Chapter 40 - Names On A Page
1022 Words
Elara stepped into her room long enough to drop the shopping bags beside the dresser.
The folded paper disappeared into her pocket before she headed for Thorne's office.
A few pack members passed her in the hallway, exchanging nods as they went about their day. Voices drifted from open doorways, mixing with the familiar sounds of life inside the pack house. The scent of fresh bread lingered from the kitchen downstairs, while somewhere deeper in the building a burst of laughter rose before quickly fading away.
Everything carried on as normal.
Nobody else knew what was written on the piece of paper tucked inside her pocket.
A pair of younger wolves hurried past carrying training gear, nearly colliding with an older pack member who barked at them to slow down.
Elara watched them disappear around the corner.
Life continued around her.
Meals would still be cooked. Training would still happen. Families would still gather for dinner that evening.
Meanwhile, somewhere inside the territory, information had been leaving the pack.
By the time she reached Thorne's office, the door stood partially open.
Voices carried from inside.
She knocked once before entering.
The conversation stopped.
Thorne stood behind his desk.
Kaia sat to his right with a notebook open in front of her. Rowan occupied the chair nearest the window with a folder resting on his knee, while Rafe sat opposite them with his arms folded across his chest.
Four pairs of eyes turned toward her.
Elara stepped inside, closed the door, and took the empty seat beside Rowan.
Thorne extended his hand.
She pulled the folded paper from her pocket and passed it over.
"We need to discuss the spy."
Rafe sat up straighter.
"A spy?"
His gaze dropped to the paper.
"Why is this the first we're hearing about it?"
"I wanted confirmation before bringing it to anyone."
Thorne unfolded the page.
"I have it."
His gaze moved across the room.
"There is a spy in this pack."
Nobody spoke.
"The council knew details regarding the Valamere wolves. They also knew information regarding internal discussions and territory operations."
Rafe's expression hardened.
The usual smirk disappeared.
His gaze returned to the paper, his jaw tightening as his eyes moved across the names.
Whatever conclusions he was reaching, Elara doubted any of them were good.
"How certain are we?" Kaia asked.
Thorne held her gaze.
"I eliminated every other possibility."
The certainty in his voice left little room for argument.
A knot tightened in Elara's stomach.
If Thorne had reached that conclusion, he had already done the work.
He slid the paper across the desk.
"These are the names I couldn't eliminate."
Rafe picked it up.
When he finished reading, he handed it to Kaia.
She studied it carefully before passing it to Rowan.
By the time it returned to Rafe, the lines around his mouth had deepened.
"I know every one of these people."
Elara looked at the page again.
A few minutes ago it had been a list of names.
Now it felt like an accusation.
"So do I," Thorne said.
Rafe rubbed a hand over his face.
"That doesn't make this any easier."
"No."
"How did you narrow it down?" Rowan asked.
"Access."
Thorne tapped the page once.
"The council couldn't know information that wasn't available to the person sharing it."
Kaia frowned.
"Some of these wolves have access to completely different information."
"I know."
"Then either we're dealing with more than one person—"
"Or we're looking at it wrong."
Everyone turned toward Rowan.
"How far back are we tracking council knowledge?"
Thorne looked at him.
"So far we've focused on recent incidents."
"We shouldn't."
Rowan lifted his gaze.
"If information has been leaving the territory for months, the timeline matters as much as the names."
Elara nodded.
Everyone had been focused on who.
Rowan was looking for where it began.
"If someone knew about the Valamere wolves, that's one thing," she said. "But if the council knew things before that, we need to know exactly what."
Rafe frowned.
"For what?"
"So we can tell whether we're dealing with one incident or something that's been happening for months."
A thoughtful look crossed Kaia's face.
A single mistake was one thing.
Months of information slipping out of the territory was something else entirely.
Elara's attention returned to the page.
One possibility immediately stood out.
Brent.
The builder.
Construction never stopped in a territory this size.
Homes expanded when families grew. Buildings needed repairs. Storage facilities were upgraded.
She remembered passing construction sites more than once since arriving in Draegon.
Stacks of lumber.
Fresh sawdust.
Half-finished walls.
Workers moving back and forth carrying materials.
Brent had always been somewhere in the middle of it all, blending into the activity around him.
She tapped the page.
"Brent."
Rafe followed her gaze.
"The builder?"
"In a territory this size, he has a reason to be almost anywhere."
Rafe nodded.
"That's true."
"He worked on the housing expansion near the eastern side of the territory," Kaia said.
"And the storage buildings," Rafe added.
"The training grounds."
"If something needs fixing, Brent usually gets called."
A builder could move through the territory without attracting attention.
His work took him everywhere.
"It's why he's on the list," Thorne said.
Kaia looked toward the remaining names.
"What about the others?"
"Jace works in the prison."
Rafe nodded.
"He has access to transfer schedules and prisoner information."
"Tobin handles patrols."
"Routes. Border reports. Territory movement."
Elara's gaze shifted to the final name.
As Head Warrior, Marder's inclusion made sense.
Still, every road seemed to lead back to Brent.
Rowan was the first to say it.
"He's our strongest lead."
No one argued.
Thorne looked toward Kaia.
"Bring him to my office."
Kaia rose immediately.
"Of course."
The door opened and closed behind her.
After she left, the office fell quiet.
Beyond the closed door, life inside the pack house continued as normal.
The contrast made Elara uneasy.
Whoever had done this had lived among them the entire time.
Shared meals.
Trained beside them.
Sat through pack gatherings.
If they were right, they were only minutes away from answers.
- Writer
