Chapter Eighteen: Smokes and Suspicions

Chapter Eighteen: Smokes and Suspicions
Trent's POV

I jolted awake to the acrid scent of smoke and the wailing of the emergency sirens. My wolf stirred instantly, alert and tense. The room pulsed with urgency as I grabbed a shirt and tore through the hallway, my bare feet pounding against the cold wooden floor.

“Fire! Get the betas out!” I roared, passing a frantic omega who barely bowed before scrambling toward the east wing.

Smoke coiled like a serpent down the corridor, its thick tendrils crawling under doors and licking at the ceiling. It wasn’t natural—too fast, too focused. The guest wing. Eva’s wing.

My blood ran cold.

I shoved past a warrior who called my name, barely registering his presence. “Is she out?” I barked.

“No—Luna’s still inside!”

A growl tore through my throat. “Move!”

I stormed into the smoke, my eyes burning, lungs tightening. Flames danced along the edge of a tapestry, their light casting flickering shadows across the corridor walls. I reached Eva’s room and kicked in the door.

She was crouched by the bed, clutching something—her mother’s pendant. Her eyes, wide and glassy, locked on mine.

“Eva!”

She stumbled to her feet. “Alpha—”

“Come on.” I hauled her into my arms, shielding her from the heat as we barreled through the smoke and debris. A beam collapsed behind us with a crack like thunder.

When we finally burst through the exit, fresh air smacked me in the face. Eva gasped in my arms. Kyle was already there, directing warriors and barking orders.

“Medic!” I shouted, placing her gently onto a blanket one of the omegas spread out.

Amelia arrived within seconds, her face pale. “Is she burned?”

“Just shaken.” I crouched beside Eva, brushing soot from her cheek. “You’re safe now.”

She didn’t speak. Her gaze was unfocused. I knew that look—she wasn’t just scared. She was reliving something. Memories. Trauma. And my gut churned because I had no idea what ghosts were haunting her.

“I’ll take care of her,” Amelia said, placing a firm hand on my shoulder.

“Stay with her. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

She nodded. “I won’t.”

Kyle approached, sweat glistening on his brow. “We contained it to the guest wing. Myra and Kiara were helping the omegas evacuate. No casualties.”

“No one was seen entering or leaving before the fire?”

“Not yet. We’re checking the surveillance.”

I grunted. “Pull all the footage. I want names. Anyone who stepped foot near her wing.”

He paused, then added quietly, “There’s more.”

I looked up sharply.

“We found this.” He handed me a charred piece of jewelry wrapped in cloth. A locket—burned around the edges but unmistakable.

Rachel’s.

My jaw clenched. “Where?”

“Near Luna Eva’s door.”

Eva was lying just feet away, unaware. The flames hadn’t touched her room—only the hallway.

This wasn’t a random fire. Someone had tried to get to her.

And they wanted it to look like an accident.

\---

Hours passed. The fire was out, the cleanup underway. I’d questioned everyone—staff, guards, even Kiara and Myra.

They’d been helpful on the surface, but something about Kiara’s composure had struck me as odd. Too smooth. Too concerned. But I shoved the suspicion down. There wasn’t time to chase shadows without proof.

Amelia returned just before dawn.

“She’s asleep,” she said softly. “But she’s… rattled. Whatever she saw—whatever she remembered—she’s not ready to talk.”

“She doesn’t have to. Not yet.” I folded my arms and stared at the wall, thoughts racing.

Rachel. Her locket.

She wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the Blood Moon Pack. Last I heard, she was still trying to convince Liam to take another swing at challenging me. I’d ignored her. Dismissed her.

I should’ve known better.

\---

By sunrise, the pack was buzzing. Word traveled fast. Some whispered of a rogue attack. Others blamed the Jade Moon Pack.

Only I knew the truth wasn’t that simple.

Kyle joined me in my office, where the scent of smoke still clung to my skin.

“Surveillance caught a cloaked figure outside the guest wing,” he reported. “Too blurry for facial recognition. They used blind spots.”

“Pro.”

“Very.”

“Was it a wolf?”

“Couldn’t tell. But they moved fast.”

I clenched my jaw. “Keep digging. Check the old tunnels beneath the manor. If they used one, we’ll find a trail.”

He nodded and disappeared.

My fingers grazed the edge of Rachel’s locket. Inside, a photo of her and her brother from years ago, back when we were all still in training.

She’d kept it. Worn it.

Left it.

This was her signature. Her warning. And a threat.

I turned to the window, watching the sunrise cast gold over the scorched earth.

She’d come for Eva.

That meant Rachel knew.

But how?

\---

Eva awoke that evening. I was at her bedside the moment her eyes fluttered open.

She blinked, disoriented. “The fire…”

“You’re safe.” I reached for her hand. “We got you out.”

She nodded, but her jaw trembled. “Someone did this. I know they did.”

“Do you remember anything?”

“I… I heard voices. Before the smoke. Two women. Whispering. One said… ‘She’ll never be Luna. Not while I’m breathing.’”

My stomach sank.

“Did you recognize them?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t see their faces.”

Two women.

I knew exactly which two she meant.

But until I had proof, I couldn’t accuse them. I wouldn’t.

Eva looked up at me then. “Do you believe me?”

I cupped her cheek. “Always.”

\---

Later that night, alone in the command room, I opened the security footage again. Rewind. Pause. Play. Enhance.

A flicker. A shadow. Then… there. A gloved hand dropping something near the door.

Frame by frame, I watched it fall.

The locket.

I stared at the screen, muscles tight with rage.

Rachel wasn’t just back.

She was inside my pack.

And this time, she’d crossed a line.

I pressed the intercom. “Kyle. Lock the borders. No one enters or leaves without my clearance.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I leaned back, the weight of everything pressing down.

Smoke. Secrets. Enemies in disguise.

But I’d protect her.

Even if it meant burning the world to the ground.