Chapter 143: A Test of Loyalty

The trap was simple. Maybe too simple, but sometimes the obvious approach worked best.

We called a meeting of our most trusted allies. Twenty wolves who'd proven themselves in combat, who'd stood with us when things looked darkest. People we would have bet our lives on.

One of them was feeding information to Gideon. We just had to figure out which one.

"Thank you all for coming," I said, standing at the front of the war room. Maps covered the table behind me, marked with positions and movements that looked legitimate. Weren't, but looked it. "I wanted to brief you personally on our next operation."

Darius stood to my left. Silent. His wolf prowled just beneath the surface, watching everyone with predatory focus.

"We've identified Gideon's primary camp." I pointed to a location on the map. Not his real camp. Caleb had confirmed that two hours ago. But close enough to be believable. "He's regrouping at the old mining settlement in Ashwood territory. Approximately eighty wolves, maybe more."

Murmurs rippled through the group.

"That's a significant force," Janessa said. She'd led one of the synchronized pairs during the battle. Fought like hell and hadn't broken once. "Are we planning a direct assault?"

"Reconnaissance first. I want to confirm numbers, defensive positions, supply lines." I looked around the room. "Each of you will be assigned a sector to scout. Report back in three days with whatever intelligence you gather."

"Why not use regular patrol scouts?" Marcus asked. He was older, experienced, one of Katheris's most trusted advisors.

"Because this stays quiet. If Gideon gets wind we're coming, he'll scatter again." I pulled out assignment sheets. "These are your sectors. Memorize them, then destroy the papers. No written records leave this room."

Caleb moved through the group, handing out the assignments. Each one was slightly different. Different routes, different timelines, different details about what we supposedly knew.

If any of this leaked to Gideon, we'd know exactly which paper he saw.

"Questions?" Darius asked.

A female wolf named Serra raised her hand. "What happens if we encounter hostiles during reconnaissance?"

"Avoid engagement if possible. We want information, not a fight." I met her eyes. "But defend yourselves if necessary. I'm not sending anyone on a suicide mission."

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow at dawn. Use tonight to prepare." I looked at each of them. "I know I'm asking a lot. But I wouldn't ask if I didn't trust every single one of you."

The words tasted bitter. Because I didn't trust them. Not all of them. Not anymore.

They filed out, taking their assignments. Some stopped to ask clarifying questions. Others left immediately, probably eager to start preparing.

Celeste appeared at my shoulder once the room emptied. "Now we wait."

"Now we watch," I corrected. "Caleb's people are tailing everyone who left this room. If anyone makes contact with Gideon's network, we'll know."

"And if they don't? If the traitor is smart enough to wait?"

"Then we repeat the process with different bait until they bite." I rubbed my eyes. "One way or another, we're ending this."

Darius pulled me aside as Celeste left to coordinate with Caleb's surveillance team.

"You okay?"

"No. But I will be once we know who's been selling us out."

"It might be no one. This could be a waste of time."

"You don't believe that any more than I do." I leaned against the table. "Someone leaked information about the council vote. About our defensive positions during the battle. About things only people close to us would know."

"I know. Doesn't make it easier to accept."

Through the bond, his wolf pressed against mine. Not trying to fix anything. Just being present. Solid.

"Come on," he said after a moment. "If we're going to suspect everyone, we might as well do it somewhere more comfortable."

We ended up in the north tower. Our usual spot for conversations that needed privacy and fresh air.

The sun was setting, painting the forest in shades of amber and rust. Beautiful and completely at odds with the paranoia eating away at my trust.

"You think it's one of them?" Darius asked. "One of the twenty we just briefed?"

"Has to be. We were careful about who we included. Only people who've fought beside us. Who've proven themselves." I watched the treeline. "Which makes this worse. If it's a stranger, you can write it off as enemy action. When it's someone you trusted..."

"Yeah."

We fell quiet. Just stood there watching the day die while somewhere below, Caleb's people tracked our most trusted allies looking for signs of betrayal.

The first report came at midnight.

Serra had left the academy grounds three hours after the briefing. Met with someone in the woods just beyond our patrol perimeter.

"Could be innocent," Celeste said, though her tone suggested she didn't believe it. "Maybe she has family in the area."

"Serra's family is in Ironwood territory. Opposite direction." Caleb pointed to marks on a tracking map. "And look at the route she took. Deliberately avoiding patrol paths. Someone who knows our schedule well enough to slip through gaps."

My stomach twisted. Serra had fought beside me. Saved Janessa's life during the battle when a Bloodmoon wolf tried to gut her.

"We need visual confirmation before we act," Darius said. "Can't accuse her based on suspicious movement alone."

"Already have people in position." Caleb glanced at the map. "If she makes contact with Gideon's network, we'll see it."

We waited. Minutes crawling by like hours.

Then a runner burst into the strategy room, breathing hard. "Got visual confirmation. Serra met with a male wolf wearing Ashwood colors. They talked for approximately ten minutes before he left heading east. Serra returned to her quarters."

"Did you hear what they discussed?" I asked.

"Couldn't get close enough without being spotted. But she handed him something. Small. Probably paper."

Her assignment sheet. The one I'd told everyone to destroy.

"Damn it." I wanted to hit something. "Bring her in. Quietly. I don't want this spreading until we know the full extent."

The runner left. Darius caught my hand.

"Could still be a misunderstanding."

"You don't hand documents to enemy wolves by accident."

"No. But let's hear what she has to say before we assume the worst."

They brought Serra to the war room twenty minutes later. She looked confused. Worried but not guilty.

"Commander? What's going on?"

"Sit down."

She did. Looked between me, Darius, and Caleb. "Am I in trouble?"

"That depends. Where were you three hours after our briefing?"

Her expression flickered. Just for a second. "In my quarters. Preparing for tomorrow's mission."

"Try again."

"I don't know what you mean."

"You were seen leaving academy grounds. Meeting with someone in the western woods." I moved closer. "Someone wearing Ashwood colors. Someone you gave documents to."

The color drained from her face. "I can explain."

"Please do."

She was quiet for a long moment. Then her shoulders sagged. "He's my brother. My younger brother. He got caught up with Gideon's forces during the initial recruitment. Didn't understand what he was getting into until it was too late."

"So you've been passing information to help him?"

"To keep him alive!" Her voice cracked. "Gideon threatened to kill anyone who tried to desert. Said he'd make examples. I've been giving him just enough intelligence to seem useful so Gideon wouldn't suspect him of wanting out."

"Information that's gotten our people killed."

"No! I swear, I only gave him minor details. Patrol schedules that didn't matter. Supply routes we weren't actually using." She looked at me with desperate eyes. "I never gave him anything that would actually hurt us."

"Except tonight you gave him an assignment sheet detailing a scouting mission."

"That was different! He said Gideon knows you're planning something. If I didn't give him something concrete, he'd assume we were onto him and my brother would pay the price." Tears tracked down her face. "I was going to come to you. Tell you everything. I just needed more time."

Through the bond, I felt Darius's wolf torn between sympathy and fury.

"Your brother's position isn't your fault," I said quietly. "But the choices you made are. Every piece of intelligence you passed, no matter how minor, helped our enemy. Put lives at risk."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just didn't know what else to do."

"You could have come to us. Trusted that we'd help."

"And risk you saying no? Risk my brother dying because I chose loyalty to the academy over family?" She shook her head. "I couldn't take that chance."

Caleb stepped forward. "The assignment sheet you passed tonight. It was false information. A trap to identify leaks."

Serra's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Meaning your brother just delivered fabricated intelligence to Gideon. Intelligence that will make it clear we know there's a spy." I watched her process that. "You've compromised him. And yourself."

"No. No, that wasn't supposed to happen. I was trying to protect him!"

"I know. But good intentions don't erase consequences."

Darius moved beside me. "We need to move fast. If Gideon realizes the information is fake, he'll know Serra's burned. He'll kill her brother to send a message."

"Can we extract him?" Celeste asked. "Get him out before Gideon acts?"

"Maybe. If we move tonight." Caleb looked at me. "But it's risky. Could tip our hand about the whole operation."

I looked at Serra. At her desperate, terrified expression. At someone who'd made terrible choices trying to protect family.

At someone whose brother would die because of a trap I'd set.

"We extract him," I said. "Caleb, organize a team. Small and fast. Get him out and get him somewhere safe."

"And Serra?" Darius asked quietly.

I met her eyes. "You're confined to quarters pending full investigation. If we find evidence you passed anything beyond minor intelligence, you'll face appropriate consequences. But your brother lives. That's non-negotiable."

"Thank you." The words came out choked. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. This isn't over."

Guards escorted her out. The room fell quiet.

"That was merciful," Celeste said.

"That was pragmatic. If we'd executed her, her brother would have died and we'd look like tyrants." I sat heavily. "Now we extract him, secure them both, and figure out if Serra's the only leak or just the first one we found."

"You think there are others?"

"I think Gideon's too smart to rely on a single compromised asset." I looked at the map. At the false information now in enemy hands. "Which means we need to be smarter. And faster."

Darius's hand found my shoulder. "You made the right call."

"Did I? Or did I just let sentiment override security?"

"You gave someone a chance to prove their loyalty wasn't completely broken. That matters."

Maybe. Or maybe I'd just made a mistake that would cost us later.

Outside, the night deepened. And somewhere in Ashwood territory, Gideon was receiving intelligence that would tell him we knew about his spy.

The game was changing. Question was whether we were ready for what came next.