The Hidden suspect

**Dimitri**

The dense, oppressive silence of the fortress enveloped everything around us. The air was charged with the residual energy of the recent battle, and every muscle in my body still ached from the fight against Lucian. He lay unconscious on the ground, yet even so, I couldn't feel relieved. There was a persistent sense that something was terribly wrong, an intuition that kept me on high alert.

Leonardo, ever vigilant, approached me, his eyes still watchful for any movement from Lucian. "We need to take Lucian back to the mansion," he suggested, his voice firm but laden with concern. "We need to interrogate him to find out what he’s planning."

I nodded, but my mind was elsewhere. Lucian’s words during the battle still echoed in my head. He spoke of darkness, of betrayals, and the way he mentioned certain names left a bitter taste in my mouth. Something in his words deeply unsettled me, something I couldn’t fully grasp yet.

"He mentioned someone..." I murmured, my voice barely audible. The memory of Lucian’s sinister tone sent a shiver down my spine. "Someone who might be betraying us."

Leonardo frowned, his eyes locked on mine, clearly intrigued. "Who? Did he say a name?"

For a moment, I hesitated, trying to organize my confused thoughts. The fight had been intense, and my mind was saturated with anger and adrenaline, but there was a name, one Lucian mentioned subtly, yet full of meaning. A name that, in that instant, sounded like a death sentence. "Haizel."

The name slipped from my lips as a whisper, but Leonardo’s reaction was immediate. His eyes widened, incredulity etched across his face. "Haizel? Do you think she could be involved in this? Haizel is one of ours."

"I don’t know," I admitted, shaking my head as I tried to make sense of it all. "But Lucian mentioned her name. And the way he said it... it’s like he knows something we don’t."

Haizel’s name reverberated in my mind, filling me with doubts. I had known her for a long time, trusted her as part of our inner circle. The thought that she might be betraying us seemed impossible, but I couldn’t ignore Lucian’s warning. He had always been a master of manipulation, of planting the seed of doubt, but... what if this time he was telling the truth?

Leonardo remained silent, absorbing what I had just said. His expression grew somber, reflecting the weight of the new information. Haizel was one of ours, someone we trusted to protect the pack. The idea that she could be working against us was hard to accept. But at the same time, Lucian didn’t throw words around lightly.

"If she’s involved," Leonardo finally broke the silence, his voice low and grim, "we need to find out as soon as possible. This could change everything."

The possibility that Haizel might be betraying the pack shook me in a way I hadn’t expected. The idea of a betrayal from within our circle was worse than any battle against external enemies. Internal betrayal meant we were vulnerable, that our defenses had failed, and that someone we trusted could be working against us.

"But first," I continued, forcing myself to focus on what needed to be done at that moment, "we need to make sure Lucian doesn’t escape. He’s our best chance of finding out what’s really going on."

As we prepared to drag Lucian’s limp body back to the mansion, my mind was divided. Part of me wanted to confront Haizel immediately, demand answers, but I knew I had to play it cautiously. If she truly was the traitor, confronting her without proof might alert her, and we’d lose our only chance to uncover the extent of the conspiracy.

Leonardo organized the group, and soon we began to move. The weight of Lucian’s body was a constant reminder of the recent victory, but that victory felt hollow in light of the new doubts that were emerging. Every step we took back to the safety of the mansion was laden with tension. I could feel the eyes of the other wolves on me, and I knew the news of a possible betrayal would spread quickly. We needed to act with surgical precision.

As we moved through the forest, my thoughts returned to Haizel. I mentally reviewed every interaction we’d had, every decision she had made in the past few months. Had I missed signs of her loyalty wavering? Or was I simply letting Lucian’s poisonous words get to me?

The forest around us was dense, the trees casting shadows that stretched like skeletal fingers on the ground. The biting cold of the night seemed to intensify, as if nature itself was aware of the gravity of the situation. My instincts were on high alert, and every crack of a branch or rustle of leaves made me look around, searching for threats.

"Dimitri," Leonardo called my attention, bringing me back to the present. "We need to decide what to do once we get to the mansion. We can’t leave Lucian unsupervised."

I nodded, forcing myself to focus on the immediate task. "He’ll be placed under the guard of our best wolves. We can’t risk him using any tricks to escape. And in the meantime, we need to keep an eye on Haizel. Discreetly."

Leonardo agreed, but there was a tension in his gaze, something he was reluctant to say. Finally, he broke the silence. "If Haizel really is betraying the pack... how do we deal with that? She’s one of us. The punishment for treason is death, Dimitri."

Those words hung in the air, heavy as lead. Executing a traitor was a necessity to protect the pack, but thinking of Haizel in that role was something I didn’t want to face. "We’ll find the truth first," I responded, my voice firm but filled with internal uncertainty. "And then, we’ll make the right decision. But we need proof, Leonardo. No rash actions."

When we finally reached the mansion, the tension within the group was palpable. Lucian was placed in a reinforced cell under constant watch, while Leonardo and I exchanged a look that said it all. We knew the next few days would be crucial. The threat of Lucian still hung over us, but now there was a new threat, a shadow of doubt that could erode the trust within the pack.

I went up to my quarters, but sleep seemed impossible. The image of Haizel wouldn’t leave my mind, and the uncertainty of her loyalties gnawed at me. I knew I would have to face this new reality with caution, and that the survival of the pack might depend on difficult decisions.

As the moon shone brightly in the night sky, I cast one last look out the window, toward the forest surrounding the mansion. Out there, in the shadows, the real enemies were hiding. But now, the greatest threat might be within our own walls.