Chapter 5: The Traitor
691 Words
The morning after the attack, the Don called a pack meeting.
Every wolf gathered in the great hall—a massive room Giuliana hadn't seen before, with vaulted ceilings and portraits of previous Dons watching from the walls. She stood beside Marco, acutely aware of every eye on her.
The Don surveyed his pack with cold fury. "We have a traitor. Someone opened the east gate. Someone told the Russos about the human." His golden eyes swept the room. "And I will find out who."
Murmurs rippled through the pack. Wolves looked at each other with suspicion.
"Until the traitor is found, no one leaves the estate. No one communicates with outside contacts. We are on lockdown." The Don's voice carried absolute authority. "And anyone found colluding with the Russos will be executed. No exceptions."
Giuliana felt Marco tense beside her.
After the meeting, as wolves dispersed in worried groups, Luca pulled Marco aside. Giuliana started to give them privacy, but Marco kept his hand on her wrist.
"She should hear this," Marco said.
Luca looked uncomfortable. "There's talk. Some wolves believe the human brought this down on us. That if she wasn't here, the Russos wouldn't have attacked."
"That's bullshit," Isabella said, appearing beside them. "The Russos have been planning this for months. She's just a convenient excuse."
"Maybe. But perception matters." Luca met Marco's eyes. "Some are saying you should reject her. Send her away. End the problem."
"No." Marco's voice was flat. "She's my mate. She's pack. End of discussion."
"I'm just telling you what people are saying."
After Luca left, Marco pulled Giuliana into an empty hallway. "I won't send you away. You need to know that."
"Even if it would make the pack safer?"
"The pack is safer with you here. You proved that last night." His thumb traced her jaw. "You're one of us now, whether they want to admit it or not."
"Am I? I'm still human, Marco. Still the weak link."
"Then let me change that." His eyes were intense. "Let me mark you. Complete the bond. Make you truly pack."
"I—"
A scream cut through the air.
They ran toward the sound, along with a dozen other wolves. In the courtyard, Rosa stood over a body.
One of their own wolves. Throat slit.
"Merda," Marco breathed.
The Don appeared, face thunderous. "Who found him?"
"I did," Rosa said, her healer's composure cracking. "He's been dead maybe an hour. And..." She held up something. "He had this."
A phone. With text messages to a Russo family number.
"The traitor," someone whispered.
But Giuliana's attention had caught on something else. The dead wolf's hand, positioned oddly. Like he'd been trying to write something in his own blood.
She knelt, ignoring Marco's protest, and looked closer.
Three letters, barely visible: "ISO"
"What's ISO?" she asked.
"Isabella Sofia," someone said. "That's Isabella's full name."
All eyes turned to Isabella, who'd gone pale.
"No," Isabella said. "I didn't—I would never—"
"You've always resented Marco's position," someone accused. "Wanted to be Luna yourself."
"That doesn't make me a traitor!"
"She took a bullet for me," Giuliana said loudly. "She's been training me. Helping me. Why would she do that if she wanted me dead?"
"To gain your trust," the Don said coldly. "To get close to you. To make her betrayal more devastating when it came."
"Father, this is insane," Marco started.
"Is it? She's always been ambitious. Always wanted more." The Don's eyes narrowed. "And she had opportunity. She knows the estate inside and out."
"I didn't betray the pack!" Isabella's voice was desperate. "Yes, I resented Giuliana at first. But I was wrong. She's proven herself. I would never—"
"Lock her in the cells," the Don commanded. "Until we can verify her innocence or guilt."
Two large wolves grabbed Isabella. She didn't fight—couldn't, without challenging the Don's direct order.
But as they dragged her away, she met Giuliana's eyes. And Giuliana saw the truth there.
Isabella was innocent.
Which meant the real traitor was still among them.
And they'd just framed someone else for their crimes.
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