Chapter 39 Unexpected Ally
The next two weeks crawled by.
Every day felt the same. Wake up. Study pack history. Change bandages. Study more. Cade is following me everywhere. Lycian hovering. The constant weight of being watched. Protected. Threatened.
My hands healed slowly. The stitches came out after ten days. The burns faded to pink scars. Dr. Rivera said they’d disappear eventually. I wasn’t sure I wanted them to. They reminded me I’d survived.
My ankle was better. Still tender but I could walk without limping. Run if I had to.
The mental trial was in two days.
I sat in the library studying when someone cleared their throat behind me. I jumped. Spun around.
Madison stood there. Pale. Thin. Dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks.
“What are you doing here?” My voice came out harsher than intended.
“I needed to talk to you.” She glanced around nervously. “Alone. Please.”
“Cade is right outside. He won’t let you near me.”
“I know. I told him it was important. That you’d want to hear what I have to say.” She twisted her hands together. “Please. Just five minutes.”
I should say no. Should call for Cade. Madison had helped destroy my life. But something in her expression stopped me. Fear. Real fear.
“Five minutes,” I said. “Talk.”
She sat across from me. Didn’t meet my eyes. “I know who’s threatening you.”
My heart stopped. “What?”
“The messages. The photos. I know who’s behind it.” Her voice shook. “And I know what they’re planning for the mental trial.”
“Why should I believe you? You lied before.”
“I know. And I’m sorry. For all of it.” She finally looked at me. Her eyes were red. Swollen from crying. “My father used me. Made me think I was helping the pack when really I was just doing his dirty work. And now he’s doing it again. But this time it’s worse.”
“Marcus is behind the threats?” That made sense. He had a motive. Resources. Hatred.
“Not just him. He’s working with someone else. Someone inside the pack who has access to trial information.” She pulled out her phone. Showed me screenshots. Messages between Marcus and an unknown number.
The human won’t survive the second trial. Make sure of it.
Sabotage is in place. She’ll fail publicly. Humiliate the Valor name.
Perfect. Once she’s gone, things go back to normal.
My hands clenched. “Who’s he working with?”
“I don’t know. The number is blocked. But whoever it is has power. Authority. They’re the ones feeding my father information about the trials.” Madison’s voice dropped. “And they’re the ones who’re going to sabotage your test.”
“How?”
“The written exam has been altered. Wrong questions. Impossible standards. Even if you know everything perfectly, you’ll fail.” She pulled out a flash drive. “This has the real exam. The one you were supposed to get. Study this and you’ll actually have a chance.”
I stared at the drive. “Why are you helping me? What’s in it for you?”
“Nothing. Except maybe redemption.” She set the drive on the table. Pushed it toward me. “I destroyed your scholarship. Helped ruin your life. I can’t take that back. But I can stop them from hurting you again.”
“Your father will know it was you. He’ll punish you.”
“I don’t care anymore. I’m tired of being his weapon.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I’m tired of hurting people because he tells me to. I want to be better than that.”
Through the bond, I felt Lycian stir. He was in a meeting across the estate but my emotions had spiked enough to alert him.
Everything okay? His voice came through.
Madison’s here. Giving me information about the threats.
I’m coming.
“You need to leave,” I told Madison. “Before Lycian gets here. He won’t be as understanding as me.”
“I know.” She stood. Hesitated. “For what it’s worth, I think you’ll be a good Luna. Better than anyone my father would have chosen. You actually care about people.”
“Madison, wait.” I grabbed the flash drive. “Does your father know you’re here?”
“No. And he can’t find out. If he does…” She trailed off. Didn’t finish. Didn’t need to.
“Be careful.”
“You too.” She left quickly. Just as Lycian burst through the library door.
His eyes were wild. Gold at the edges. He scanned the room. Found me safe. Some of the tension left his shoulders.
“What happened?” He pulled me up. Checked me over. “What did she want?”
I showed him the flash drive. Told him everything Madison said. About Marcus. The sabotage. The insider is helping him.
Lycian’s expression went cold. Dangerous. “We need to tell my father. Now.”
We found Thaddeus in his office. He listened without interrupting while I explained. His face gave nothing away but his fingers drummed on the desk. A tell I’d learned meant he was furious.
“Marcus is supposed to be banned from pack lands,” he said finally. “If he’s coordinating with someone inside, that’s a serious violation.”
“Who would work with him?” Lycian asked. “After everything that came out at the pack meeting?”
“Someone who shares his views. Who wants the old ways preserved?” Thaddeus stood. Paced to the window. “Someone with access to trial information. That limits the suspects significantly.”
“The council members,” I said quietly. “They’re the only ones who know trial details in advance.”
“Exactly.” Thaddeus turned. Looked at me directly. “Can we trust Madison? Is this real information or another setup?”
“I think it’s real. She was scared. Genuinely scared of what her father might do.” I held up the flash drive. “Can we verify this? Make sure it’s actually the correct exam?”
“I can check it against my copy.” Thaddeus held out his hand. I gave him the drive. “If this is legitimate, it proves Madison’s claims. And gives us leverage against whoever’s helping Marcus.”
He plugged the drive into his computer. Pulled up files. His expression changed. Hardened.
“It’s real. This is the original exam. The one I submitted two weeks ago.” He looked at Lycian. “Which means someone accessed my secure files. Copied the exam. And replaced it with a fake.”
“Who has access to your files?” I asked.
“Only council members. And my assistant.” Thaddeus’s jaw clenched. “We have a traitor. Someone close enough to betray pack security.”
The weight of that settled over us. Someone trusted. Someone with power. Working to destroy me.
“What do we do?” Lycian’s hand found mine. Squeezed. Grounding.
“We let them think their plan is working. You study the fake exam. Act like you don’t know about the sabotage.” Thaddeus looked at me. “During the trial, you’ll answer the real questions. The ones only I know. When you pass with perfect marks, the traitor will reveal themselves.”
“How?”
“Because they’ll panic. They’ll try to claim the test was compromised. That you cheated somehow.” A cold smile crossed his face. “And when they do, we’ll have them.”
“That’s risky,” Lycian said. “If something goes wrong, if they have another backup plan…”
“Then we adapt. But this is our best chance to expose them.” Thaddeus closed his laptop. “Elowen, you’ll have both exams. Study everything. Be prepared for anything.”
I nodded. Tried to ignore how my hands shook. “I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.” Something almost paternal flickered across his expression. “My mate faced similar sabotage. She turned it into her greatest victory. Proved everyone wrong.” He paused. “You remind me of her more every day.”
The compliment hit unexpectedly. Made my throat tight.
We left his office with a plan. And more questions than answers.
Who was helping Marcus? What else were they planning? And what would they do when their sabotage failed?
That night, I studied both exams. The fake one was impossible. Questions about obscure pack history nobody remembered. Laws that didn’t exist. Designed to make me fail spectacularly.
The real exam was hard but fair. Covering everything Elena had taught me. Everything I’d learned from books and conversations and observation.
I could pass this. I would pass this.
Lycian quizzed me until midnight. His patience was endless even when I got frustrated. When I wanted to throw books across the room.
“You know this,” he said. After I correctly answered a complicated question about the pack hierarchy. “You’re ready.”
“What if I’m not? What if they change things again?”
“Then you adapt. You’re good at that.” He pulled me onto his lap. Kissed me. “You survived the physical trial. You’ll survive this too.”
“The physical trial just hurt my body. This could hurt my mind. My confidence.”
“Then lean on me. On us. On everyone who believes in you.” His arms tightened around me. “You’re not alone in this. Remember that.”
I fell asleep in his arms. The bond is warm between us. Solid. Unshakeable.
I woke to my phone ringing. Five AM. Two days before the trial.
Unknown number.
My stomach dropped.
I answered without thinking. “What do you want?”
A distorted voice. Mechanical. Unrecognizable. “You got lucky. Madison betrayed her father. But it won’t matter. We have other plans. Plans you can’t prepare for.”
The line went dead.