Chapter 48: The First Crack
Kael’s POV
I didn’t go back to my chamber.
I didn’t check on the guards again. I didn’t question anyone in the corridors. By the ti I stepped out of Isolade’s empty room, I already knew one thing clearly, this wasn’t just her.
Isolade didn’t walk out of a guarded chamber without help.
And there were only a few people inside this fortress bold enough to do sothing like that and still expect to walk away from it.
I didn’t waste ti pretending otherwise.
My steps carried straight through the corridors, ignoring the stares that followed . Word had already spread. It always did. The mont sothing shifted inside this fortress, everyone felt it even if they didn’t understand it yet.
But I did and I knew exactly where to go.
Seraphina’s chamber.
The door wasn’t closed when I got there. It never was. She liked people to walk in. It gave her the illusion that she wasn’t hiding anything. I pushed it open without knocking.
She wasn’t alone.
Lord Valerius stood near the center of the room, his posture rigid, his presence heavy in a way that made the air feel tighter than it should. Seraphina sat as usual, composed, watching everything without saying a word.
The mont Valerius saw , his expression hardened.
"Find my daughter, Kael," he said imdiately, his voice low but carrying enough weight to echo through the room. "Or this will not end well for you."
I didn’t stop walking until I stood directly across from him.
"You can drop the act, Lord Valerius," I said calmly. "I know her disappearance is your doing."
The room went still. For a second, even the air seed to pause.
His eyes narrowed. "Be careful what you accuse of, Alpha."
"How dare you lock her in the first place?" he continued, stepping forward slightly. "You humiliated her in front of the entire fortress."
"She crossed a line," I replied without raising my voice. "And I made sure she understood that."
"She is a mber of the council," he snapped. "She has every right to act in the interest of this pack."
"She tried to kill my Luna," I said flatly. "That is not acting in the interest of the pack. That is treason."
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t back down.
"She will be the Luna of this pack," he said firmly, like it was already decided. "That has always been the plan."
"No," I replied, my voice colder now. "That was your expectation. Not my decision."
Silence settled again, heavier this ti.
"I have already chosen my Luna," I continued, holding his gaze without hesitation. "And I will protect her at the cost of my life if I have to."
His lips curved slightly, but there was no amusent in it.
"You are letting emotion cloud your judgnt," he said. "A wolfless girl who cannot even shift—"
"She is carrying my pup," I cut in sharply. "You already know that. And I will not stand here and listen to anyone question her place again."
That was the first ti Seraphina moved. Just slightly. Her fingers tapped once against the armrest of her chair, her eyes shifting between us with quiet interest.
Valerius let out a slow breath, but his expression didn’t soften.
"You’re making a mistake," he said. "A dangerous one. You think this ends with you protecting her? You think the pack will accept her?"
"I don’t need the pack’s approval to choose my Luna," I replied. "I only need them to understand the consequences of going against that choice."
His gaze sharpened. "Don’t forget sothing, Kael."
I didn’t blink.
"An Alpha can always be replaced."
The words hung in the air, deliberate, calculated. A threat.
I stepped forward just enough to close the distance between us.
"Try it," I said quietly.
Neither of us moved after that. For a mont, it felt like the entire room had narrowed down to just the space between us.
Then Seraphina finally spoke.
"That’s enough," she said calmly, her voice cutting through the tension without effort.
We both turned toward her.
"This isn’t solving anything," she continued, her tone smooth, almost uninterested. "Valerius wants his daughter back. Kael wants control over his fortress. Both of you are standing here making threats instead of dealing with the actual problem."
"And what problem is that?" I asked, though I already knew.
She tilted her head slightly. "The fact that soone inside this fortress is moving pieces without either of your permission."
Valerius didn’t respond. But I saw it. That small shift in his expression. He hadn’t expected that.
"She didn’t escape on her own," Seraphina added. "We all know that. The question is not who wanted her out. The question is who made it possible."
I held her gaze for a second longer before turning away.
"I will find her," I said. "But not because you asked."
Valerius didn’t answer. And I didn’t wait for him to. I walked out of the chamber without another word.
---
The mont the door closed behind , the calm I had held inside that room faded into sothing sharper, because Seraphina was right about one thing.
This wasn’t just about Isolade anymore. Soone inside the fortress was moving against and that ant I couldn’t trust anyone.
Not the council. Not the guards. Not even the people who had been loyal to for years.
I kept walking until I reached the lower training grounds, where fewer people passed during the day. The space was empty except for one figure standing near the far wall.
She didn’t turn when I approached. She already knew I was there.
"You called for , Alpha," she said.
"Yes Mira."
I stopped a few steps behind her, my voice low enough that no one else could hear.
"I need you to investigate sothing," I continued. "Quietly."
That made her turn and look at over her shoulder.
"You don’t trust the guards," she said.
"I don’t trust anyone right now," I replied
She nodded once. "What do you want to find?"
"Everything," I said. "Who helped her. Who’s been moving inside this fortress without being seen. And most importantly..." I paused briefly. "...who’s been watching my Luna."
Her expression didn’t change, but I saw the shift in her stance, she understood the weight of that.
"I’ll have an answer," she said.
"Make sure you do," I replied. "And don’t let anyone know you’re doing this."
She didn’t respond again, she just turned and walked away.
---
Ti moved slower after that.
Every hour felt longer than it should have, every movent inside the fortress sharper than before. I noticed things I would have ignored before whispers stopping when I passed, guards avoiding eye contact, servants moving quicker than usual.
Sothing was already spreading. And I didn’t like it. By the ti she returned, the sun had already started to dip lower.
I was in my chamber when she stepped inside.
"You have sothing," I said before she even spoke.
"I do."
I turned toward her fully this ti.
"What did you find?"
She hesitated for a second. Not out of fear, but out of precision.
"Soone inside the fortress is reporting everything the Luna does," she said.
The words didn’t surprise . But they confird sothing I had already suspected.
"Who?" I asked.
She held my gaze. "Soone very close to her."
Silence filled the room and for the first ti since this started...
Sothing inside went cold. Because that answer was more dangerous than anything else she could have said.
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