POV: Liora
I couldn't sleep.
Kael's words echoed in my head, over and over like a curse I couldn't shake. Why does my wolf want you? His face had been so close, his eyes burning with confusion and something darker. Something that made my stomach flip and my wolf whined with longing.
This was dangerous. More dangerous than being hunted by my old pack. More dangerous than living as a rogue in hostile territory. Because part of me had wanted him to close that distance. To press closer instead of pulling away.
I sat up in my cot, the barracks quiet around me. The other guards snored softly, exhausted from the day's training. Moonlight filtered through the narrow windows, painting everything in silver.
I needed answers. Needed to understand what was happening, why Matthias had killed Declan, what he gained from destroying my life. And I needed to know if the Nightbane Pack was involved like those guards had whispered about.
The archives were in the main hall's lower level. I'd seen warriors carrying reports there during my three days here, watched where they went. If there was information about Silver Creek, about Matthias's secret meetings with the council, it would be there.
I slipped out of bed, moving silently across the wooden floor. My wrist ached but the binding held it steady. My shoulder pulled with each movement but the stitches were holding. I was healing faster than I should, my wolf working overtime to put me back together.
The barracks door didn't creak. I'd oiled the hinges yesterday after noticing the sound. Small preparations, just in case I needed to move unseen.
The hallways were empty at this hour. Guards patrolled outside, watching the perimeter, but inside the main building there was only silence. I kept to the shadows anyway, my heart hammering against my ribs.
If I was caught, how would I explain sneaking around in the middle of the night? Kael already suspected I was hiding something. This would only confirm it. But I had to know.
The archive door was locked. Of course it was. I knelt down, studying the mechanism in the moonlight streaming through a nearby window. Simple enough. I pulled a thin piece of wire from my hair, one I'd bent and hidden there days ago, and worked it into the lock.
My father had taught me this. Before he died, before everything fell apart, he'd shown me how to pick locks. "Just in case," he'd said with a smile. "You never know when a skill might save your life."
Tears pricked my eyes. I blinked them away and focused on the lock. Two clicks, a subtle turn, and the door swung open. The archives smelled of old paper and dust. Shelves lined the walls, packed with scrolls and bound journals. A single desk sat in the corner with a lamp that I didn't dare light. The moonlight would have to be enough.
I started searching, running my fingers along the labels. Pack histories, border treaties, trade agreements. So much information, decades of it, all carefully preserved. Where would they keep correspondence? Secret meetings?
I moved deeper into the room, past the official records to a section in the back. The scrolls here were sealed with wax, marked with various pack crests. My breath caught when I saw it.
The Silver Creek crest. A moon over water.
My pack.
My hands shook as I reached for the scroll. It was sealed with both the Silver Creek crest and another I didn't recognize. Dark ink, sharp lines, like claws reaching across the wax.
I broke the seal and unrolled the parchment carefully. The words were written in a neat hand, formal and cold.
"To the Nightbane Council,
I write regarding a matter of mutual benefit. Alpha Declan's weakness grows more apparent with each passing season. He clings to old ways, refuses to expand our territory, turns away profitable alliances. The Silver Creek Pack suffers under his outdated leadership.
I propose a solution beneficial to both our packs. With Declan removed, I would take the Alpha position and immediately open negotiations for a formal alliance. Your pack would gain access to our southern hunting grounds. Mine would gain the protection of the Nightbane's strength.
I have followers within Silver Creek who would support this transition. The removal would be clean, untraceable, with blame falling elsewhere. All I require is your council's assurance of neutrality during the... adjustment period.
Consider this proposal carefully. Together, our packs could dominate this region. Respectfully, Beta Matthias of Silver Creek"
My vision blurred with rage. There it was. Proof. Matthias had planned Declan's murder, had reached out to Nightbane for support, had orchestrated everything. And he'd framed me to cover his tracks. I scrolled down, looking for a response. Found it dated two weeks before the Blood Moon.
"Beta Matthias,
Your proposal is noted. The Nightbane Council will maintain neutrality in Silver Creek's internal affairs. However, we cannot officially sanction or support any action against a sitting Alpha.
What you do within your pack is your concern. Should leadership change hands, we would be open to discussing alliance terms with the new Alpha. This correspondence will remain sealed and forgotten.
Councilor Bram"
My hands clenched on the parchment. They knew. The Nightbane Council knew what Matthias was planning and they'd given him tacit approval by promising neutrality. They'd let him murder Declan.
"Interesting reading?"
I spun around, the scroll clutched in my hands.
Kael stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. His expression was unreadable in the shadows. How long had he been there? How much had he seen?
"Alpha." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "I can explain."
"Can you?" He pushed off the doorframe, moving into the room with that predatory grace that made my wolf want to bare her throat. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like my newest guard is sneaking around restricted areas in the middle of the night, reading sealed correspondence."
He stopped a few feet away, towering over me. In the moonlight, his scars stood out stark against his skin. His eyes were cold, calculating. I should have been terrified. Should have been preparing for punishment, for exile, for death.
But all I felt was anger.
"Your council helped murder my Alpha," I said quietly.
Kael's expression didn't change. "Your Alpha? I thought you were born rogue."
Damn it. I'd slipped.
"I lied." There was no point denying it now. "I'm from Silver Creek Pack. I didn't kill Alpha Declan. Beta Matthias did, and he framed me for it. The whole pack thinks I'm a murderer, and your council gave him permission."
Kael studied me for a long moment. "You're the girl they're hunting. The one with silver hair." His eyes traveled over my cropped hair. "Clever disguise."
"Are you going to turn me in?" My hand tightened on the scroll. "Collect the reward?"
"Why would I?" Kael stepped closer. "You haven't given me a reason to trust anything you say. For all I know, you did kill your Alpha and this is an elaborate story to save your skin."
"Then read it." I thrust the scroll at him. "Read what your council did. How they enabled a murderer."
Kael took the parchment, his eyes scanning the words. His jaw tightened. Something flickered across his face, too quick to read, then was gone.
"This is sealed correspondence," he said finally. "How did you even know where to look?"
"I heard guards talking about Matthias contacting your council. I had to know if it was true." I met his eyes. "I had to know if the pack I was hiding in helped destroy my life."
"So you broke into my archives."
"Yes."
"Picked the lock."
"Yes."
"Read private documents."
"Yes." I lifted my chin. "And I'd do it again. I need to clear my name, Alpha Kael. I need to prove Matthias killed Declan and your council helped him do it."
Kael was silent for a long moment. Then, impossibly, his lips curved into something that might have been a smile. "You're either very brave or very stupid."
"I've been told both."
He moved closer, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. Close enough that I could smell leather and pine and something uniquely him.
"You don't fear me," he said quietly. "Why?"
"Should I?"
"Most people do."
"I'm not most people." My heart was racing but I held my ground. "I've already lost everything. My pack, my home, my name. What else can you take from me?"
"Your life."
"Then take it." The words came out steadier than I felt. "But it won't change the truth. Matthias is a murderer and your council is complicit."
Kael studied me with those ice blue eyes, and I couldn't read what I saw there. Anger? Curiosity? Something else?
"You're different than I expected," he said finally. His voice had dropped, becoming almost tender. "When I first saw you, bleeding and desperate, I thought you'd break easily. That you'd give up."
"I don't break."
"No." His hand came up, almost touching my face before he stopped himself. "You don't, do you? You just keep getting back up, no matter how hard you're hit."
The air between us felt thick, charged with something I didn't understand. My wolf was pushing forward, wanting to close the distance, wanting to lean into his almost touch.
This was wrong. Dangerous. Kael was an Alpha, powerful and deadly. I was a fugitive hiding in his territory. Whatever this tension was between us, it would only lead to disaster.
But I couldn't make myself step back.
"Why do you care what happens to me?" I whispered. "I'm nobody. Just a rogue with a death sentence."
"I don't know." Kael's voice was rough, frustrated. "That's the problem. I should send you away. Should turn you over to Silver Creek and forget you existed." His eyes searched mine. "But I can't."
His hand moved again, reaching for me. I should have stepped back. Should have maintained distance. Instead, I found myself leaning forward.
Kael's fingers were about to brush my cheek when his other hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. The sudden movement made me stumble, and the scroll I'd been holding slipped from my grasp. It hit the floor and unrolled, the parchment spreading across the wooden boards. We both looked down.
There, clear in the moonlight at the bottom of the document, was an official seal. Not just the written words but a wax impression, pressed deep into the parchment.
The Silver Creek crest. A moon over water.
My pack. My home. The life that had been torn away from me. Kael's grip on my wrist tightened. When I looked up at him, his expression had changed. The almost tenderness was gone, replaced by sharp calculation.
"This seal is official," he said slowly. "Which means this correspondence went through proper channels. It's not just Councilor Bram. The whole council knew."
He looked at me, really looked at me, and I saw the moment something clicked in his mind.
"You said you're from Silver Creek." His voice was carefully neutral. "What was your rank?"
I swallowed hard. "Warrior class. Delta rank."
"And your name? Your real name?"
There was no point hiding it anymore. Not with that seal staring up at us, marking me as clearly as if I'd shouted my identity.
"Liora," I whispered. "My name is Liora."
Kael's eyes widened slightly. "Liora. The one they're hunting." He released my wrist but didn't step back. "The one accused of murdering her Alpha."
"I didn't do it."
"I know."
That surprised me. "You believe me?"
"This letter proves Matthias was planning something." Kael gestured to the scroll. "And you're right. My council gave him tacit permission." His jaw clenched. "Which means they committed treason. Interfering in another pack's affairs, enabling murder. That violates every law we have."
He looked at me again, and something in his expression made my breath catch.
"You're not going anywhere," he said quietly. "Not until we figure this out."
"Figure out what?"
"Why does my wolf recognize you?" Kael reached out, his hand finally making contact with my face. His thumb traced my cheekbone, gentle despite the calluses. "Why do I want to protect you even though you're a liar and a trespasser? Why every instinct I have screams that you're important."
My wolf surged forward, pressing into his touch. This was dangerous, so dangerous.
"Kael," I breathed.
"We're going to find proof," he said, his eyes locked on mine. "Real proof that clears your name. And then we're going to make Matthias pay for what he did."
"Why would you help me?"
His thumb moved to my lips, tracing them softly. "Because you're mine now. My guard, my responsibility." His voice dropped even lower. "And because I don't like traitors in my territory."
Before I could respond, his hand fell away. He stepped back, picking up the scroll from the floor.
"Come on," he said, his voice returning to its normal commanding tone. "We need to talk to Councilor Bram. Now."
He turned toward the door, then paused. Looked back at me with an expression I couldn't read.
"And Liora?" His use of my real name sent shivers down my spine. "Don't lie to me again. Next time I might not be so understanding."
Then he was gone, striding out of the archives with the scroll in hand. I stood there in the moonlight, my heart racing, my skin still tingling where he'd touched me.
What had just happened?
And why did part of me want him to come back and finish what he'd started?