By the time Selene made it back to the packhouse, the sun was bleeding through the trees, soft gold spilling across the stone paths. But nothing about this morning felt gentle.
She didn't bother going to her quarters. She went straight to Kael.
His door was open. He was already awake, shirt half-buttoned, pacing the room with a file in hand.
When he saw her, he froze.
"Something's happened," he said immediately.
Selene nodded, breathless. "Dead rogue. East border. Wolfsbane poisoning."
Kael slammed the file shut. "When?"
"Less than an hour ago. He was barely alive when I found him."
"And?"
"He said someone was after him. A woman."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "A hunter?"
Selene shook her head. "He called her the White Wolf."
For the first time, Kael's expression shifted.
Not confusion. Not disbelief.
Recognition.
"You've heard of her," Selene said quietly.
"She's a ghost," Kael said. "An assassin they blame when no one else fits. Some say she was a royal born out of season. Others say she was created in a lab."
"And you think she's real."
"I think anything's possible now."
Selene dropped into the chair across from his desk. "She left no scent. I saw her."
Kael sat too, voice lower now. "You saw her?"
"White cloak. Just standing there. Watching me. Then gone."
Kael rubbed his jaw, thinking. "This isn't just rogue activity anymore. It's surgical."
Selene leaned in. "She didn't attack me. Not even when I chased her."
"Which means she's not after you."
"Or she's waiting for something."
He looked up at her. "Like what?"
Selene didn't answer.
Because the truth was gnawing at her gut.
She wasn't here by coincidence.
And neither was the White Wolf.
Kael stood abruptly and grabbed his coat. "We're going to the council room."
Selene frowned. "Why?"
"Because if this assassin is real and operating inside my borders, the elders need to be told. Now."
She followed him down the hall, past wolves who stepped out of their way without question. Kael's aura was intense this morning — colder, more clipped. He looked like a man preparing for war.
Inside the council chamber, the Beta and two elders were already seated.
Kael didn't waste time.
"A rogue was found dead this morning. Wolfsbane poisoning. He spoke of a woman in white."
One of the elders frowned. "You mean the White Wolf?"
"You believe in that nonsense?" the other scoffed.
Selene stepped forward. "I saw her."
They all turned to her.
"I tracked the scene. No scent. No trace. But she was there."
The elder who had scoffed leaned forward, suspicious. "And how would a former loner like you know what to look for?"
Selene didn't blink. "Because I'm not just a loner."
Kael cut in. "I trust her."
That silenced the room.
Selene looked at him, startled.
He met her eyes, then looked back at the elders. "Until I'm proven wrong."
The elder shook his head. "If she's here, she's after something."
"Or someone," Selene said.
No one spoke.
Then Kael added, "Increase patrols. Double the border guards on the east and north. No one comes in or out without clearance."
The council nodded.
But as they left the room, the elder paused beside Selene.
"Be careful," he said. "Spies and assassins have a way of making themselves look like friends."
He walked off.
Kael stepped beside her.
"They don't trust you," she said.
"They don't trust anyone," Kael replied. "But I don't care. You're here for a reason."
Selene looked at him. "And you still think that reason is the Goddess?"
Kael leaned closer, voice low. "I think you're the only one who's not afraid of the truth. That's more useful to me than blind faith."
They stood there in silence for a beat too long.
Then Kael said, "Meet me at the training fields. Midnight."
"Why?"
"I want to see what you're really capable of."
Selene smirked. "Afraid I'll beat you?"
Kael's eyes gleamed. "I'm counting on it."