41

The world seems changed after what I have just discovered.

With each step I take, every breath feels more burdensome.

I hold the sealed paper tightly in my hands, its corners wrinkling under the pressure of my hold. My parents were not merely targets of an unprovoked assault. They were deceived. Labeled traitors. Carried out under the order of the Alpha King.

Lisa was present.

And Liam…

I’m uncertain if he was involved, or if he’s simply another component of this warped puzzle.

I can hardly comprehend it. My heart pounds like a war drum within my chest as I exit the Records Hall, gliding through the palace corridors like a ghost.

The corridors seem excessively long, overly silent.

The walls seem nearer than they did earlier.

After many years, I finally sense that I’m uncertain about who my actual adversaries are.

A Mysterious Figure in the Darkness

I’m almost at my quarters when I sense it—the pressure of someone observing me.

I become immobile.

My instincts, refined through years of living, shout at me. My fingers twitch towards the blade secured to my thigh while I survey the poorly lit passageway.

Nada.

However, the atmosphere feels off.

The shadows move at the distant end of the corridor. A form shifts—quietly, intentionally.

A figure in a hood.

My heartbeat crashes against my sides.

Before I can respond, before I can seek answers or take the initiative, they retreat into the darkness—disappearing into the palace like mist.

Yet, there remains something.

A carefully placed folded parchment lies on a stone ledge.

I do not waver. I step ahead, grabbing it with anxious fingers, my breath light as I open the note.

The note is composed in clear, exact handwriting.

The reality is concealed. "Explore further."

A shiver creeps along my back.

The person who left this is aware of what I discovered.

Even more significantly—they are aware of what I have not discovered so far.

Is the truth concealed?

That implies… there is additional.

A great deal more.

Lisa's Payback: The True Game

I remain there, holding the note tightly, my thoughts swirling.

I believed I understood what Lisa desired. I believed this conflict between her and Liam revolved around betrayal, power, and seeking revenge for his actions against her.

However, at this moment, I recognize it.

This isn't solely concerning Liam.

This is not merely concerning the throne.

Lisa’s conflict didn’t begin with him.

It began a long time ago.

With my guardians.

Through their implementation.

Holding a secret that was never intended to be revealed.

And what about me?

I’ve just entered right into the center of it.

Lisa aims not only to eliminate Liam.

She aims to change the complete narrative of the pack's history.

And I must discover the reason—before she ruins me, as well.

The evening ought to have been quiet.

Following Liam's revelation, as the burden of his words pressed into my heart like a heavy mark, I ought to have stepped inside. Should have attempted to relax, to get ready for the battle that will alter everything.

Yet there is something that holds me here, residing in the shadows of the palace courtyard.

An emotion. A murmur of worry in the depths of my thoughts.

And then—I feel it.

An existence.

I pivot quickly, instincts taking over, every muscle tightening. I search the shadows with my eyes, but initially, I find nothing. Only the frigid air and the faint cry of a wolf echoing somewhere in the woods beyond the palace.Suddenly, from the darkness, a silhouette appears.

Draped in worn, bulky material, the hood pulled down low over their features, hiding all except the subtle shine of something metallic on their wrist—perhaps a bracelet, or a fragment of armor.

I remain still.

I don't have the courage to breathe.

The unknown person remains silent.

Rather, they advance, proceeding with a deliberate accuracy that makes every instinct within me shout alarm. However, they do not strike.

They just reach out a gloved hand—

And let a folded sheet of parchment fall to the stone floor beneath me.

Then—before I can respond, before I can seek explanations—they pivot and fade back into the darkness, dissolving into the fog, as though they had never existed at all.

I don't pursue them.

I have a feeling they wouldn’t be caught, even if I made an effort.

Instead, I bend down gradually, my fingers gripping tighter as I retrieve the note, heart racing as I open the worn parchment.

The note is written in dark ink, rushed yet intentional.

"The reality is hidden." "Explore further."

I take a deep breath.

The phrases etch themselves in my memory, confronting every uncertainty, every inquiry I've attempted to ignore.

The reality.

It's not solely concerning my parents.

It's not solely concerning my banishment.

But something more ancient.

Something larger.

Lisa's vengeance was never solely focused on Liam.

It was never solely about seizing his throne.

She has been engaged in a game that began long before I came into existence.

And I have a sinking suspicion—I was never destined to live long enough to find it out.