Chapter 5: Blood on the Snow
1398 Words
The night air bit hard against Lina’s skin as she peered out from the lodge’s window. Snowflakes drifted lazily, covering the footprints in the courtyard until they disappeared into white nothing. But the cold wasn’t what kept her from sleeping—it was the way Kaelen’s words still echoed in her mind.
“I believe you… That’s why you can’t leave this lodge until I say so.”
It was supposed to be comforting. Instead, it felt like a cage.
She turned away from the glass and paced her small room. Somewhere beyond the gates, Ironfang was planning his next move, and Selene… Selene was the knife already inside the pack. If Kaelen believed her, why keep Selene in the council at all?
Unless… he was keeping her close for a reason.
A faint sound drew Lina from her thoughts. Not footsteps—more like a whisper. She crept to her door and eased it open. The hallway was dark except for the dim orange glow spilling from the war room.
Voices. Low, urgent.
She recognized Kaelen’s deep tone first. “…until the Blood Moon passes. We can’t afford to—”
Then Selene’s smooth voice: “And if she’s lying to you? If this whole story about seeing me with Ironfang is a ploy? You know what happens to packs that fall for a pretty face and a sob story.”
Lina’s fingers tightened on the doorframe.
Kaelen’s reply was quiet but cutting. “And you know what happens to wolves who betray their Alpha.”
Silence followed. Heavy.
Then Selene laughed softly. “Careful, Kaelen. You’re starting to sound like him.”
The sound of boots crossing the room made Lina retreat quickly, slipping back into her room and closing the door just as the footsteps passed in the hall. She leaned against the wood, her pulse thudding in her ears.
If Kaelen was already warning Selene… maybe he was preparing for her betrayal.
But she couldn’t sit and wait for the Blood Moon to find out.
The next morning brought no sign of Selene. Kaelen was gone before dawn, leading a patrol to the western ridge where tracks had been found in the snow.
Lina lingered in the lodge, listening to the murmur of wolves in the main hall. News spread fast in Darkpine, and the words she caught made her uneasy: sightings… rogues… iron scent on the wind.
She was about to slip away to the kitchen when a familiar voice stopped her.
“Little one.”
She turned to find Mira leaning against the doorway, arms crossed.
“You’re restless,” Mira said.
“I’m fine,” Lina replied quickly.
“Liar.” Mira’s mouth twitched into a faint smile. “Come with me.”
Mira led her outside into the blinding white. They crossed the courtyard, past the training ring where two young wolves sparred under the watch of an older sentinel, and through the narrow path leading to the river.
When they reached the edge of the frozen water, Mira stopped.
“I believe you about Selene,” she said simply.
Lina blinked. “You do?”
“She’s been slipping away too often. And I’ve smelled another scent on her—wolf, but not ours.”
Relief mixed with gratitude. “Then we need to tell Kaelen.”
Mira shook her head. “Kaelen already suspects. But he can’t move against her without proof, not with the Blood Moon so close. Half the pack still trusts her.”
Lina frowned. “So what do we do?”
Mira’s gaze was steady. “We watch her. And when she makes her move, we make ours.”
It was easier said than done. For the next two days, Selene kept mostly to the lodge, always in plain sight. But on the third night, under the sickly silver of a half-moon, Lina caught the glint of movement beyond the gates.
Selene, cloaked and hooded, heading for the north trail.
Lina’s breath quickened. She found Mira near the watchtower and pointed silently. Mira’s eyes narrowed, and together they followed.
The north trail wound through dense pine, the branches heavy with snow. Selene moved quickly, her steps leaving shallow prints in the powder. They trailed her for nearly an hour, until the trees thinned and the forest opened into a moonlit glade.
Ironfang was waiting.
His golden eyes gleamed as Selene approached. “You’re late.”
“I had shadows tonight,” Selene replied, glancing briefly toward the trees. “But I lost them.”
Mira’s hand tightened on Lina’s arm, urging her back into the cover of the pines.
Ironfang stepped closer to Selene. “The girl?”
“Still in the lodge. Guarded.”
Ironfang’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Not for long. At the Blood Moon, you’ll bring her to me. And if you fail—”
“I won’t fail,” Selene interrupted.
Something shifted in the air then—a scent Lina didn’t recognize. Sharp, metallic.
Ironfang’s head snapped toward the trees. “We’re not alone.”
Before Lina could move, a shadow detached itself from the far side of the glade. Not wolf. Not human.
A hunter.
He was tall, wrapped in heavy furs, his crossbow already raised. The bolt’s tip glinted silver in the moonlight.
“Step away from him, wolf,” the hunter said. His voice was calm, but there was something in his stance—coiled, ready—that made Lina’s stomach knot.
Selene hissed. “You don’t know what you’re—”
The bolt flew.
It hit Selene in the shoulder, the impact knocking her back. She snarled, clutching the wound as steam rose from where the silver burned her flesh.
Ironfang moved like a shadow, vanishing into the trees with supernatural speed.
The hunter advanced toward Selene, reloading his crossbow. “One less traitor in the pack.”
Lina’s body moved before her mind caught up. She burst from the cover of the pines, Mira on her heels.
“Stop!” she shouted.
The hunter’s gaze flicked to her, startled. “Out of the way, girl.”
“She’s still one of ours,” Mira growled. “You want to kill her, you go through me.”
The standoff was tense. Then the hunter’s lips curled. “Suit yourself.”
He melted back into the forest, his footsteps silent on the snow.
Lina hurried to Selene’s side. The silver wound was bad—angry and smoking.
“Why?” Selene rasped, eyes narrowing at her. “Why save me?”
Lina hesitated. “Because killing you out here won’t help the pack. Kaelen needs to see what you’ve done.”
For the first time, Selene’s expression faltered. Not guilt—fear.
They half-dragged, half-carried her back to Darkpine. By the time they reached the gates, Kaelen was there, his expression like carved stone.
“She was meeting with him,” Mira said without preamble.
Kaelen’s gaze locked on Selene. “Is it true?”
Selene’s silence was all the answer he needed.
“Take her to the cells,” he ordered.
As the guards hauled her away, her eyes found Lina’s. “You think you’ve won,” she whispered. “But you’ve just painted a target on your back.”
Later, in the war room, Kaelen stood over the map table, his hands braced on either side.
“She’s not the only one,” he said. “If Ironfang has hunters working with him, then this is bigger than a pack feud. And if he really does have pieces of your past…” He looked up at her, his amber eyes fierce. “We have to find out what they are before he uses them against us.”
Lina nodded slowly, her heart pounding. “Then tell me what you know.”
Kaelen hesitated. “When the Blood Moon rises, the veil between our kind and the old magic thins. That’s when truths buried deep have a way of surfacing. If Ironfang’s after you then… you were part of something powerful. Dangerous.”
Her mouth went dry. “What was I?”
His jaw clenched. “We’ll find out together. But until then—don’t leave my side.”
The wind howled outside, carrying with it the promise of the Blood Moon.
And somewhere in the shadows beyond the walls, Ironfang was smiling.
- Writer
