Chapter 37 CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Chapter 37 CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Hellen’s POV

The night felt wrong. The air was too still, as if the forest itself held its breath. I jolted awake, my heart pounding, sweat clinging to my skin despite the cold breeze spilling through the open window. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was until the familiar scent of cedar and iron told me I was home. The Alpha’s quarters.

But the dream, oh, the vision still clung to me. The Moon’s voice had been clear this time, echoing through the mist of my subconscious:
“The betrayal you seek has roots deeper than you think, Luna. Beware the shadow among your own.”
Her words burned through my mind like fire. I’d thought I already knew betrayal, Ura, the healer, their poisoned schemes. But if the Goddess herself was warning me, then something darker was moving beneath the surface.

I sat up, running my hand through my hair, feeling the pulse of my wolf beneath my skin. Since my awakening, she’d grown louder, angrier. Her energy thrummed like a storm beneath my flesh, whispering to me, guiding me, sometimes even defying me.
Tonight, she felt restless.

“We are being watched,” she hissed from within.
I looked toward the door. It was slightly ajar. My senses sharpened instantly, catching the faintest rustle of fabric down the hallway. Someone was there. Watching. Waiting.

I rose silently from the bed and reached for my robe. The mansion was dim, the corridors bathed in silver light. My bare feet made no sound as I moved through the hall, tracing the scent unfamiliar yet laced with something I recognized: wolfsbane and fear.
Then the scent vanished. Like smoke.

I turned back toward the courtyard. That was when I saw Paul.
He stood in the moonlight, his expression carved from stone. His gaze flicked to me, harp, assessing. “You shouldn’t be wandering alone at this hour, Luna.”
I folded my arms, hiding the tremor that rippled through me. “You’re one to talk. What are you doing lurking in the shadows?”
He hesitated, his eyes narrowing. “Keeping an eye on things. There’s unrest in the ranks. The council is growing nervous after what happened with the healer. And…” He paused, studying me. “You’ve changed, Hellen. Your aura feels different.”
I forced a faint smile. “You make it sound like a bad thing.”

Paul stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You came back from near death, stronger than before. Wolves whisper about it. Some think it’s a blessing. Others… think it’s something else.”
My wolf snarled inside me at the doubt in his tone. He doubts us.

I met his gaze, unflinching. “Do you doubt me, Paul?”
He looked away, jaw tightening. “No. But I doubt the peace we think we have.”
Something in his words made my chest tighten. Paul wasn’t wrong. Since my recovery, the silence around the pack had been unnatural, open hostility, but too much stillness. Too much watching.

“I don’t trust the council,” I admitted softly. “The Moon warned me tonight. The betrayal… it runs deeper than Laura or the healer.”
Paul’s eyes flicked up, startled. “You spoke with her? The Moon?”
I nodded. “She said there’s a shadow among us, someone feeding them information.”
He cursed under his breath, pacing. “That explains the ambush on the patrol route. Someone knew the guards’ positions before dawn. If what you’re saying is true…” He trailed off, then looked back at me with something close to fear. “Hellen, you need to tell Matt.”

I hesitated. Matt. His name stirred something deep within me, a mixture of warmth and ache. But I couldn’t drag him into this yet, not when I didn’t know who the traitor was. Not when the council already questioned his authority.
“I will,” I lied. “When the time is right.”

Paul frowned. “Be careful. Secrets have a way of becoming knives in this pack.”
His words lingered as he left.
When he was gone, I walked back toward the healer’s chamber. The scent of dried herbs and decay clung to the air. I’d been waiting for the right moment to confront him, but tonight, something urged me closer. I pressed my palm to the wooden door and listened.
Voices. Low, hurried.

“…the Alpha suspects,” came the healer’s whisper.
“Then push him further,” Laura snapped. “Make him believe Hellen’s recovery is unstable. The council won’t follow a Luna who’s tainted.”
My blood ran cold.

“She’s growing too powerful,” the healer muttered. “I can feel it. The enchantment is wearing off.”
“Then strengthen it,” Laura hissed. “If she discovers what’s binding her power, it’ll be too late for both of us.”
My nails dug into the wood. The enchantment. So it wasn’t just poison. They’d cursed me, bound my wolf, suppressed my strength. But the binding was fading. That’s why my wolf felt wild lately, why her voice echoed so fiercely.
I almost burst in right then, but something stopped me. A whisper soft and familiar.
“Wait. Let them think they still hold the game.”

It was my wolf. Calm. Focused.
And she was right. If I attacked now, they’d scatter, hide the truth. I needed proof evidence Matt could not ignore.
I backed away quietly, every muscle shaking with rage. The healer’s voice followed me down the corridor, murmuring spells that sent a faint vibration through the walls. I could feel its residue of dark magic, thrumming like veins of rot beneath the floor.
When I finally reached the balcony, I leaned against the railing and breathed in the night air. The moon hung high, bleeding silver across the forest. It pulsed with quiet power, as if answering my thoughts.

“My Luna,” the wind seemed to whisper, “you’ve only seen the edge of the storm.”
I closed my eyes and let my wolf’s energy surge through me. My senses expanded, and I could hear the distant howl of guards, the heartbeat of sleeping wolves, and the hum of the forest. And beneath it all… a pulse of danger near Matt’s quarters.
My chest tightened.

“The Alpha is in danger tonight,” my wolf murmured.
I didn’t hesitate. I tore through the corridor, my bare feet slamming against stone. The closer I got, the stronger the scent of blood and deception became.
When I reached his door, I froze. It was slightly open, flickering candlelight spilling through the crack. I pushed it gently, and what I saw made my heart drop.
Matt stood near the window, his hand clenched around a blade, his eyes glowing faintly with fury. Two council guards knelt before him, trembling.
“What’s going on?” I breathed.

He turned, surprise flashing across his features before it hardened. “Hellen. You shouldn’t be here.”
I ignored that. “They were inside your room. Why?”
The guards didn’t answer. Matt’s grip tightened on the blade. “Because they were ordered to poison me.”
The words struck like lightning.

I looked at the guards again at the faint glimmer of a dark liquid staining one of their hands. “Who sent you?” I demanded.
They didn’t speak, only lowered their heads. One of them muttered a name under his breath, a name I couldn’t make out, before Matt’s snarl filled the air.
“Enough.” His voice was pure Alpha command. The guards flinched, bowing lower.
I felt his rage like heat radiating off him. And beneath it, something else hurt. Betrayal.
“I’ll handle them,” he said quietly.

I stepped closer, reaching for his arm. “Matt...”
He looked at me then, eyes burning with a mixture of fury and sorrow. “They were sent by someone inside the council. Someone close. You were right.”
“I know who it is,” I whispered.
His gaze snapped to mine. “Who?”
But before I could speak, a shadow moved outside the window fast, silent, watching. I caught a glimpse of golden hair before it vanished into the night.
Laura.

Matt saw it too. His entire body stiffened.
“We end this,” he growled.
I nodded, feeling the storm building between us: ger, resolve, something deeper neither of us dared name.
As the moonlight spilled over us, I felt the prophecy of my dream come full circle. Betrayal wasn’t just coming; it was here. And tonight, the game of lies would finally burn.

But as I looked into Matt’s eyes, I knew the Moon’s warning carried another meaning.
The shadow among us wasn’t just betrayal; it was transformation.
The pack, the kingdom, even our love would never be the same.
And from the darkness outside, I could swear I heard Laura whisper to the wind.
“Let the war begin.”