Chapter 17: A Whisper of Blame

Chapter 17: A Whisper of Blame
Ivy's POV

The moment I stepped onto the training grounds, I felt it.
Their watchful eyes. Their whispers as I passed.

It wasn’t loud or aggressive, no one was throwing things or spitting at me, but it was there, thick in the air like the calm before a storm

Dorian stood off to the side, talking in hushed tones with Hadley, another warrior. Their conversation died the second I approached.

“Something wrong?” I asked, eyeing the tightness in their posture.

Dorian wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Alpha Lucien wants to see you.”

“Why?”

Hadley crossed her arms. “Didn’t say. But you should come. Now.”

I narrowed my eyes. The last time Lucien summoned me, it had been over something minor, my training progress, a report. But this… this felt different. They wouldn’t look at me.

Still, I followed them in silence, trying to keep my breathing steady even though my gut twisted tighter with every step toward his office

The door opened with two sharp knocks, and I was ushered in like a prisoner about to be judged. Lucien stood by the window, hands behind his back, jaw tight. His energy was cold, unreadable.

He didn’t look at me when he spoke. “Ivy. Come in.”

I stepped inside, the door closing behind me. That sound echoed louder than it should have.

Lucien turned, then tossed something onto his desk with an audible flap.

A folded sheet of paper. A letter. The seal already broken.

I knew what it was the second I saw it.
That seal, its one of the popular seals used by werewolf spies.

“That,” he said, voice calm but sharp, “was found in your training bag this morning.”

I blinked. “What?”

Hadley’s voice was practically a growl. “Going to deny it?”

“Deny it?” I repeated, staring between them. “Of course I’m going to deny it. I didn’t put that in my bag!”

“The content of that envelope is a letter the Alpha had specifically written to be sent to his beta, it contains sensitive information and it was kept amongst the files in the war room” she said flatly. “And you were in the war room last night.”

“I was asked to bring back the training logs,” I shot back, glancing at Dorian. “You sent me.”

Dorian shifted awkwardly. “She’s right. I did ask her.… but only for the logs. Not classified documents.”

Lucien’s eyes didn’t leave mine. “That scouting report was meant for my Beta. Someone intercepted it. Someone with access.”

I felt like the room dropped ten degrees colder.

“You think I’m a spy now?”

Hadley folded her arms. “You’re the only one who had access after the last security reset. It’s pretty damn clear.”

“Clear to who?” I hissed. “The people who already think I don’t belong here? Who’s to say someone didn’t plant it?”

“And why would anyone do that?” she snapped. “Why would someone go through all that trouble for you?”

“Because someone wants me gone,” I said. “And if you really believe I’d betray the only place that gave me a second chance, then maybe I shouldn’t be here at all.”

The room went dead silent.

Lucien finally spoke, voice quiet but firm. “Everyone out.”

Hadley started to protest, but he cut her off without even looking at her. “Now.”

She glared at me, then turned and stormed out. Dorian hesitated, then followed her silently.

Now it was just me and him.

Lucien stared at the paper for a moment before finally speaking. “If you’re lying to me, Ivy.…”

“I’m not,” I said quietly, interrupting him before he finished the threat. “But someone’s playing a dangerous game, and I’m the piece they’re trying to remove from the board.”

He looked at me then, really looked. Studying my face like he was trying to see straight through me.

“But what if they get what they want before you figure it out?” I asked. My voice didn’t shake, but something inside me did.

Lucien stepped around the desk, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Then they’ll wish they hadn’t touched what’s mine.”

My breath hitched. I wasn’t sure what that meant. Or what I wanted it to mean.

But suddenly, the silence between us didn’t feel so cold anymore.

And somewhere in this pack, someone thought they’d made a smart move.

They were wrong, I've been weak all my life, I wont be weak again.

"You may leave for now, I'll make my own personal findings and call you back" Lucien said and I nodded.
I walked out of the hall, straight to my room. 

I didn't go to the training grounds again, it felt like the pack's accusing eyes would swallow me if I did...

I didn’t sleep that night.

Not out of fear, but fury. It simmered beneath my skin like molten steel, burning hotter the longer I lay in that room, staring at the ceiling.

Someone wanted me out. Someone thought planting a damn scouting report in my bag would be enough to break me.

The next morning, I got up before the sun. I didn’t wait for the maid, didn’t wait for breakfast. I threw on my training gear and headed for the grounds, but I didn’t go there to train.

I went to watch.

Dorian was already barking instructions at the new recruits. Hadley was nearby, arms folded, observing as if she hadn’t accused me of treason just yesterday.

I kept my distance. I wasn’t here for confrontation, I was here for clues.

Someone had access to my things. Someone knew where I kept my uniform and what time I trained. That narrowed it down.

I started with the lockers.

Mine had been tampered with, barely noticeable, but I saw it. The little scrape on the lock, the slight shift in the hinges. Someone had used a pick.

Who would be precise enough for that?

My gaze shifted to the line of warriors stretching at the edge of the grounds. One of them, a girl with tightly braided hair and a scar on her jaw, caught my eye. Mira.

She’d been watching me since I walked in.

I approached slowly, casually, as if I was just making conversation.

“Rough morning?” I asked, nodding to her sore shoulder.

She smirked. “Tried to take on Dorian in a sparring match. I got flattened.”

I gave a short laugh. “At least you’ve got the guts to try. Most wouldn’t.”

Her grin faltered just slightly. “What’s your excuse then? You didn’t show up to train today.”

I shrugged. “Didn’t feel like it. Thought I’d watch instead. Maybe figure out who’s out to frame me.”

Her eyes narrowed, barely. But I saw it.

“Frame?” she echoed.

“Someone put a classified document in my bag. Lucien thinks I stole it.”

“Did you?”

I smiled coldly. “If I had, I wouldn’t have been stupid enough to get caught.”

Mira tensed. Her jaw worked like she wanted to say something but thought better of it

I leaned in slightly. “You were on cleanup duty last night, weren’t you? In the war room?”

She blinked. “Yeah. Why?”

“You’d have had access to everything.” I let my words hang in the air, thick and heavy.

Mira’s expression tightened. “Careful, Ivy. Accusing people without proof is dangerous.”

“So is planting evidence in my bag,” I said evenly.

She turned without answering, stalking toward the equipment rack. But I saw it, her shoulders were too stiff, her movements too sharp.

She was hiding something.

I let her go. I wasn’t ready to pounce, not yet. But now I had a lead.

As I turned to leave, Dorian’s voice called out behind me.

“You digging for something, Ivy?”

I looked over my shoulder. “Yeah. The truth.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You sure you’re ready for it?”

I held his gaze. “I’ve been surviving on lies long enough. It’s time for something real.”