The Forged Letter

~Lyra's POV~

Papa wasn’t at breakfast.

That wasn’t weird by itself. He had early meetings sometimes. Border reports. Pack stuff that couldn’t wait. But when I came down, Mr. Denton told me Papa wanted to see me in his study after I ate.

He said it in a way that made me lose my appetite. So I didn’t eat.

---

The letter was already open on the desk when I walked in. Papa stood by the window, not behind his desk. That told me everything before he said a word. He turned when I shut the door. Looked at me. Then he walked to the desk and slid the letter toward me. He didn’t speak.

I picked it up and read.

It was to the Alpha of the Crestmoor Pack. Very formal. It said there was good info that Nightshade planned to move their patrols east. Into land that Crestmoor and two other small packs shared. It sounded like a warning from someone close to Nightshade.

It was signed with my name.

“Did you write this?” Papa asked.

I kept reading for a few seconds. Not because I had to. I just wanted to be sure when I answered.

“No,” I said. I put the letter down. “Look at the A. Mine curves left. Always has, since I was twelve. Yours does too. It’s a family thing.” I tapped the paper. “This one curves right.”

Papa nodded slow. “I saw that before I called you.”

“You already knew.”

“I needed to hear you say it.” He went around the desk and sat down. His face went cold and careful. “Someone studied you, Lyra. How you write. How you do formal letters.” He picked up the page. “It’s close. If you hadn’t pointed out the A, I might have spent an hour wondering.”

I sat across from him. “When did it come?”

“This morning. Crestmoor’s Alpha sent it to me before he answered it. He was being polite. He wanted to know if it was real.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I was looking into it.” Papa folded his hands over the letter. “Someone wants the other packs to think you’re moving against Nightshade.”

I looked at the letter. “Or they want Nightshade to think I’m moving against them.”

He was quiet for a bit. “Either way,” he said, “you have an enemy in this house.”

We didn’t talk for a bit. The study was quiet. Outside, the morning patrol was walking the east line. I could hear boots on gravel through the window.

“What do we do?” I asked.

“We find out who copied your writing this well.” He picked up his pen. “I’ll ask Cora to check it quietly. No big news. No pack talk. Just look at who had access.”

Cora was Papa’s Beta. She was forty-something and had the job for twelve years. She was steady. Like a stone wall. If anyone could find out without making noise, it was her.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll wait.”

---

I didn’t wait long.

Cora found me after noon. Not in the main house. In the east hall. That told me she watched where I went. She walked beside me and handed me a folded paper.

“Three names,” she said low. “Everyone else either didn’t see your writing or couldn’t have done it in time.”

I opened the paper.

First name: a senior healer. He treated me twice since I got back. He saw the forms I filled out myself.

Second: an estate scribe. He wrote out formal letters. I dictated one to him once.

Third: Jade Ashwood.

Cora said nothing else. She didn’t need to. She left at the next hall. Gone before I finished reading.

I stood there for a moment. I read the list again. Not because I missed it. I just needed my face to stay calm before I moved.

Then I folded the paper. Put it in my pocket. Went to get food.

---

Jade was in the sitting room that evening.

She sat in the corner chair with a warm drink. Looked comfy, like always. Like the room was made for her. She saw me and smiled big. The kind that reached her eyes.

“There you are,” she said. “I hoped to see you today. Sit. Talk to me.”

I went in and sat across from her. “How long have you been here?”

“About an hour. Auntie Mira asked me for dinner.” She held her cup with both hands. “You looked great at the ball, by the way. Everyone talked about you.”

“Did they.”

“In a good way.” She tilted her head. Eyes bright. “I heard the Alpha King liked you.”

“You heard wrong,” I said, nice and calm.

“I don’t think so.” She grinned. “People said he pointed you out to everyone. That’s big, Lyra.”

“It was a messy night.” I kept my voice easy. Like I was just asking. “Where did you hear all that? You weren’t at the ball.”

“Kira Voss was. She texted me the next day. Gave me the full story.” Jade laughed. “She said Ivan’s face when the Alpha King hit him was something she’d tell her grandkids.”

I smiled. “I didn’t see it. I wasn’t looking at Ivan.”

“No, I guess not.” She looked at me like she meant it kindly. “I’m glad you’re home, Lyra. You seem different. Stronger.”

“I feel different,” I said.

We talked for a few more minutes. Nothing big. Her trip to another pack. A market she found. Some cloth she wanted. I let her talk most of the time. I asked when it felt right. Laughed when I should.

She stood up first. Put her cup down. Stretched. “Tell Auntie Mira I’ll be back by seven.”

“I will.”

She turned to go.

That’s when I saw it.

Her right hand. The index finger. Where she held the cup. There was a faint dark mark on the joint. The kind you get when you press hard on a pen for a long time. The kind that takes a day to fade.

Copying something by hand, trying to make it perfect, leaves that mark. I knew. I did it myself years ago when I practiced writing.

Jade turned back. “You should let him court you, you know. The Alpha King. You deserve something good.”

“Thanks,” I said.

She smiled and left.

I sat in the empty room for a bit. Looked at the cup she left on the table. The mark was faint but there. A small dark spot on the cup from her finger.

I didn’t move fast. Didn’t grab my notes. Didn’t find Dane. Didn’t run to Papa’s study. I just sat. Quiet. Let it all sink in.

Then I stood up. Put on a face that showed nothing.

She wanted me to feel safe.

I’d let her think I did.