Chapter 77: Shadows in the Ranks

Mariana’s POV

The traitor’s body lay still on the cold stone floor, their final words echoing in my mind.

“You don’t see it yet, Luna. But you will.”

A chill ran through me, deeper than fear. It was the kind of warning that didn’t end with one death. It was the kind that promised more to come.

Garrick crouched beside the body, his jaw tight. “Damn it,” he muttered. “We were this close.”

Eva sheathed her dagger, her expression unreadable. “We need to find out who they were working with.”

I nodded, forcing my thoughts to sharpen. The traitor had moved fast. Too fast for someone acting alone. That meant there were more.

“We can’t let this shake us,” I said, though my hands were still trembling. “Whoever they were protecting, they think we’re in the dark.” I looked at Eva and Garrick. “Let’s make sure they stay thinking that.”

Garrick met my gaze, understanding. “We act like we got nothing from this.”

Eva smirked. “And see who starts sweating.”

Footsteps echoed down the hall before I could respond. I turned to see Alexander approaching, his face unreadable. But I didn’t need words to know—he already knew what had happened.

His eyes flickered to the body. “They took poison?”

I nodded. “Before we could get anything out of them.”

Alexander exhaled, his jaw tightening. “Then we don’t have time to waste.”

He looked at Garrick. “Find out everything about them. Where they slept, who they spoke to, who they avoided.” His voice was ice. “And double the guards on the war room. If they got this far, they had inside help.”

Garrick nodded and strode away.

Alexander turned back to me, his eyes searching mine. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” I said, though my pulse was still unsteady. “But Alexander… they were prepared for this.”

His expression darkened. “I know.”

He looked over his shoulder, toward the castle doors. “And if they’ve planned this much…” His voice was low, dangerous.

“They won’t stop here.”

The castle felt different after the traitor’s death. The hallways were quieter, the tension more suffocating. It wasn’t the eerie silence of peace—it was the kind that came before the next strike.

Alexander and I stood in his private study, a map of the territory spread across the wooden table. A candle flickered between us, casting long shadows over the parchment.

“They had access to the war room,” Alexander muttered, his fingers tightening into a fist. “They knew about our defenses. And if they knew that much…”

“They weren’t alone,” I finished for him.

Alexander’s jaw clenched. “No. There’s someone else.”

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. “Do you think the council—?”

He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “I don’t want to believe it. But we can’t ignore the possibility.”

A cold feeling settled in my chest. The council was supposed to be the foundation of the pack’s leadership. If corruption had spread there, we weren’t just fighting an outside enemy. We were fighting within.

A knock on the door made both of us turn.

Eva slipped inside, her expression grim. “We found something,” she said.

Alexander straightened. “What is it?”

She held out a small leather-bound book. “It was hidden under the traitor’s bed. Looks like a journal, but the last few pages have been ripped out.”

I took the book, flipping through the brittle pages. The writing was frantic, rushed—like someone who had been running out of time.

One passage stood out.

“The storm is coming. The true heir will rise. The false crown will fall.”

I felt my blood run cold.

“The true heir?” I whispered.

Alexander took the book from me, his expression unreadable. But I saw the flicker of something behind his eyes.

Recognition.

I stepped closer. “Alexander… do you know what this means?”

He hesitated, just for a moment.

Then—

“Yes,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

A heavy silence settled between us.

Eva crossed her arms. “Well? Don’t keep us in suspense.”

Alexander looked up, his gaze locking with mine. “There’s only one person who could claim to be a true heir to the pack.”

The air in the room seemed to shift, charged with something unseen.

Then he said the name.

And my world tilted on its axis.

The name hung in the air like a blade suspended over our heads.

I felt my breath hitch. “That’s not possible.”

Alexander’s expression didn’t change. “It is.”

Eva scoffed. “That bastard’s dead. We all saw it.”

I wanted to believe her. Wanted to cling to the certainty that Marion had been defeated, his reign of terror shattered. But the words in the journal—The true heir will rise—clawed at something deep inside me.

“What if we were wrong?” I whispered.

Silence.

Eva exhaled sharply. “You’re telling me the council knew? That they let us believe we’d won while they planned—what? A resurrection?”

Alexander’s grip on the journal tightened. “I don’t know. But if there’s even a chance that someone with his bloodline is still alive, it would explain everything.”

A heavy weight settled in my chest. We had been so focused on external threats—rogues, outside forces testing our borders. But what if the real danger had been lurking within our own pack all along?

Alexander turned to Eva. “We need to move. If this goes deeper than we thought, we’re already running out of time.”

Eva nodded, her expression hard. “I’ll start with the council. See who’s been acting off.”

Alexander turned to me. “You and I are going to the archives.”

I frowned. “The archives?”

“The only people who could claim to be a ‘true heir’ would be from the original ruling bloodline.” He closed the journal. “And there’s only one place that has records of every high-ranking wolf in this pack’s history.”

I swallowed, nodding. If the council had been hiding something, the proof would be buried in those records.

Alexander reached for my hand, his fingers firm against mine. “We’ll figure this out, Mariana.”

But the weight of the past had already started pressing down.

And I had the sinking feeling that what we were about to uncover would change everything.