The howl echoed long after the sound itself ended.
Wrong.
Twisted.
Like something trying to imitate a wolf without truly understanding one.
The clearing stayed frozen.
Every wolf tense.
Every instinct screaming danger.
The shadows beyond the trees shifted once—
then vanished again.
Too fast.
Too controlled.
Theron's eyes narrowed immediately.
Not at the forest.
At the timing.
Because the moment the truth had been revealed…
Nyx reacted.
Too perfectly.
Aiden moved instinctively toward the den.
Toward the pups.
His wolf still unsettled from the presence pressing against the territory.
Ronan barked orders sharply, snapping the guards back into motion.
"Double the perimeter!"
"Rotate west patrol!"
"No one moves alone!"
Wolves scattered quickly.
Uneasy.
Fear lingering beneath every movement now.
Not just fear of Nyx.
Fear of uncertainty.
Eirik remained near the center of the clearing, expression tight with carefully controlled concern.
Too controlled.
Theron watched everything silently.
The patrol routes.
The reactions.
The timing.
And slowly—
something cold settled into place.
"…Ronan," he said quietly.
Ronan immediately looked toward him.
"That howl came too quickly," Theron murmured.
Ronan's expression sharpened instantly.
Because he understood immediately.
The territory announcement had happened less than ten minutes ago.
Nyx shouldn't have known the exact moment fear would peak.
Shouldn't have known where patrols would shift.
Shouldn't have known how exposed the center clearing would become during panic.
Unless—
Ronan's face darkened.
"…someone told him."
The words landed like a blade.
Aiden turned sharply.
"…what?"
Theron's gaze stayed fixed on the forest.
Thinking.
Calculating.
"Nyx is testing reactions too precisely," he said quietly.
"The border attacks. The patrol gaps. The timing tonight."
A pause.
"…it's coordinated."
Silence spread between them.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Aiden's stomach twisted immediately.
No.
No, no—
"Someone inside the pack?" he asked quietly.
Theron finally looked at him.
And the worst part—
was that he didn't deny it.
Ronan cursed softly under his breath.
Rare for him.
Aiden's pulse started climbing.
Instinctive distrust immediately clawing through his chest.
Faces flashed through his mind.
Pack members.
Guards.
Friends.
Eirik.
The thought appeared too quickly.
And Aiden hated himself for it instantly.
His wolf reacted anyway.
A sharp uncomfortable twist under his skin.
Eirik noticed the silence shifting.
The looks.
The tension.
"…you think there's a traitor?" he asked carefully.
Theron studied him briefly.
Too briefly.
Then looked away again.
"We know there is," Theron corrected calmly.
The clearing suddenly felt much colder.
Aiden folded his arms tightly across himself.
"…who?"
"That," Ronan said grimly, "is the problem."
Because whoever it was—
they had access.
Knowledge.
Trust.
Not a random wolf.
Not an outsider.
Someone close enough to watch the pack move.
Close enough to understand Theron's routines.
Close enough to know when the family was vulnerable.
Aiden's breathing sharpened slightly.
The pups.
Gods—
the pups.
Theron noticed immediately.
His expression softened for just a second.
"I won't let anything happen to them," he said quietly.
But this time—
it didn't fully calm Aiden.
Because danger outside the borders was one thing.
Danger already inside the pack?
That was worse.
Far worse.
Eirik stepped closer carefully.
"…then we tighten internal security," he said.
Reasonable.
Steady.
Exactly what a trusted beta should say.
Ronan's eyes flicked toward him briefly.
Unreadable.
Theron nodded slowly.
"…quietly."
That mattered.
Because if the traitor realized they were suspected—
they would panic.
And desperate wolves made dangerous choices.
Aiden rubbed tiredly at his face again.
"…how long?" he whispered.
No one answered immediately.
Because they all understood the true horror of the situation.
This hadn't started tonight.
Not really.
The patrol gaps.
The precise attacks.
The western breach.
The way Nyx kept slipping exactly where defenses weakened.
This had been happening for a while.
Theron's gaze darkened slightly.
And for the first time since Nyx appeared—
real anger surfaced fully.
Cold.
Ancient.
Controlled too tightly.
"Someone endangered my family," he said softly.
The clearing pressure shifted instantly.
Wolves nearby lowered their heads without meaning to.
Not alpha instinct.
Something older.
Aiden touched Theron's arm immediately.
Grounding.
Theron's eyes closed briefly.
Then reopened calmer.
Barely.
Ronan exhaled quietly.
"…we investigate carefully."
Theron nodded once.
But his expression said something else entirely.
Because whoever betrayed them—
had crossed a line that even gods rarely forgave.