Chapter 34– Truths That Bleed

Chapter 34– Truths That Bleed
The cold came early that morning in Moonridge.

Not the kind that kissed skin and melted by mid-morning, but the kind that bit deep into the skin. Mist wrapped the training grounds like gauze, coiling through the trees and clinging to the stones. Wolves moved through it quietly, training in clusters, their low grunts and footfalls muffled by the hush of fog.

When Cassian stepped onto the field, the atmosphere shifted.

He wore no crest. No armor. Just a dark cloak tossed over one shoulder and silence hanging at his back. He didn’t bark orders. He didn’t speak.

He didn’t have to.

Eyes turned. Movements slowed. A few of the younger wolves instinctively straightened their posture or cleared the ring.

They knew what it meant when the Alpha came to the grounds unannounced.

Across the central circle, Kael stood with his back to him, correcting a young warrior’s grip. His voice was calm, his movements crisp. It wasn’t training anymore. It was performance.

Cassian crossed the yard without a word.

Kael turned just as the last pair of soldiers jogged off. For a heartbeat, their eyes locked, and something old passed between them, something that once resembled trust.

Cassian didn’t speak.

He dropped his cloak at the edge of the ring.

Kael blinked. “You’re sparring today?”

Still silence.

“You want gloves?”

“No.”

Kael pulled off his tunic. The scars on his chest caught the pale morning light, echoes of old wars, battles fought side by side. The kind of wounds earned in loyalty. Cassian had them, too. Matching reminders of the oaths they swore when they were still boys pretending to be warriors.

They circled each other once.

Then Cassian struck.

The first blow landed clean to the ribs. Kael grunted, staggered back a step, but didn’t retaliate.

“Guess I deserved that,” he said.

Cassian moved again, this time faster.

Kael blocked, barely, catching a second blow to the shoulder.

“This isn’t sparring,” Kael muttered.

Cassian said nothing.

Kael’s fists clenched. “You’re angry. Fine. But say it.”

Cassian drove him back with a hard strike to the chest. Kael stumbled. Recovered. Threw a punch. It landed, but Cassian didn’t flinch.

He kept coming.

There were no formalities now. Just the sound of fists colliding, boots grinding into dirt, breath turning to steam in the cold.

Then Cassian swept Kael’s legs from under him.

Kael hit the ground with a grunt, coughing as the wind left his lungs.

“Say something!” Kael snapped.

Cassian stepped over him, fists curled.

“How long?”

Kael didn’t answer.

Cassian’s voice was colder now, the quiet kind that cut deeper than shouting. “How long have you been fucking her?”

Kael stared up at him, blood at the corner of his lip. “Before the council’s deadline. Before she was named acting Luna.”

Cassian’s hands trembled, not with rage, but something older. Deeper.

“You could’ve told me.”

Kael sat up slowly, rubbing his jaw. “And what would you have done? What could you have done?”

“I would’ve known my brother didn’t lie to my face for weeks.”

Kael flinched. “It wasn’t supposed to go this far.”

“But it did.”

Kael stood slowly, keeping distance now. “I didn’t choose power, Cassian. I chose her. Before any of this. Before the politics. Before Verin. Before Gabriel—”

He stopped.

Cassian’s head turned sharply. “Before who?”

Kael went still. Realizing.

Cassian took a step forward, voice deathly soft. “You said Verin. And Gabriel.”

Kael swallowed hard. “I thought… I thought you already knew.”

Cassian’s voice shook, not with fear, but fury barely caged. “All I knew was that my Beta was betraying me with a woman scheming for my throne. Now I learn it’s worse. That the elders, your father included are involved.”

“I didn’t mean to tell you like this,” Kael muttered.

“No, I’m sure they had a far neater plan. A cleaner betrayal.” Cassian’s fists clenched again. “You think I care about Elira? About her ambition?”

He laughed bitterly.

“It’s you, Kael. After my parents died when I was ten, you were the one who stood beside me. You trained with me. Led with me. Fought with me. You helped me rise when I thought grief would drown me.”

He paused, eyes dark with something close to heartbreak.

“I trusted you like a brother. And now, you’ve not just betrayed that, you’ve broken it.”

Kael lowered his head. “I didn’t want to.”

“But you did.”

Cassian grabbed his cloak, turned his back, and walked off the ring.

Kael didn’t follow.

He just stood there, in the center of the fog-ringed yard, blood on his face, silence in his throat, and everything they once built between them had shattered.

\---

The tower above the northern barracks was quiet, far from the noise of the training grounds. It was built for planning war, for watching borders, for isolating strategy from emotion.

Cassian had used it more in the past two weeks than in all the years of his reign.

Roran entered without knocking.

“You saw him?” he asked.

Cassian stood at the tall window, eyes trained on the distant treeline. “I confronted him.”

“And?”

“He admitted it. The affair. Said it started before the council’s deadline.”

Roran exhaled. “And the rest?”

Cassian turned.

“He slipped. Mentioned Elder Verin. Gabriel.”

Roran’s eyes sharpened. “He thought you already knew?”

Cassian nodded slowly. “Which means their involvement runs deeper than whispers. Deeper than we thought.”

“And you believe him?”

“I believe he didn’t mean to say it. That much is clear. And if Gabriel and Verin are involved, that’s not just a scandal. That’s treason.”

Roran crossed his arms. “We need proof.”

Cassian was already moving. “Get Teylan.”

\---

Teylan arrived shortly after, cloak still damp from the mist outside. He stood straight, alert.

“Alpha. Roran.”

Cassian didn’t waste time. “What do you have on Gabriel and Verin?”

Teylan’s face tightened. “Not much. They’ve been careful. Gabriel’s always surrounded. Verin barely leaves his rooms. No late-night visitors. No secret meetings I can track.”

Roran frowned. “So they know they’re being watched.”

“Or they’re just that disciplined,” Teylan replied.

Cassian nodded, expression unreadable. “Keep the watch. Rotate your men. I want a shadow on both of them at every hour.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“If they so much as breathe sideways, I want it reported.”

Teylan bowed and left.

Roran leaned against the far wall. “What now?”

Cassian stared out the window again. The fog hadn’t lifted. The trees below still held their secrets.

“Now,” he said softly, “we wait. We listen. And when the time comes… we strike.”