로그인Ronan's POVThe courtyard was already full when I walked out.Word had spread, the pack knew something was happening. They stood in clusters, their voices low, their eyes fixed on the spot where Kael waited beside me.I looked across the crowd. Healers, warriors, servants, guards.All of them watching and waiting, two guards brought Elara forward.She walked between them with her head held high, her shoulders straight. She didn't look like someone who had been caught, she looked like someone who still believed she could talk her way out of whatever was coming for her.Then she saw Auren standing among the healers, something shifted in her face.A flicker, then it disappeared. I didn't drag out the introduction."Someone inside Emberfall has been giving information about Auren's movements to Alpha Melvin of Thornridge."My voice carried across the courtyard, my hands remained clasped behind my back."We have identified that person."The crowd gasped, everyone looked at each other. I lo
Ronan's POVKael walked into the council chamber without knocking and closed the door behind him. His face was tight, which meant something had happened."Alpha, Melvin was at the market."I looked up from the map. "What?!""He was there in the crowd." Kael stepped closer. "He didn't wander in actually, he moved through the celebration like he knew exactly what he was looking for and went directly toward Auren."My hand pressed flat against the table. Melon growled loudly beneath my skin, my hands clenched into fists."He knew exactly where she was," Kael continued. "She asked him how he knew she would be there. He didn't give her an answer."I stared at the map, but the lines blurred. I wasn't seeing them anymore."Someone must have told him where she was going."Kael nodded."Someone inside Emberfall is feeding him information about Auren's movements."Kael met my gaze. "That's exactly what I came to tell you."I moved away from the table. My fingers found the edge of the window fra
Auren's POVThe market swallowed me. I moved through the current of bodies and cheerful movements of traders who had come to sell their bales for the day. It was Emberfall's market ceremony, a day when prices were beaten down and both buyers and traders went home happy.The noise around me sent chills down my spine. The laughter spilling from a group of warriors near the fountain, a merchant arguing with a customer over the price of dried fruit, the distant strum of a lute somewhere beyond the stalls. The air smelled of roasted meat and honey, with the faint sweetness of flowers being woven into garlands.I stopped at a stall selling wooden carvings of small animals, their surfaces smoothed by careful hands. I picked up a tiny wolf. It wasn't bigger than my thumb. The grain of the wood was warm from the sun."That's going for one coin, Healer," the merchant said, his voice rough with age.I smiled. "How did you know me?""Who wouldn't know a woman the goddess has blessed with good han
Auren's POVThe courtyard hummed with activity. Warriors moved in formation near the eastern wall, their boots striking the stone in unison.Healers clustered near the supply tables, receiving assignments for the afternoon. The recent attacks had forced the pack to coordinate more closely, healers and warriors working together, sharing information and preparing for whatever might come next.I kept my attention on the work. I didn't need to look toward Ronan to know where he was. I felt the weight and warmth of his presence before I caught his gaze. My skin seemed to prickle with awareness whenever he was near.The first time I looked up, he was already watching me.His eyes found mine across the courtyard. My stomach fluttered, and my cheeks burned.I looked away immediately, my fingers tightening around the bundle of herbs I was carrying. I focused on the healer beside me, forcing myself to listen to her words.Something about supplies and the eastern patrol. I nodded, answered, and
Auren's POVThe healing wing continued around me, but I moved through it without thinking.My hands found bandages and herbs without me consciously deciding what to reach for.A patient asked for water, I fetched it. Someone needed fresh linens, I handed them over.A healer called my name, I answered, but my mind was elsewhere.The words kept surfacing, not his apology, not even his pleading. The truth."I cannot father a child. I never could. You were never broken, Auren."My heart pounded, for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.I pressed my palm against the table to steady myself. All those years, I had been blamed for nothing.I quickly wiped the tears rolling down my cheeks."Healer Auren, my head still hurts."The patient's voice broke through my thoughts, I blinked and looked at her."I will get something for you."My voice sounded distant even to me, the hours passed.The afternoon light shifted through the windows. Patients came and went. Healers moved around me. I answered qu
Melvin's POV"I'll be leaving now, Alpha."The guard who had joined me on the disguise mission bowed and left. The door to my private quarters clicked shut behind him.I stood in the center of the room, still wearing the travel clothes I had worn beneath the disguise. The cloth that had covered my face was gone, but I could still feel it against my skin.The silence stretched around me.The room was familiar. My desk. My chair. The window overlooking the courtyard. Everything was exactly as I had left it.But nothing felt the same. I pressed my palm against my chest. My heart was beating too fast.I couldn't erase the brokenness in Auren's eyes the moment I told her the truth. The tears and the way she pulled her hand away from mine like she had been burned.The way she looked at me when she told me to leave."Don't ever show your face to me again."I closed my eyes and pressed both hands against my chest, as if I could somehow keep everything inside from falling apart.The door opene







