Chapter 35 A Plan Emerges

Chapter 35 A Plan Emerges
Lyra

The voices fade, swallowed by the wind. My ears are still twitching, my heart beating too fast for how still we’re lying. I can’t shake the words.

“Finally admit that she knows it wasn’t Lyra that killed Arica.”

I’ve known all along that I didn’t kill Arica, but hearing it like that, from Kaelen’s own men, it’s like a crack splitting open inside me. Relief mixes with rage. 

Tessa.

I thought maybe she truly believed the lie Kaelen spun about me, but if a patrol is freely speaking about knowing I didn’t kill Arica, then why hasn’t Tessa said it? We were best friends…

I lower my head to my paws, trying to calm myself. Bram moves closer, his body bumping into my side. Through the mind-link he warns, “Let’s get out of here. They might circle back.”

I force myself toward Song Pack, though every muscle in me wants to turn back, to race screaming into Running River and demand my life returned. Kaelen took so much from me. My home, my pack, and now I see it clearly, he twisted Arica’s death into a weapon. Whoever killed her, it must be someone Kaelen is trying to protect. 

I lower my snout, catching Bram’s steadying scent, and let a vow take root in my chest: I will find out who killed Arica, and when I do, Kaelen’s lies will burn just as his warriors did. 

By the time we reach camp, the sun is high, burning through the trees. I shift the moment we find our clothes, bones snapping back into place, fur melting to skin. I grab the folded bundle we left earlier and drag the fabric on fast. Bram is already moving beside me, dressing just as quickly.

“We can’t just sit with what we heard,” he says. 

“No.” My fingers tighten on the hem of my shirt. “If Kaelen’s men already whisper doubts, then there’s something rotten deeper inside. We need to know what he’s hiding. What really happened to Arica.”

Bram nods once, decisive. “Song Pack has members that Running River doesn’t know by their faces. If we send the right people in, disguised as traders, they might be able to listen.”

The thought sparks quick and dangerous in my chest. We send in spies. A chance to pull the truth from Kaelen’s shadows.

“Serena,” I suggest. “She’s strong and clever. She could do it. If anyone could walk into Running River territory and make them believe she belongs, it’s her.”

“She’s perfect. She’s too wholesome for anyone to suspect her. That makes her dangerous in all the right ways.” He pauses, lowering his voice. “But it’s a risk. If anyone catches her—”

“Then we choose carefully,” I cut in. “Two of them, Serena and one other. Someone who can lie with their smile.”

Bram studies me, the fire in his eyes answering mine. “First, let’s take it to Song Pack’s council and see if they’ll back the plan.”

I nod. If Serena and her companion can slip past Kaelen’s defenses, we might be able to find out what’s really going on in Running River. 



The meeting house is already filling by the time Bram and I step inside. Smoke curls in ribbons toward the beams, mingling with the scent of pine and leather. Song Pack gathers fast when summoned. 

Bram’s voice carries as he steps forward. “We’ve heard Running River patrols speaking of unrest. Alpha Kaelen’s control is weaker than he lets on, but rumors won’t win us anything. We need information.”

“We need spies. Not warriors, but traders. Someone who can walk into Running River’s territory without raising suspicion, listen, and come back with answers,” I add. 

The elders exchange grim looks. One of them leans forward, his eyes narrow. “You’d ask us to send our people into Alpha Kaelen’s den? We told you we didn’t want any of your trouble when you first showed up here.” 

“I understand,” I answer. “I know it sounds like I’m asking you to join my battle, but Song Pack and Running River have been at war since before I was even born. I’m just trying to get information so we can make the best possible decisions to continue to keep the remaining members of Song Pack safe. If we can take Kaelen down, we can end the feud, and Song Pack can rebuild, better than ever.”

Serena rises. “I’ve traded across borders before.” she says. “It’s not dangerous. It’s not like they would suspect me of being a spy. They would have no reason to.”

Voices ripple across the room, but before any more elders can speak, a voice rings from the back.

“I’ll go with her.”

All heads turn. It’s one of the younger men, barely past twenty. 

“No one in Running River knows me. They won’t look twice. Serena can be the trader, and I’ll play her son or nephew. A servant carrying goods. Easy enough to believe.”

The room erupts–warnings, protests, arguments tumbling over one another.

Serena lifts a hand, her calm presence cutting through the noise. “He’s right. Two is safer than one. If I’m caught, he can run back here to get help.  If he’s caught, I can use charm to get him free.”

A few more protests and a few more nods of agreement ripple through the crowd.

Bram clears his throat, his gaze sweeping the room. “This isn’t a decision to make in the heat of the moment. We’ll sleep on it and put it to a vote come morning.”

The friction in the meeting house holds for another beat before it loosens, voices dropping to murmurs, the fire hissing in the hearth. I feel the change move through the pack, hesitant, uneasy, but leaning toward possibility. Tomorrow, it will be decided.

When we step out into the cool evening air, the familiar path between the trees stretches before us. 

“I don’t know if we have the right to ask them to do this,” I say. My throat is tight, the words scraping out raw.

When I stop, Bram steps close, his hands warm on my arms, his eyes shining in the dim light. “We don’t have the luxury of right or wrong, Lyra. You were right about what you said in that meeting. We could use the information to try to end Kaelen and end the rivalry between packs.”

I swallow hard, the strain of the day tightening every muscle. “We both need a release,” I whisper, “something to let go of everything we’ve held inside since the patrols.”

I lean into him, desperate, and when his mouth finds mine, it’s like striking flint, heat bursting against the cold knot of anger and betrayal inside me.

I clutch him, my fingers digging into his shirt, dragging him closer. He groans into the kiss, his hands slipping down my back, pulling me flush against him. The rough bark of the nearest tree presses at my shoulders as he pins me there, his mouth urgent, claiming, tasting me like he’s starving.

“Bram,” I gasp. My body is already trembling, every nerve lit. His hand fists in my hair, tilting my head back, his mouth trailing fire down my throat. I arch against him, my hips meeting his. 

Our hands fumble over buttons and fabric, urgent and impatient, tearing away each layer until nothing remains between us. 

He lifts me suddenly, and my legs wrap around him instinctively. The bark scrapes against my back, grounding me in the raw urgency of the moment. He pushes inside me in one fierce, shuddering thrust, and I moan against his lips. 

The weight of his body, the rhythm he sets, the passion coiling low inside me, push me over the edge. Clawing my nails down his back, I cry out his name, and he follows with a low, guttural sound, holding me tightly.

We sink to the ground, and lean against each other, our muscles weak, the tension of the day dissolving. The forest stretches around us, and for a moment, Kaelen, the lies, being accused of the unthinkable… it all vanishes. Tonight, there is only us, and our vow to uncover the truth.