing now. “What about Mara? She’s stealthy. Lucian doesn’t know her. She’s loyal.”

“She’s also barely healed from the last mission I sent her on,” I reminded him sharply. “And if something happens to her, I won’t forgive myself.”

“Then we’re running out of names, Kieran,” Dorian snapped. “Unless you want to send me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped right back. “I’m not sending you into a rogue-infested pack. You’re my beta. If anything happens to you, we’re screwed.”

He held my gaze for a long beat before finally nodding. “Then we choose carefully. And we train whoever it is thoroughly before they go. No mistakes.”

“None,” I echoed, jaw clenched. “Because of one mistake in Lucian’s territory… and we’ll be retrieving a corpse.”

Just before he left my chambers, Dorian turned back to me with a look in his eyes that spoke volumes.

“You know, half of all these things happening, I really wish it was just us panicking because I don't want any of us to die. We’ve suffered too much Kieran, you should know that.” he said.

I nodded, understanding what he meant but at the same time, I really hoped it was so too. And as I looked out the window, I couldn't forget the look Vee gave me when I faced her sometime last week. It was haunting, one I would never forget in a hurry but until then, I knew I needed to be careful because what was always seen couldn’t always be trusted.

“You need to get a hold of yourself Kieran, you’ve faced far worse situations than this.”

Although they were far worse, it didn’t make it better because this felt different. Vee was something else, I could feel it right to my bones and not knowing proved to be worse than anything I had ever experienced.