The late evening sky bled into hues of burnt amber and violet, casting long shadows across the training fields. Aria stood alone, her cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders as the wind stirred the edges like whispered secrets. She wasn't cold not physically but something about the stillness and silence of the pack chilled her.
Tonight felt different.
She could feel it pressing on her chest like an invisible hand.
Kael's pack moved around her, voices lowered, footsteps cautious. They'd succeeded in their first and second strike, and though it was a victory, tension buzzed through the camp like a taut wire. Everyone was waiting—for Ronan's reply.
For his attack.
And it was coming.She knew he wouldn't keep quiet and would want to strike when they lower their guards
Aria's fingers brushed the fresh scab on her shoulder from their earlier raid. It wasn't deep, but it stung. A reminder. A warning.
She wandered to the edge of the cliff, where the view overlooked the valley below. Lights twinkled faintly in the distance—Ronan's territory. She could still see the outlines of the halls where she'd once been locked away. Where she'd been... his.Where she had been treated badly and memories she didn't want to think about happened.
Footsteps approached.
"I thought I'd find you here," Kael said, his voice gentle. He didn't ask permission before standing beside her. The silence between them wasn't awkward,it was shared like he knew what she was thinking about.
"Does it ever go away?" she signed slowly, her movements smaller than usual. "The ache of remembering?"
Kael's jaw clenched.
"No," he admitted. "But it dulls. Over time. When you fill the emptiness with something worth fighting for."
Aria looked away, eyes distant.
"You've given them something," he added. "Not just a plan. Hope."
Her chest tightened at the word. Hope was dangerous. Hope got people killed.
"Don't put me on a pedestal," she signed, eyes sharp now. "I'm not your savior."
Kael didn't flinch. "I don't need a savior. I need you—the fighter, the strategist, the wolf who refused to break."
Aria turned away, cheeks flushed with something she didn't have a name for. Embarrassment? Longing? Or that ever-growing pull she felt when Kael looked at her like she was more than the shattered pieces Ronan left behind?
Before she could respond, a howl shattered the air.
Urgent. Alarmed.
Kael stiffened. "Stay here."
She followed him anyway.
The inner circle was already gathered near the southern gate. Two patrol wolves shifted back into their human forms, covered in blood, trembling.
"They were waiting," one of them gasped. "Ambush. We lost Jonas."
Kael cursed. "Where?"
"Border clearing. Near the old well."
Toben looked grim. "That's within our blind spot. They knew."
Aria's breath caught. "They're watching us," she signed. "Someone inside is feeding him information."
Lina swore under her breath. "A traitor."
Kael's eyes met Aria's. "This changes everything."
She nodded.
Because now, the war wasn't just out there in the woods.
It was inside their walls.