The Hidden Truth

**Angel**

The meeting in the pack leaders' room was tense, with every decision being weighed heavily. Dimitri was in command, his presence commanding respect and obedience, but I could sense the underlying strain in his posture. The room was filled with low murmurs and the shuffling of anxious feet. Every leader present knew that something was brewing, something that threatened not just our pack, but the very foundation of our lives. The weight of betrayal loomed like a dark cloud, and I was the only one who knew the full extent of it.

Mariana’s confession had shaken me to the core. Leonardo, a trusted ally, was possibly working against us, and the thought of it made my stomach churn. How had we come to this? The walls of the mansion, once a sanctuary, now felt like they were closing in on me, filled with secrets and lies that could destroy us all.

As the meeting drew to a close, I saw my chance. Dimitri was surrounded by the pack leaders, but his eyes kept drifting toward me. There was a silent question in his gaze, a trust that he still held, despite the growing tension between us. I knew I had to act quickly, before doubt and fear consumed us all.

“Dimitri,” I called softly, just as he was about to leave the room. He looked at me, a flicker of curiosity and concern crossing his face. “Can we talk in private? There’s something important I need to discuss with you.”

He hesitated, glancing at the others who were beginning to disperse. Then, with a nod, he agreed. “Let’s go to the office.”

As we walked through the dimly lit corridors, the silence between us was deafening. My heart pounded in my chest, the rhythm almost painful. Every step felt like it was leading me closer to a precipice, one where I would have to jump without knowing what lay at the bottom. The weight of what I was about to reveal pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe.

When we reached the office, Dimitri closed the door behind us with a soft click, shutting out the world. The room was filled with the scent of polished wood and leather, familiar and comforting, yet it did nothing to ease the turmoil inside me.

“Angel, what’s going on?” Dimitri asked, his voice filled with a mix of impatience and concern. He stood across from me, arms crossed, his expression tense but open, waiting for me to speak.

I opened my mouth, but the words were stuck, lodged in my throat like a stone. I needed to tell him about Leonardo, to expose the betrayal that was festering within our pack, but as I struggled to find the right words, the door to the office suddenly swung open.

Haizel stood there, her entrance abrupt, her eyes narrowing as they flicked between us. The room seemed to drop a few degrees in temperature, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

“What’s going on here?” Haizel’s voice was sharp, laced with suspicion. “I heard you two talking about something important. Why wasn’t I included?”

Her presence threw everything into disarray. My carefully constructed plan to reveal the truth to Dimitri crumbled in an instant. Haizel had always been a master manipulator, and I knew that whatever I said now could easily be twisted and used against me.

“It’s nothing that needs your attention right now, Haizel,” Dimitri replied, though his tone lacked its usual authority. There was a weariness in him, a sign of the burdens he had been carrying.

“Nothing? Dimitri, I know when something is being hidden from me,” Haizel retorted, her arms crossing over her chest as she took a step closer. Her eyes bore into me, challenging me to speak, daring me to reveal whatever it was I had brought Dimitri here to discuss.

I could feel the tension in the room thickening, like a rope being pulled taut, ready to snap. My body was rigid with fear, not for myself, but for what this moment represented. Everything was hanging in the balance, and one wrong word could tip it all into chaos.

“Angel,” Dimitri’s voice broke through my thoughts, bringing my focus back to him. “You were going to tell me something about Leonardo.”

I looked into his eyes, and for a brief moment, I saw the man I loved, the one who had always believed in me, trusted me. But that trust was fragile now, on the verge of being shattered by the truth I held. How could I tell him? How could I destroy what little faith he had left in our pack, in those closest to him?

But before I could gather the courage to speak, Haizel interjected, stepping between us as if to physically block the words from leaving my mouth. “If there’s something important about Leonardo, then I think I have the right to know. After all, anything that affects this pack affects me too.”

Her words were a challenge, a clear assertion of her dominance in this situation. She wasn’t going to let me have this moment, wasn’t going to allow me to speak freely without her oversight. The power dynamics in the room shifted, and I felt my opportunity slipping away.

“I… just wanted to talk about the pack’s safety,” I lied, my voice barely above a whisper. It was the only thing I could think to say, the only way to deflect the situation and avoid a confrontation I wasn’t prepared for. “I was worried about the patrols and… thought we should increase our efforts to keep everyone safe.”

Dimitri’s frown deepened, clearly expecting more, sensing that I wasn’t telling the full story. But before he could press further, Haizel seized the moment.

“If that’s all, then we can discuss it later,” she said, her tone dismissive, with a hint of triumph. “Right now, there are more pressing matters to attend to.”

I felt a wave of despair wash over me as I realized I had lost my chance. The truth was still buried, and Haizel was in control. I had been outmaneuvered, and the weight of it pressed heavily on my chest.

Dimitri hesitated for a moment, his eyes searching mine for something—anything—that would give him reason to stay. But I couldn’t bring myself to speak. The fear of what Haizel might do, how she might twist my words, held me back.

“Alright,” Dimitri finally said, his voice tinged with resignation. “We’ll talk about this later.”

As he and Haizel left the office, I stood frozen in place, the walls of the room closing in on me. I had come so close to revealing everything, to tearing down the lies and exposing the truth. But instead, I had retreated, and now the silence weighed more heavily than ever.

When the door clicked shut behind them, I collapsed into a chair, the strength draining from my body. I had failed to protect my pack, failed to protect Dimitri from the betrayal that was festering within our ranks. And now, I was left with nothing but the crushing weight of that failure.

The truth was still there, lurking beneath the surface, waiting to be uncovered. But for now, it would remain hidden, and I would have to live with the consequences of my silence.

The battle was far from over, and I knew that sooner or later, I would have to face the truth. But today was not that day. Today, the silence had won.