Chapter 58: Chapter Fifty-eight

Chapter 58

Elena POV

The square was nearly empty by the time I returned from walking the last of the villagers home. The great gathering had ended with a thunderclap of loyalty, hundreds of wolves kneeling before Edgar in open defiance of the council, but as the torches dimmed, so too did the strength of the Alpha they had pledged to.

Edgar had held himself like iron through it all, standing straighter than I’d thought possible for a man still recovering. But as soon as he and Lia stepped into the manor, his face had gone pale, his movements heavy. He was free of the curse, that much was true. I had watched Brie pull it away with my own eyes. But freedom did not mean recovery. His body carried months of strain, and every step looked like it drained another ounce of strength from him.

I followed him back inside, but I wasn’t the only one with eyes on him. The council had lingered in the square long after the pack dispersed, robes whispering in a tight circle, their faces shadowed by torchlight. Something about the way Brie’s lips had curled, faint and triumphant, unsettled me.

I slipped back outside under the pretense of fetching more firewood.

The night air was sharp, carrying every word that echoed across the cobblestones. I crouched behind the stone well, hidden by the dark.

Malrick: “You saw how they bent to him. If we strike now, we risk the pack rising against us.”

Brie: “Then we don’t strike in the open.”

Her tone was soft.

Councilor Veyra: “What do you mean?”

Brie: “Poison doesn’t roar or draw blood. It doesn’t leave a blade to be questioned or a witness to recall. It works quietly, slipping past lips in a cup of wine, and by morning, even the strongest Alpha is still.”

Malrick’s silence stretched. Then came the sound of his low grunt.

Malrick: “If he dies suddenly, the pack will suspect foul play.”

Brie: “Only if they are given reason to. And who would question us if we call it weakness of the body? He is already pale, trembling. They will believe his heart failed before his spirit did.”

A shiver rippled down my spine. They weren’t waiting for fate, they were going to make it happen.

I waited until their voices faded, then slipped back toward the manor, clutching the knowledge like a blade hidden beneath my cloak.

Back in the Manor

When I entered Edgar’s chambers, Lia was perched at the bedside. Edgar was reclined against the furs, his chest rising shallow but steady. He still looked regal somehow, even in exhaustion, though his hand trembled slightly where it lay in Lia’s.

Lia glanced up sharply as I entered.

Lia: “You were gone too long. Where were you?”

I shut the door behind me.

Elena: “Listening.”

Her eyes narrowed.

Lia: “And?”

I swallowed, my gaze sliding to Edgar. He was watching me with the same sharp focus he’d had on the battlefield, though now it burned beneath the shadows of fatigue.

Elena: “The council won’t wait for time to weaken you. They mean to poison you.”

Lia gasped, her grip tightening on his hand.

Lia: “Poison?”

Elena: “Brie said it herself. A cup of wine, a sudden collapse. By morning, the pack would believe it was your body giving out.”

For a heartbeat, silence stretched. Edgar didn’t flinch, didn’t curse, didn’t even frown. He only leaned his head back, eyes narrowing as though he were piecing together a strategy on a chessboard.

Edgar: “Then they underestimate me still. They think I am blind to their shadows.”

Lia: “This isn’t pride, Edgar. They’ll kill you.”

Edgar: “And if I cower, they win anyway. No. If they mean to strike, I will make them do so in the open.”

Elena: “They won’t. That’s the point. They’ll wait until you lower your guard. Until Lia or I step out for a moment. Until you accept a cup from the wrong hand.”

Edgar’s lips pressed into a thin line. He didn’t argue, because he knew I was right.

Lia stood abruptly, pacing the edge of the chamber.

Lia: “We can’t just wait for them to try again. We need to act first. We need proof, something that shows the pack what the council is plotting.”

Elena: “Proof won’t be easy to come by. They’ll use others to do their dirty work. Servants, messengers.”

Edgar: “Then we watch them. Every hand, every cup, every step. If they think I'm weak, we’ll use that illusion to our advantage.”

Lia whirled on him.

Lia: “Advantage? You can barely stand without swaying, Edgar. This isn’t strategy, it’s suicide.”

His voice sharpened.

Edgar: “Do you think I don’t know my own body? I feel every ounce of weakness, every bone that trembles. But if I step back now, if I hide, then everything we’ve fought for collapses. The pack will believe I am finished, and that is worse than death.”

Lia’s eyes shone, her voice breaking.

Lia: “And what about me? What about the child I’m carrying? Do we not matter in this fight for your pride?”

The words cut through the air like a lash. Edgar’s face faltered, his composure cracking just enough for me to see the guilt beneath.

He reached for her hand, his voice lower now.

Edgar: “You are all that matters. You, and the life we created. That’s why I can’t let them take this from us. I will not leave you to wolves who circle for blood.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks, but she let him draw her close.

I looked away, giving them what privacy I could, though my chest ached with the weight of it all.

At last, Edgar looked back at me.

Edgar: “If poison is their weapon, then watch every drop. I trust only you and Lia to keep my table clean.”

Elena: “It won’t be enough. They’ll adapt. We need someone inside their circle, someone who can hear their whispers before they strike.”

Edgar’s eyes hardened.

Edgar: “Then find me that someone.”

I nodded slowly, already turning names over in my head, servants loyal to the manor, guards who had bent their knees without hesitation. It would be dangerous. But we had no choice.

Later That Night

Long after Lia drifted into exhausted sleep at Edgar’s side, I kept watch at the chamber door. My fingers brushed the crumpled parchment hidden in my cloak, the note I had lifted from the council messenger.

“At dawn, the Alpha will not rise again. Prepare succession.”

The ink was still sharp, the words seared into my memory.

Tomorrow, they will try.

Tomorrow, they would slip the poison into his cup, perhaps during the council’s private meeting, perhaps even sooner.

I stared down the hall into the dark, my heart pounding.

We had until dawn to outwit them.

And if we failed, Edgar Nolan, Alpha of Duskwood, my brother, my friend, would not live to see another sunrise