Chapter 149 up
Night settled heavily over the Alliance headquarters.
The council meeting had ended hours ago, but the tension it left behind still lingered in the air like the fading echo of thunder. Reports continued arriving from different territories, each one carrying rumors, fears, and questions no one could yet answer.
Most of the headquarters had grown quiet.
Guards still patrolled the outer corridors, and strategists worked late in smaller offices, but the central command wing had dimmed its lights.
Only one room remained fully illuminated.
Lyra’s strategy chamber.
She stood alone beside the long table where the world map glowed faintly in blue and silver light.
The territories still looked the same as they had earlier that evening.
Silver regions for the Alliance.
Crimson for the independent territories.
And between them—fragile borders that now felt dangerously close to igniting.
Her gaze rested on one of those borders.
Northern territories.
Kael’s region.
Two attacks.
Two symbols.
Two sides blaming each other.
The pattern was too perfect.
Too clean.
Someone wanted the world to believe that the two leaders who once trusted each other had finally turned into enemies.
Lyra exhaled slowly.
“I don’t like this.”
The quiet voice behind her belonged to Selka.
Lyra didn’t turn around.
“You’re still here.”
Selka stepped further into the room, carrying a small tablet filled with fresh data reports.
“Someone has to make sure you don’t stare at that map all night.”
Lyra allowed herself the faintest smile.
“I might.”
Selka placed the tablet down on the table.
“The council is already preparing contingency plans.”
Lyra’s expression hardened slightly.
“For retaliation.”
Selka nodded.
“They’re nervous.”
“Understandably.”
Lyra finally turned away from the map.
“Have there been any more attacks?”
Selka checked the tablet.
“No.”
She paused.
“But rumors are spreading fast.”
“Of course they are.”
Lyra folded her arms.
“Fear travels faster than truth.”
Selka leaned lightly against the table.
“You still don’t think Kael ordered the Silverpine attack.”
It wasn’t a question.
Lyra shook her head.
“No.”
Selka studied her carefully.
“You sound certain.”
Lyra walked slowly toward the window overlooking the dark valley beyond the headquarters.
“I know him.”
Selka didn’t respond immediately.
The wind outside rustled the distant trees, creating a soft whisper against the glass.
Finally Selka said quietly,
“The world thinks you two are about to start a war.”
Lyra stared out into the darkness.
“Maybe that’s exactly what someone wants.”
Selka frowned slightly.
Before she could say anything else, a soft tone echoed through the room.
A notification signal from the communications console.
Lyra turned.
Selka looked toward the screen.
“That’s strange.”
Lyra stepped closer.
“What is it?”
Selka’s fingers moved quickly across the console.
“Encrypted message.”
Lyra raised an eyebrow.
“From who?”
Selka’s expression shifted.
“Unknown origin.”
That alone was unusual.
Alliance systems were designed to filter incoming transmissions and identify their sources.
But this message had slipped through using a layered encryption protocol.
Selka tapped the screen again.
“Advanced encryption.”
Lyra watched the data stream flicker across the display.
“Can you trace it?”
Selka shook her head.
“Not yet.”
She paused.
“But whoever sent this knows what they’re doing.”
Lyra considered the situation.
“Open it.”
Selka hesitated briefly.
“It could be a trap.”
Lyra’s voice remained calm.
“Then let’s see what kind.”
Selka decrypted the outer layer.
Another layer appeared.
Then another.
After a few seconds, the final encryption unlocked.
A short line of text appeared on the screen.
Lyra stepped closer.
Selka read it aloud.
“It says…”
She paused.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Lyra read the message herself.
Four simple words.
This isn’t my doing.
Silence filled the room.
Selka looked at Lyra slowly.
“Who sent that?”
Lyra already knew.
Because the encryption style was familiar.
Not something most wolves would recognize.
But she did.
She had seen it before.
During earlier negotiations.
During private communications when both sides still trusted each other enough to speak openly.
Lyra spoke quietly.
“Kael.”
Selka exhaled.
“That’s what I thought.”
Lyra studied the message again.
No greeting.
No signature.
Just the statement.
This isn’t my doing.
Selka crossed her arms.
“So the northern attack wasn’t ordered by him.”
Lyra nodded slightly.
“I didn’t think it was.”
Selka tilted her head.
“You going to answer?”
Lyra hesitated for only a moment.
Then she sat down at the console.
“Yes.”
Selka stepped back to give her space.
Lyra began typing.
Her reply was even shorter than Kael’s message.
Not mine either.
She stared at the words for a second before sending them.
The message disappeared into the encrypted network.
For several moments, nothing happened.
Selka glanced at the map again.
“If someone really is manipulating both sides…”
Lyra finished the thought.
“They’re trying to provoke us.”
Selka nodded slowly.
“And if either of you reacts too quickly…”
“War.”
The room fell quiet again.
Minutes passed.
Then another notification tone sounded.
Selka looked at the screen.
“He replied.”
Lyra opened the message.
This one contained a little more text.
Two attacks. Two symbols. Someone is playing a very dangerous game.
Lyra leaned back slightly in her chair.
Selka watched her carefully.
“What does he say?”
Lyra read it aloud.
Selka frowned.
“That’s exactly what we were thinking.”
Lyra typed another response.
We’re investigating Silverpine.
A moment later Kael’s reply arrived.
Ironwood too.
Lyra’s fingers hovered over the console keys for a moment.
Then she typed one final message.
If this continues, the council will demand retaliation.
The response came quickly this time.
Same here.
Selka sighed quietly.
“So both sides are sitting on a powder keg.”
Lyra nodded.
“Yes.”
Another message appeared.
Lyra opened it.
Be careful who you trust.
Lyra’s expression shifted slightly.
Selka noticed.
“What?”
Lyra read the line again.
“Kael thinks someone might already be inside the system.”
Selka’s eyes narrowed.
“Inside which system?”
Lyra answered quietly.
“Both.”
That realization settled heavily between them.
Because if someone had the resources to stage attacks using both symbols…
And manipulate both sides simultaneously…
Then this wasn’t just random sabotage.
This was something far more organized.
Far more deliberate.
Lyra typed one final message.
Stay alive, Kael.
There was a pause before the response arrived.
When it did, it was just two words.
You too.
Then the connection closed.
The encrypted channel vanished.
Selka leaned against the table again.
“Well.”
Lyra stood and walked back toward the glowing world map.
“Someone wants us to destroy each other.”
Selka folded her arms.
“Do you think the council would believe this conversation happened?”
Lyra shook her head.
“No.”
Selka sighed.
“Then we’re basically trying to stop a war… without telling anyone why.”
Lyra looked at the border between the two territories again.
“Yes.”
Selka rubbed her temples.
“That’s going to be difficult.”
Lyra didn’t disagree.
Outside the headquarters, the wind continued moving across the dark forests.
Across territories divided by ideology.
Across packs growing more suspicious of each other every day.
And somewhere in that vast world—
Someone was watching carefully.
Waiting.
Waiting for the moment when one wrong move would turn suspicion into war.
Lyra’s eyes lingered on the crimson territories far to the north.
Somewhere out there, Kael was probably standing in front of his own map.
Seeing the same borders.
Feeling the same pressure closing in.
And now they both understood the truth.
The conflict spreading across the werewolf world was not an accident.
Someone was pushing it forward.
Piece by piece.
Like a carefully planned game.
And unless they found the hidden player behind it…
The next move might finally ignite the war everyone feared.