Chapter 212
The forest was quiet—too quiet. Even the birds had stopped singing.
"This is the place," Sophie whispered, her fingers brushing against the tree bark as if reading it like a page from a sacred book. Her friend Fatima, cloaked in a thick shawl that shimmered faintly with protective runes, scanned the area with narrowed eyes.
I tightened my grip on my coat, my other hand instinctively resting on the curve of my stomach. The baby kicked lightly—perhaps in warning.
The cave loomed before us, partially hidden by vines and time. It had once been a sanctuary for wolves who needed to shift in peace. Now, it smelled of something foul, of rotten magic and betrayal.
Fatima reached into her satchel and pulled out a crystal the color of dried blood. It pulsed faintly as she held it toward the cave.
"There was a summoning here," she said. "Something dark. A spell woven with blood magic—and not animal. This was a sacrifice."
I flinched. "From inside the pack?"
Sophie nodded grimly. "The ritual markers match our ancestral symbols. Twisted, but ours nonetheless. Someone with access to our archives did this."
My stomach churned. I had thought I was done with secrets, with half-truths and riddles. But this—this was treachery rooted in the soil beneath our feet. And worse, it was close to home.
We stepped into the cave, our footsteps echoing against stone. The scent was stronger now, acrid and burnt. Strange sigils were etched into the walls in dried crimson, some half-faded, others pulsing faintly with residual energy.
Fatima muttered under her breath, and a soft glow emerged from the runes. Her eyes widened.
"They're meant to open a portal," she whispered. "Not just for communication. This could let something in. Something ancient."
I backed away instinctively, shielding my belly. "And you think someone from Jake's pack is helping whoever’s planning this?"
"No outsider could know how to replicate these rituals without guidance," Sophie said, voice shaking. "This is betrayal. From within."
We left the cave with our senses alert. I was trying not to let my emotions take over—anger, fear, the sharp stab of betrayal. But they simmered under the surface.
Back at Sophie’s cabin, nestled deeper in the woods and warded against intruders, we gathered around a wooden table covered with maps, books, and notes. I stared at the drawing of the sigil we'd copied from the cave.
"What if we start vetting the inner circle in secret?" I said. "Jake’s closest council, the elders, even the guards. If there’s a traitor among them, we can’t confront them outright. We’d risk causing panic."
Fatima looked up sharply. "You mean a cleansing."
"A silent one," I said. "If we start accusing people publicly, the whole pack will collapse into suspicion. We need to gather proof—solid proof—and expose the traitors only when we’re certain."
Sophie nodded. "I can dig into the archives and cross-reference recent accesses. Anyone who looked up ritualistic symbols, especially forbidden ones, will be on our watchlist."
"And I’ll ask the packs witch to enchant the next full moon patrol routes," Fatima offered. "If someone’s moving under cover of night, we’ll know."
I leaned back, exhaling slowly. The fire crackled behind us, casting dancing shadows across the room. The baby stirred again, as if responding to the tension that hung in the air.
"They tried to hide this," I murmured. "But they didn’t do a perfect job. That means they’re getting bolder—or desperate. Either way, we don’t have much time."
Fatima gave me a sideways glance. "You’re more than a Luna. You’re a strategist."
"I’m a mother," I replied. "And I’ll burn down anyone who threatens this pack or my child."
We didn't sleep that night. The plans we laid were like spiderwebs, delicate yet lethal. We split up at dawn. Sophie would return to the packhouse under the pretense of researching fertility herbs for me. Fatima would scout the grounds using her magic, cloaked under an invisibility veil.
And me? I was going to visit the only wolf crazy enough to know every secret passage and hiding place in our territory—Milo.
Milo had once been a scout before he lost his mate and his mind. Now he lived in the boundary cabins, scribbling prophecies on the walls and talking to the wind. But I knew better than to call him mad. Milo remembered everything.
His door creaked open before I even knocked.
"Ah, the Luna with fire in her belly and a storm on her heels," he said, eyes gleaming. "You’ve come for the names."
I stepped in, heart pounding. "You know who betrayed the pack?"
He smiled, eerily calm. "Not yet. But I know where the rot began. Come."
Milo’s cabin was a chaos of parchment, old bones, herbal bundles, and forgotten relics. The walls were covered in red ink symbols that mirrored those we had seen in the cave.
He pointed to a large map pinned above his hearth. “The corruption began here,” he said, tapping the northeast ridge of our territory. “Near the abandoned outpost. The warding stones were tampered with two months ago. I felt the tremor in my teeth."
I frowned. “No one reported anything.”
“Of course they didn’t,” he grinned. “The ones who know are the ones hiding it."
He handed me a folded note. Inside were three names. All guards. All wolves Jake trusted.
“I’m not saying they’re the root,” Milo said softly. “But they’ve been to the cave. Alone. On different nights.”
My heart clenched. Milo didn’t need proof—I did. But this was more than enough to start.
I returned to the packhouse under the guise of checking in with the healer. Jake was out on patrol, leaving me time to move without notice. I slipped into the records room, Sophie having already marked the logs I needed.
Sure enough, the three guards had all taken shifts near the northern ridge. All had late-night patrols that crossed with the area near the cave. Too many coincidences.
That night, I met Sophie and Fatima again—this time in the old greenhouse.
“Two of the guards have withdrawn from social events,” Sophie reported. “One even refused the last full moon run. Unheard of.”
“And one has a charm,” Fatima added, holding up a small pendant with a hex etched into it. “This was buried near his cabin. Buried to hide it from scent and sight. It blocks mind reading and weakens trackers.”
We were spiraling deeper into a pit of suspicion. I felt torn. These wolves had fought beside Jake. They had bled for the pack.
But that was the perfect camouflage, wasn’t it?
We laid our trap.
Under the guise of organizing an elite protection circle for the Luna—me—we invited each of the three guards to meet us separately in the woods. The plan was simple: the packs witch would use a truth spell disguised as a drink. Sophie would stand hidden to intercept anyone trying to flee. I would ask questions that only someone involved in the betrayal would fear.
The first one came—a young wolf named Arden. His hand trembled as he drank.
I leaned forward. “Tell me. Have you ever entered the northeast ridge without permission?”
He shook his head. The truth crystal pulsed blue. Truth.
“Do you know about the summoning cave?”
“No.” Blue.
“Have you seen anyone perform rituals?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
Red.
The crystal screamed crimson. A lie.
Sophie was on him in a flash, claws to his throat.
He broke instantly. “It wasn’t me! I saw Calder—he was drawing in the dirt. He said it was just to honor the old spirits!”
Calder. The second guard.
We released Arden with a warning—and a magical tracker hidden on his belt.
Calder never came to the meeting. He disappeared.
Fatima traced the sigil again. “He’s gone to activate the portal.”
I snarled. “Then we go to the cave. We end this now.”
But when we arrived, the cave was ablaze with light—pulsing, otherworldly. Calder stood in the center, blood dripping from his palm.
“You don’t understand!” he cried. “They promised power! A way to break the curse on the bloodline—Jake’s bloodline. Your child will bring ruin! I was trying to save us!”
My voice was a whisper. “You betrayed us to them. You’d kill us all to stop a future you don’t understand?”
He screamed and hurled the blood into the sigil.
Fatima moved faster than thought, casting a warding circle around me and the baby. Sophie lunged, tackling Calder.
But it was too late.
The cave split open with a roar. A voice spoke—low and ancient.
One has opened the gate. A life must close it.
Fatima turned to me. "It wants a sacrifice."
I shook my head. "Not tonight."
Then Sophie shoved Calder into the circle.
He screamed as the energy consumed him—andI the portal collapsed.
We collapsed, too.
But we had our proof. We had our strategy.
And now, we had blood on our hands.
The cleansing had begun.
\---
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
