The Hidden Truth

**Dimitri**

The hours passed in a blur of tense conversations, drawn-out strategies, and redoing plans that never seemed solid enough. The day dragged on, but the weight of the alliance with Kael pressed on every decision we made. I was in the meeting room, reviewing the patrol reports once again, when Leonardo rushed in, his face pale and his eyes wide with fear.

“Dimitri, you need to see this,” he said bluntly. Something in his voice made me drop the papers immediately. There was urgency, and worse, fear—a combination I knew never brought good news.

I followed Leonardo to Kael’s office, where one of our spies was waiting, holding an old, dirty scroll. The wolf, one of our most discreet operatives, had successfully infiltrated Kael’s pack, listening to conversations and observing movements. But his expression now showed that what he had found was much more than simple information.

“What did you find?” I asked, my voice controlled, but already feeling a dark foreboding.

The spy handed me the scroll, hesitant. “I found this in Kael’s quarters, but it wasn’t him who left it there. It was hidden among the maps, but it seemed out of place, as if someone had put it there on purpose.”

I unrolled the scroll, and what I saw made my blood run cold. It was an old letter with Lucian’s unmistakable signature. The words were direct, showing that Kael wasn’t just an opportunistic ally but had deep ties with Lucian. They had worked together, planned together, and now, with Lucian dead, it seemed Kael was trying to continue his legacy of destruction.

I felt a wave of anger rising inside me, mixed with a bitter sense of betrayal. “He deceived us,” I murmured, gripping the scroll tightly. “All of this... the alliance proposal, the request for protection... it’s a farce.”

Leonardo nodded, but there was doubt in his eyes. “But who left this letter where we could find it? If Kael wanted to keep this a secret, why was it so exposed?”

Leonardo’s question hit me. Whoever had placed that letter in Kael’s quarters wanted us to find it. But why? Was it a warning? Internal betrayal? Or was someone playing an even bigger game, using this information to manipulate both sides?

“What do we know about Kael’s wolves?” I asked, the weight of uncertainty tightening in my chest. “Is there anyone among them who would want to see him fall?”

Leonardo pondered for a moment. “There are rumors of divisions among Kael’s wolves. Some were loyal to Lucian and may not be happy with how Kael is handling the alliance. Maybe someone wants the truth to come out.”

His words put me on alert. If there was a faction within Kael’s wolves that didn’t trust him, it meant our alliance was on even shakier ground than I had thought. Kael was not just an external problem; he had enemies within his own ranks.

“We need to find out who’s behind this,” I said, feeling the urgency of the situation grow. “If someone within Kael’s pack is trying to warn us, we might have an advantage. But we need to know who to trust.”

Leonardo nodded, but the discomfort was still etched on his face. “And what if it’s a trap? If this letter was planted to make us act rashly?”

“We can’t rule out that possibility,” I agreed, looking at the scroll once more. “But we can’t ignore what’s right in front of us. Let’s proceed with caution.”

Back at the mansion, I felt the weight of the discovery pressing on my shoulders. As I walked through the corridors, my mind was occupied with the implications of this new information. I knew I needed to confront Kael, but something told me this game was more complex than I had imagined.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me: what if the true traitor wasn’t just Kael but someone close to him? Someone pulling the strings of an even larger web of manipulation?

I returned to my office, feeling the urgent need to reevaluate everything. Who could want to expose Kael? Was it an enemy within his ranks or someone from outside, trying to pit us against each other?

I picked up the envelope again, examining every detail, and that’s when I noticed a subtle mark in the corner—a symbol I hadn’t seen before, something only someone with deep knowledge of past alliances would recognize. It was a seal that didn’t belong to Kael or Lucian, but to a long-forgotten faction that had been silent since the beginning of the conflict.

I stood up suddenly, my heart racing. This revelation changed everything. Someone was pulling the strings from the shadows, someone with an agenda we didn’t yet understand. And now, more than ever, we needed to find out who.

Because while we thought we were in control, another force was moving, invisible but dangerously close.