Chapter 160: Chapter 160

Ophelia’s POV

Had the creature been so entirely sure that the two foreign packs would be so utterly consumed by their grief and bloodlust that they wouldn't notice the discrepancy? Was the hybrid counting on the fact that the alliance’s trust was already so fragile that facts wouldn't matter? Or had there been some other assurance, some reason to believe the truth would never surface in time?

You make an exceptionally good point, Gareth,” I stated, my voice turning tight as I committed the thought to memory. “It implies the enemy either underestimated our ability to reason, or they knew something about the temperament of our allies that we did not. We will absolutely need to look into that further.”

Gareth nodded, a faint gleam of satisfaction returning to his amber eyes as his flat ears lifted slightly. “I am glad my fractured mind could offer some scrap of utility, Luna.”

“You see? You have been helpful just now,” I said, offering him a warm, soft smile to completely dispel the remaining shadows of his guilt. “So you do not need to worry about being responsible for what occurred. Your only duty now is to heal.”

He managed a weak laugh. “Thank you for your kind words, Luna Ophelia,” he murmured, his posture finally relaxing against the pillows.

“I mean it,” I said. Then I folded my arms across my chest, and something of my earlier resolve returned to me. “Now that your mind is clear, let us speak on another matter. I had been preparing to speak to you, and thoroughly confront you about your reckless decision to assign Casimir to track the vampires.”

Gareth winced, a comically defensive look crossing his battle-scarred face. He raised his hands slightly, as if shielding himself from a strike. “I suspected as much would be coming eventually, Luna.”

“But,” I continued, letting out a soft sigh, “I do not have the heart to ruthlessly confront you now that you are bedridden and wrapped like a mummy. You are incredibly lucky to be alive on both counts, Head Tracker.”

Gareth let out a low, rolling chuckle that quickly cut into a wheeze as his ribs flared. “Aye, I am a fortunate soul,” he placatingly explained, keeping his palms up. “But hear me out on the boy, Luna. Casimir has an immense amount of raw potential,” he said before I could speak further, his voice growing steadier as he warmed to the subject.

“He is profoundly gifted, which was precisely why I wished to give him the chance to shadow the scouts.”

I raised an eyebrow. “He is still a child, Gareth. Gifted or not, his safety is my paramount concern.”

“At first, I thought the very same,” Gareth said, his tone turning earnest and respectful as he spoke of my adopted son. “I thought the boy was far too young, too brooding. But over the cycles, I have watched him. The only thing that brings a true, unbridled passion to his eyes is tracking footprints and reading the movements of animals whenever it is time for the pack to hunt.”

“He is fourteen winters, Gareth,” I said, though without much heat left in it.

“Aye, and I did not send him into the field alone, nor unsupervised,” he said. “I intended for him to shadow senior trackers, to learn under careful watch. I did not anticipate…” he gestured weakly at himself, “...this. None of us could have.”

I considered his words. “Even knowing now what we face, a hybrid, more dangerous than any vampire we have prepared for, you still believe he should be given the chance?”

“I do,” he said without hesitation. “If he trains under a veteran properly, with real caution taken. He picks things up faster than any pup I have trained. He has the right build for it, the right instincts. Do not let fear steal his gift from him, Luna. Only guide it properly.”

I sat with that for a long moment before I rose, his words deeply to heart, the protective maternal instinct in my chest warring with the logical reality that Casimir was indeed growing into a warrior of his own right. “Rest well, Gareth. And thank you, for everything you have given me to think on today. “Now, rest. That is an order.”

He laughed lightly.

I knew I needed to find Casimir. I needed to see where his heart truly lay.

It did not take me long to locate him. He was pacing restlessly, back and forth, in the corridor of our home. “Casimir,” I called out.

He whipped around to face me. “Mother! Are you well?” His voice cracked slightly. “Is Gareth alright? The mind link was chaotic... I smelled the blood from the borders... I thought...”

“Slow down. I am perfectly alright,” I assured him softly, leaning back just enough to look up into his anxious face. “And Gareth is awake. He is mending. He is far too stubborn to let a little bloodletting claim him.”

“What happened out there, Mother? The warriors in the courtyard are whispering of corpses, and the Alphas looked as though they were preparing for a siege.”

For a brief, agonizing moment, I hesitated. The protective mother in me wanted to shield him, to lie and tell him it was a simple rogue matter that the elders would handle. He was still so young, and the darkness of Raye’s lineage already cast such a long shadow over his identity.

"There is no need to tell me, if it is difficult," he said quickly, reading my pause.

But I thought of Gareth's words. ‘Do not let fear steal his gift from him.’ And I thought of my own words to him only hours earlier, that I trusted him, that I only worried for him. Trust was not something given in careful, edited pieces.

“Nay, Casimir,” I said firmly, stepping back into his space and placing a hand against his cheek, forcing him to look me in the eyes. “Look at me, son. You deserve to know the truth, so I will tell you.”