Chapter 26 Twenty Six
The walk back to BloodRidge felt longer than the journey to the valley. No one spoke unless necessary. The air was tight with unasked questions, and every step seemed to carry a new weight.
Xenon stayed close enough that his arm brushed mine when the path narrowed. He didn’t touch me outright, but the tension in his posture told me he wanted to. His eyes scanned the trees constantly, his wolf hovering just beneath the surface.
Kael walked ahead, silent but alert. Ryker and the warriors closed the formation behind us, checking our flank every few minutes. They didn’t relax, not even when the pack house came into view between the trees.
When we reached the outer gates, Xenon gave a sharp command.
“No one enters or leaves without clearance. Double the guard lines.”
The patrol shifted immediately.
We walked through the main courtyard. Wolves paused their tasks when they noticed us, and a few bowed their heads to Xenon. Their eyes lingered on me longer than I liked, but they said nothing.
Xenon guided me straight into the pack house.
“In here,” he said as he opened the door to his private wing.
I hesitated. “Xenon, I can go to the healer wing.”
“No,” he said. “You stay where I can reach you quickly.”
He wasn’t raising his voice. He wasn’t using authority to force me. His tone held something else entirely—fear controlled into a straight line.
He closed the door behind us. Kael remained outside. Ryker waited in the hallway in case anything changed.
The moment the door shut, Xenon exhaled deeply, running a hand through his hair. It was the first sign he had been holding himself together since the valley.
I sat on the edge of the couch. My hands still trembling faintly from the memory I drank.
Xenon watched me. “Are you in pain.”
“No. Just tired.”
He nodded once but didn’t look convinced. “You should rest. Kael thinks the next memory will come soon.”
I looked up at him. “Do you agree with him.”
His jaw tightened. “I agree that you should not face it alone.”
He stepped closer, slow and controlled. “What did the man mean by betrayal.”
“I do not know,” I said. “But the memory felt heavier than the first. Like it was buried deeper.”
Xenon crouched in front of me. “Sara. Who would your mother consider a traitor.”
“I do not know,” I answered honestly. “She died before she could tell me.”
His eyes searched mine, steady and intense. “You are shaking.”
“I am not afraid,” I said.
“I know you are not,” he replied. “But that does not mean you are alright.”
The room fell quiet.
The reality between us was changing. The bond pulsed faintly—subtle, but something I could feel now. It wasn’t overpowering. It wasn’t painful. It was simply… present.
Xenon saw it in my expression. His own softened.
“The bond did not break,” he said quietly.
I looked down at my hands. “I know.”
“I tried to reject it,” he said. “I believed it was the only way to keep distance. To keep order. To keep you safe from anything tied to me.”
“And now,” I asked.
He paused for a long moment. “Now I do not know if distance is possible.”
Before I could respond, a sharp knock hit the door.
Xenon stood and opened it partway. Ryker was on the other side.
“Alpha. The stranger left something besides the tracks.”
Xenon’s eyes darkened. “Where.”
Ryker handed him a folded piece of parchment. “Under one of the pillars. Kael examined it first.”
Xenon unfolded it. His expression stayed unreadable as he stared at the writing.
“What does it say,” I asked.
He didn’t answer right away. He handed me the parchment.
There was only one sentence written in dark ink.
“The betrayal begins with blood.”
My stomach tightened. “What does that mean.”
Kael stepped inside. “It means the next memory is not about the Creed.”
Xenon’s gaze shifted to me. “It is about someone connected to your family.”
Kael added, “Someone who knew your mother. Someone she trusted.”
I set the parchment down. “Trust implies closeness. Someone from her past?”
Kael shook his head. “Not her past.”
My breath hitched. “Then who.”
Kael looked directly at me. “Your mother’s betrayal is tied to someone still alive.”
The room froze.
Xenon’s posture changed instantly. “Who.”
Kael answered with cold certainty.
“Someone inside this pack.”
Xenon’s wolf surged. “Impossible.”
“No,” Kael said. “It fits. The Creed has avoided the borders too easily. They knew where the healer wing was. They knew Sara would go to the valley. They knew the timing.”
Xenon clenched his fists. “There is no traitor in BloodRidge.”
Kael held his gaze. “Someone gave them information.”
No one spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Xenon asked, “Who do you suspect.”
Kael didn’t hesitate. “We need Sara’s next memory to know.”
“How long,” Xenon asked.
“A few hours,” Kael said. “Maybe less.”
Xenon looked at me again. “Sara. When it comes, I am with you. No one enters this wing.”
I nodded, though my pulse quickened.
Kael added, “You must be prepared. The next memory will be personal.”
I swallowed. “How personal.”
“Painful,” Kael said. “Because betrayal always is.”
The room went still again.
Xenon dismissed Kael and Ryker with a sharp nod. After they left, he sat beside me, not touching me, but close enough that I felt the warmth of him.
“Sara,” he said quietly. “No matter what you see, it does not change anything between us.”
I held my breath. “Between us.”
His eyes locked on mine. “Yes.”
The bond pulsed once, unmistakable.
Before either of us could say more, a faint pressure hit my temples.
Soft.
Subtle.
Growing.
Xenon saw the shift in my expression.
“It is starting,” he said.
I nodded once. “Yes.”
“Then I am here,” he said. “Stay with me.”