90 – The Aftermath

90 – The Aftermath
Kael POV

The scent of antiseptic clung to Kael’s senses long after the battlefield faded from view. His shoulder throbbed in time with his heartbeat, a deep, punishing ache.

He sat propped up against a bank of pillows in bed, still in his bloodstained shirt, his mind replaying every second of the failed ambush. The trap had been perfect in theory — lure the rogues in, cut them off before reinforcements could arrive.

But theories crumbled the moment the enemy shifted their tactics.

They had been ready.

The image of more rogues pouring into the clearing, snarling and snapping under the command of their leader, flashed behind Kael’s eyes. And worse than that, the panic — when the claw tore into his shoulder. That moment, more than the pain, had almost undone him.

The door eased open. Elias entered first, quiet for once, his usual sharp remarks nowhere to be found. Finn followed, a faint limp in his step, though he brushed off his own injury with a scoff.

“You should still be resting” Kael said, voice low and flat.

Finn raised an eyebrow. “And you should be too, Alpha. Guess neither of us listens well.”

Elias moved to the foot of Kael’s bed, arms crossed. “We’ve taken stock. The good news is we pulled most of our warriors back without losses. The bad news…” He let it hang.

“They were waiting for us,” Kael finished for him.

“Which means,” Finn added grimly, “either they’ve got eyes on our borders… or someone’s feeding them information.”

The word traitor didn’t need to be said aloud for the air to feel heavier.

Before Kael could reply, the door swung again. Aria slipped inside, hair tied back in a loose braid. She hesitated only a moment before crossing the room to his side, her fingers checking his bandages. Her scent dulled the sting of his wound more than the other healers had.

“I felt it,” she murmured, her eyes locked on his. “When it happened. I thought—” She stopped, swallowing hard.

“I’m here,” Kael said, softer than he’d meant to. He kept his voice steady, but the truth was, he’d thought the same for a split second — this could be it. And the idea of leaving her alone, without even the chance to say goodbye, had ripped something raw inside him.

“I need you both to hear this,” Elias said, glancing between them. “Theron’s already demanding an explanation. He’s waiting.”

Kael’s eyes narrowed. “Then we’ll give him one.”

Theron stood at the far end of the long meeting table, arms braced against the table, Lyra at his side. His face was carved from stone, the kind of look that made lesser wolves shrink.

“You swore you had this under control,” Theron said the moment Kael entered.

“You swore striking first would end this faster. Instead, my warriors came back bloodied, your warriors came back bloodied, and the rogues are still breathing.”

Kael stopped across from him, meeting the Moonfang Alpha’s glare with his own. “You think I don’t know that?”

“I think you let your pride rush the plan,” Theron shot back. “And we paid the price for it.”

Elias stepped in before Kael’s temper could break. “We all agreed on the plan, Theron. What none of us agreed on was the rogues showing up in double the numbers. That’s not Kael’s pride — that’s knowledge they shouldn’t have had.”

That drew a pause. Lyra’s sharp gaze flicked to Kael. “You think there’s another leak.”

“I know there is,” Kael said. “They were positioned too perfectly. This wasn’t luck.”

Theron straightened. “Then we root them out, again. Now. Before we move another warrior into position.”

Kael nodded, but the knot in his chest tightened.

Aria had been standing silently near the wall, but now she spoke, her voice careful.

“If there’s another traitor… then the next strike will be worse. You won’t be able to predict it, because they’ll make sure you can’t.”

Kael met her eyes across the room, catching the flicker of fear she tried to hide. He wanted to go to her, to promise her it wouldn’t come to that. But he couldn’t lie to her. Not about this.

The meeting stretched for hours. Plans were redrawn, fallback positions marked Finn suggested running decoy patrols to flush out the leak. Theron agreed, though not without a few barbed remarks about Nightclaw’s security.

By the time the others filed out, the room felt smaller. Kael lingered, staring down at the map. His shoulder burned each time he moved his arm, but he ignored it.

Aria stayed behind. She moved quietly to his side, her presence easing the pounding in his head.

“You’re bleeding through the bandage again,” she said softly.

“I’ll live,” Kael replied.

“That’s not the point,” she countered, her tone sharper now. “You can’t lead if you bleed yourself dry.”

For a moment, neither spoke. Then Kael exhaled, long and slow. “I keep thinking about the way they moved today. No hesitation. No confusion. They weren’t reacting — they were executing. It’s not just numbers, Aria. It’s discipline.”

She tilted her head, studying him. “And that scares you.”

“It should scare all of us.”

Aria’s hand brushed his, tentative at first, then firmer. “Then we find a way to break that discipline. You’ve done it before.”

He looked at her, the determination in her gaze cutting through the heaviness in his chest. “You think I can fix this.”

“I know you can,” she said simply. “But you have to trust the people who want to help you. Even when it feels risky.”

The implication was clear — she wasn’t just talking about Elias and Finn. She was talking about Moonfang, about anyone willing to stand against the rogues, even if it meant letting them into Nightclaw’s walls.

Kael swallowed. “Risk works both ways.”

“I know.” She squeezed his hand once, then let go. “But if we keep playing it safe, they’ll win.”

By the time Kael returned to his bedroom, the night was deep. The pack house was quiet, though he knew patrols moved along the borders. He eased down onto the bed, his body aching with every shift.

The attack had been a failure in the field, but it had also drawn something sharper into focus — the war was no longer just about defending territory. It was about rooting out the threat already inside their ranks.

And that… was a battle he wasn’t sure would be won on the field at all.