Chapter 129- Smoke and Shadows

Tarria

Even after losing my left hand in the battle against Dion, Lexy never treated me like I was broken. Maybe that’s why I didn’t let myself act like I was. When she asked me to do recon on Adrian and his pack, I didn’t hesitate.

Two days ago, I slipped across the border of the Black Hollow Pack under the veil of nightfall. Adrian had kept his rise relatively quiet, but we all knew that kind of silence usually masked something more dangerous. Lexy’s exact words had been: *“Find out what Adrian's planning, what kind of Alpha he really is—and what he’s hiding.”* That last part lingered in my head like smoke.

I moved like a shadow through the trees, careful to avoid leaving a trail. The loss of my left hand had forced me to retrain every motion, every stance. I used to wield twin blades like they were part of me. Now I fought with a single blade and sharpened instincts. Not the same, but not lesser.

On the first night, I found a vantage point near the outer edge of Adrian’s main compound. The land was clean, overly maintained—every shrub trimmed, every path swept. A place that tried too hard to appear perfect. That alone told me something: Adrian was obsessed with control.

I watched his warriors during their rotations. They moved in perfect sync, like they were drilled nonstop. Efficient. Disciplined. But there was no camaraderie between them. They obeyed because they feared. I recognized the subtle body language—the averted gazes, the stiffness around superiors. Adrian ruled through power, not loyalty.

By the second night, I’d seen Adrian twice. Once during a brief meeting with his top guards—none of whom he allowed to speak freely—and again when he stood on the northern wall, watching the border like he expected ghosts to rise from it. He was restless. Calculating. That restlessness was more dangerous than anger.

I slipped into the lower village area under cover of fog early that morning, my cloak pulled low. I’d learned long ago that information traveled faster through the mouths of farmers and traders than through highborn tongues. A young wolf—barely past her first shift—talked about how Adrian was recruiting rogues from the outer lands. Another whispered that Adrian visited the old blood shrine alone every full moon. Dark magic? Or just an old tradition? Either way, it was something Lexy would want to know.

I scribbled notes with my right hand, using coded marks only Lexy and CJ would recognize. If I could make it out by nightfall, I could be back in time for the next conference. Lexy would have what she needed to challenge Adrian if it came to that.

But fate doesn’t like clean endings.

As I moved to leave the village outskirts, I caught the scent. Not one, but three trackers. Damn. I slipped into a narrow corridor between two stone buildings, heart steady. I could lose them. I’d done it before.

The first wolf came fast, but sloppy. Young. Overconfident. I used his momentum against him, stepping aside and slamming my elbow into the base of his skull. He dropped. The second was smarter—stayed back, probed for weaknesses. I danced around him, but I was tiring. My left side—always my weaker flank now—slowed me. I adjusted. Just barely.

The third wolf didn’t fight at all. He darted in with a small dart gun, aiming directly for my exposed side. I felt the prick, then the cold bite of something blooming in my veins. Not silver. Something worse. Everything tilted.

My last thought before the world went black was: *Lexy, I’m sorry.*

When I woke, I was in a stone room lit only by a single lantern. No chains, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I was free. I sat up slowly, wincing. My sword was gone. My pack, gone. Even the small sigil I wore around my neck—Lexy’s crest—had been stripped away.

They didn’t need to lock the door. Whatever they’d injected me with still pulsed in my system. I couldn’t shift. I couldn’t even extend my claws.

I waited. No one came for hours. The silence was deliberate.

They wanted me to question everything.

It wasn’t until the following night that I saw a face. A man stepped in—tall, broad-shouldered, his presence sharp like broken glass. Not Adrian. But familiar.

He didn’t speak right away. Just watched me, like I was a puzzle missing too many pieces. I stared right back, unflinching.

Then he smiled. It was the kind that made my skin crawl.

“You’re more persistent than most,” he said. “Lexy trained you well.”

My jaw tightened. I didn’t speak.

He leaned against the far wall. “Two days in our territory and you managed to avoid every patrol but one. That’s impressive. But not enough.”

“Who are you?” I finally asked. My voice was hoarse, but steady.

He raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t recognize me little girl. I suppose it was before your time.”

Then it clicked. The scar down his left cheek. The body frame is the same as the photos. *Kael.* Adrian’s cousin. Exiled years ago, for striking an elder. Everyone assumed he’d left the territories entirely. I remember what I read on the file I gave Lexy before ending here.

“What game are you playing?” I asked.

Kael’s smile turned colder. “Not my game. Adrian’s. I’m just one of the players smart enough to pick the right side.”

He stepped closer. “You weren’t supposed to get this far. Adrian underestimated Lexy’s loyalty to her soldiers. He thought she'd send someone expendable.”

I barked a laugh. “Shows how little he knows her.”

He didn’t like that. His jaw twitched.

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you’ll be moved to a different location. Just a temporary measure. Until after the conference.”

“Why? Scared she’ll come for me?”

Kael paused. “She always does, doesn’t she?” He turned on his heel and left.

I sat in the quiet again. My heart was steady, but fury burned beneath the surface. Lexy would know I hadn’t just disappeared. CJ too. They’d feel the whole where my presence should be.

I thought of the sigil they’d taken. Of Lexy standing at the head of the next conference, holding the weight of our alliances, still unbowed despite everything—including the hand she’d lost because of wolves like Dion. Like Adrian.

I wasn't broken. I was *hers.* And I’d get out, even if I had to burn their secrets to the ground to do it.

Let them think I was caught.

Let them think I was done.

The real game hadn’t even started.