CHAPTER TWELVE
831 Words
Kael didn’t call a council meeting.
He didn’t make an announcement.
When an Alpha wanted to strike without giving his enemy a chance to brace for the blow, he moved quietly — and let the wind carry the whispers.
By dawn, he had summoned only three people: Ronan, his Beta; Mara, the pack’s head tracker; and Elder Toren, the oldest wolf in Blackthorn.
Each of them trusted Kael enough not to ask questions when he said, “This stays between us. No one else — not even Selene.”
They met in Kael’s study, the morning light spilling across the map-strewn table.
Kael spoke without preamble. “Lucien is building influence inside this pack. He’s using Selene to do it. He’s telling her she’s trapped — that I’m the one trapping her. And it’s working.”
Mara’s sharp brows furrowed. “You’re sure?”
“I heard it with my own ears,” Kael said, the memory still sharp as glass. “He’s close to convincing her to walk away. But that’s not all. He’s making deals with rogues.”
That got a low growl from Ronan. “If he’s doing that, he’s not just after Selene. He’s after the pack.”
“Exactly,” Kael replied. “Which means I can’t just confront him. If I do, he’ll twist it into proof of everything he’s been feeding her. Instead, I’ll make him reveal himself — and I’ll make him do it in a way that Selene can’t deny.”
Elder Toren leaned forward. “And how do you plan to do that?”
Kael tapped the map on the table, pointing to the southern ridge where Blackthorn territory edged into neutral lands. “We’ve been getting reports of rogue sightings here. I want to make it known — quietly — that we’re sending a shipment of weapons and supplies down this route. Just enough to tempt him.”
“You think he’ll try to intercept it?” Mara asked.
“I know he will,” Kael said. “He won’t be able to resist an opportunity to weaken us while strengthening his rogue allies. And when he does, we’ll be waiting.”
Ronan gave a tight nod. “And Selene?”
Kael’s gaze darkened. “She’ll hear about it. And she’ll see the truth with her own eyes.”
The plan set, they moved quickly. By afternoon, the rumor of the southern supply run had already begun to thread its way through the pack. Kael didn’t have to spread it himself — a few well-placed words to a few loose-tongued hunters was all it took. News in a wolf pack moved faster than wildfire.
But Lucien wasn’t the only one who heard.
Selene came to Kael in the early evening, her arms folded. “You’re sending weapons out through the southern ridge?”
Kael didn’t look up from the patrol rosters. “We need to fortify the outer settlements. You know that.”
“Then why did I hear it from Mara instead of you?” she asked, her tone edged with suspicion.
“Because it’s my job to keep the pack secure,” Kael said evenly. “And my job doesn’t always require your approval.”
Her jaw tightened. “Or my knowledge, apparently.”
Kael let the silence linger for a moment before saying, “The southern ridge is dangerous. I’d prefer you stay away from it.”
“I wasn’t planning to go there,” she said quickly — a little too quickly.
When she left, Kael glanced at Ronan, who had been standing silently in the corner.
“She’ll go to him,” Ronan murmured.
Kael nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m counting on.”
Two nights later, the trap was set.
Kael positioned his best trackers along the southern ridge before dusk. The “shipment” they were guarding was nothing more than crates filled with sand and old tools — bait dressed as gold.
The air was sharp with the scent of pine and frost as Kael crouched among the rocks, waiting.
Sure enough, just after midnight, shapes moved through the trees — three rogues Kael didn’t recognize… and Lucien.
Kael’s wolf bristled at the sight of him slinking in the shadows like a thief. He kept low, watching as Lucien gave quiet instructions, his men slipping toward the false shipment.
And then, just as Kael had predicted, another figure appeared on the ridge path.
Selene.
Her cloak was pulled tight around her shoulders, her face pale in the moonlight. She moved toward Lucien quickly, clearly not afraid.
Kael’s chest tightened. She wasn’t here by accident.
Lucien’s expression shifted when he saw her — surprise, yes, but also satisfaction. He stepped toward her, and though Kael was too far to hear, he could imagine the honeyed lies spilling from the man’s mouth.
Kael waited, every muscle coiled. His trap had sprung — but it was Selene’s reaction that would determine whether it truly worked.
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