Chapter 17 up
My name has been erased.
Not just from the family registry. Not just from the ancient lineage scroll hanging in the stone hall of Ardhavarna.
My name has been erased from history.
It should have hurt more than anything.
But what I felt instead… was silence.
A silence that didn’t come from loss, but from something else.
Alertness.
Because since that announcement spread, the air in Dravaryn had changed.
I could feel it even before I heard the first whisper.
That morning I walked across the inner courtyard of the fortress. Usually, the warriors would bow respectfully or greet me with small, sincere smiles.
Today, some still saluted.
But others… hesitated.
Just a fraction of a second.
But I saw it.
My wolf felt it too.
Not hatred.
Doubt.
And doubt was far more dangerous than anger.
My steps stayed steady. I didn’t lower my head. Didn’t quicken. Didn’t slow.
I was the Luna of Dravaryn.
At least, that was what I chose to be.
But when I entered the main stone hall, I knew something had happened.
The elders were already gathered.
Without notice.
Without summoning me.
And that alone was sign enough.
Kael stood at the head of the long black-stone table. His posture was straight, his face cold like it always was when he led.
But I knew him.
I saw the subtle tension in his jaw.
This meeting wasn’t about threats from the east.
It was about me.
One of the elders, Darven—a sharp-eyed old man with a hawk’s stare—spoke first as I stepped inside.
“Luna,” he said, his tone formal. Too formal.
I stopped beside Kael but didn’t sit.
“What is being discussed?” I asked calmly.
Glances were exchanged before Darven finally answered.
“Sabotage in the weapons storage.”
My chest tightened.
“What do you mean?”
“Several silver blades were contaminated with rancid oil. Bowstrings sliced thin enough to be nearly invisible. If used in battle… they would snap.”
Silence covered the room.
That wasn’t an accident.
That wasn’t negligence.
That was betrayal.
“The culprit?” I asked.
“Not yet found,” Darven replied. “But it is clearly the work of someone inside. The armory is heavily guarded. Only warriors and core members of the pack have access.”
The looks came again.
Subtle.
But unmistakable.
I straightened my shoulders.
“Do you wish to say something, Elder Darven?” I asked.
He didn’t smile.
“Since your arrival, threats have increased. The rogues move more aggressively. Ardhavarna has cut your name. And now sabotage occurs within our own walls.”
He didn’t need to finish.
The implication was clear.
I was the common thread.
Kael shifted slightly beside me.
His Alpha aura rose slowly, like a storm not yet broken.
“Choose your words carefully,” he said quietly.
Darven didn’t retreat.
“I am only voicing the concerns of the pack. Many are wondering… whether we have brought war into our own home.”
Home.
That word cut deeper than any accusation.
I inhaled slowly.
“I did not bring war,” I said. “War was already moving before I chose Dravaryn.”
“But you became its symbol,” he replied.
My wolf growled softly inside my chest.
Not from offense.
But because this was the beginning of something worse.
I stepped forward once.
“If anyone doubts me,” I said clearly, “I am willing to be examined. Interrogated. Tested for loyalty. Anything.”
Several faces showed surprise.
Darven narrowed his eyes.
“Loyalty is not only about intent,” he said. “Sometimes someone’s presence alone is enough to provoke conflict.”
So that was his true fear.
Not that I was a traitor.
But that I was the reason others would act.
Before I could answer, Kael spoke.
And this time his voice wasn’t low.
It echoed.
“Enough.”
Silence dropped instantly.
He rose to his full height, his Alpha aura pressing against the room until breathing felt heavier.
“No one in this hall will imply that the Luna of Dravaryn is a threat to this pack.”
He stared at Darven without blinking.
“I chose her.”
Each word fell like a hammer.
“I bound her beneath the Blood Moon. I accepted her not for politics—but for her strength and her will.”
My heart pounded hard.
He didn’t need to say that.
Not before the Council.
Not with the risk of sharpening division.
Yet he did.
“If anyone believes my choice was a mistake,” he continued, “say it to me directly. Do not hide behind vague accusations.”
No one spoke.
Even Darven finally lowered his head slightly.
“No one doubts you, Alpha.”
“But you doubt her,” Kael replied coldly.
I touched his arm gently.
He stopped—but didn’t look away from Darven.
“This sabotage isn’t about me,” I said firmly. “It’s about someone who wants to divide us from within.”
I turned to face all the elders.
“And if we start suspecting each other now, that traitor has already won half the battle.”
Silence fell again.
This time different.
More thoughtful.
Heavier.
Darven finally nodded once.
“We will investigate without prejudice.”
The meeting was dismissed.
But I knew it wasn’t over.
As the hall emptied, I remained standing where I was.
Kael stepped closer.
“You didn’t have to offer yourself for testing,” he said quietly.
“I’m not afraid of being tested,” I answered.
“I know.”
His hand rose and touched my cheek.
“I won’t let them make you their scapegoat.”
I smiled faintly.
“You defended me strongly enough already.”
“I haven’t started yet.”
There was fire in his voice.
Not only as an Alpha.
As a man.
I exhaled.
“This isn’t just about my reputation, Kael. It’s about the stability of the pack. If tension rises—”
“I’ll handle it.”
“As Alpha?” I asked softly.
“As your mate.”
My heart trembled.
Yet even that moment couldn’t erase the strange feeling in my stomach.
Someone inside these walls wanted chaos.
And I sensed something worse than sabotage.
That night, I decided to walk alone through the back corridors near the armory.
I wanted to see it.
Feel it.
The air there was colder.
The scent of metal oil and wood filled the space.
I knelt near a rack of damaged swords.
The nearly invisible cuts in the bowstrings were precise.
Too precise.
This wasn’t the work of an angry soldier.
This was the work of someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
My wolf stirred uneasily.
And that was when I heard it.
Footsteps.
Light.
Stopping instantly when they realized I was there.
“I know you’re there,” I said without turning.
Silence.
Then the sound of a held breath.
I rose slowly.
“I didn’t come to punish you.”
No answer.
But I caught the scent.
Familiar.
Someone from the inner circle.
My heart began to beat faster.
“If you did this out of fear,” I continued softly, “then know this… I’m afraid too.”
Silence broke with quick retreating steps.
I turned.
Too late.
The shadow had already vanished around the corridor bend.
But I knew one thing.
The traitor wasn’t a stranger.
And they knew I was getting closer.
When I returned to my chamber, Kael was already waiting.
“You left without guards again,” he said, his tone caught between irritation and worry.
“I almost found something.”
“And almost got caught alone.”
I looked at him.
“I smelled them.”
He focused instantly.
“Who?”
I shook my head slightly.
“Not sure yet. But it wasn’t an ordinary warrior.”
Silence.
“This is going to get worse before it gets better,” he murmured.
I stepped closer.
“Then we face it together.”
His arm wrapped around my waist.
“No matter who tries to break us,” he said low near my ear, “I won’t let them succeed.”
For a moment, I let myself lean into him.
Feeling his heartbeat.
Strong.
Certain.
But beyond the stone walls of Dravaryn, shadows were already moving.
And for the first time since I chose this pack…
I realized.
The enemy from the east might want my blood.
But the enemy within these walls…
Wanted to shatter trust.
And that was far more dangerous.
Wars outside could be won with claws and fangs.
But wars inside…
Were won with hearts that did not waver.
And I had no intention of wavering.