POV: Liora
I couldn't sleep after leaving Kael's office. His words echoed in my head, tormenting me. If you were anyone else, I'd think you're my mate. I paced the barracks, careful not to wake the other guards. My wolf was restless, pushing against my skin, wanting to go back to him. Wanting to tell him everything.
But something else nagged at me. Something Kael had said weeks ago that I'd almost forgotten in the chaos of attacks and confusing feelings. That scroll stays hidden. Somewhere you can't break into again.
Where would an Alpha hide something that important? Not in the archives, not anymore. Somewhere closer. Somewhere he could watch over it. His chambers.
I shouldn't. This was a betrayal of the fragile trust building between us. But I needed to know what else was in that correspondence. Needed to understand the full scope of what Nightbane's council had done.
The main building was quiet at this hour, most wolves either patrolling or sleeping. I moved through shadows like a ghost, remembering the layout from my patrols. Kael's chambers were on the third floor, at the end of the east wing.
The door was locked. Of course it was.
I pulled out my wire, hands shaking as I worked the mechanism. This was different from the archives. This was personal. Private. If he caught me here… The lock clicked.
I slipped inside, closing the door softly behind me. The room was dark, moonlight filtering through heavy curtains. It smelled like him, leather and pine and something uniquely Kael. My wolf whined, wanting to curl up in his scent and never leave.
Focus. Find the scroll and get out.
I moved carefully, searching his desk first. Papers, maps, reports. Nothing about Silver Creek. I checked drawers, under the bed, behind books on the shelf.
Then I saw it. A loose stone in the wall near his desk, barely visible in the shadows. I pressed it and felt it give. The stone slid aside, revealing a hollow space.
Inside was the scroll. And beneath it, another document I hadn't seen before. I pulled them both out with trembling hands. The first was the correspondence between Matthias and Councilor Bram. But the second...
My blood turned to ice as I read.
"Final Agreement between Nightbane Council and Beta Matthias of Silver Creek.
Terms: Upon successful removal of Alpha Declan and acquisition of Alpha status, Beta Matthias will provide Nightbane access to Silver Creek's southern hunting grounds and trade routes. In exchange, Nightbane Council will provide strategic support and ensure no neighboring packs interfere during the transition period.
The frame job on warrior Liora serves dual purposes. She was Declan's most loyal supporter and would have questioned the legitimacy of Matthias's claim. Her removal ensures smoother transition and provides a convenient scapegoat.
Council agrees to harbor no knowledge of said warrior should she appear in Nightbane territory. Should she be discovered, she will be eliminated quietly.
Signed, Councilor Bram Councilor Henrik
Councilor Soren Beta Matthias"
The paper crumpled in my shaking hands. They knew. The entire council knew about the frame job. I knew I was innocent. And they'd agreed to kill me if I showed up here.
Which meant Kael...
No. He couldn't have known. He'd believed me, helped me. He wouldn't...
Unless he was playing me. Using me for something I didn't understand. Footsteps in the hallway. My heart stopped. I shoved the papers back into the hollow, pushing the stone back into place. But it wouldn't sit right, stuck at an angle.
The door opened. Kael stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable in the darkness. He was still shirtless from earlier, the fresh stitches stark against his skin.
"Leo." His voice was flat. "What are you doing in my chambers?"
"I..." My mind raced. "I was worried about you. Wanted to check if you needed anything."
"By breaking into my room in the middle of the night?" He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Try again."
"I couldn't sleep. I just wanted.."
"Don't." The word cracked like a whip. "Don't lie to me anymore."
He moved toward his desk, his eyes finding the loose stone immediately. His jaw clenched as he pulled it open, checking the contents.
"You read them." Not a question.
"Yes."
"All of them?"
I nodded, my throat tight.
Kael was silent for a long moment. Then he turned to face me, and the look in his eyes made my wolf cower.
"How much of what you told me was true?" he asked quietly. Dangerously.
"All of it. I didn't kill Declan. Matthias framed me. Everything I said was…"
"But you knew." He stalked toward me, predatory. "You knew my council was involved. You knew they wanted you dead. And you stayed anyway, worming your way into my guard, into my trust." His eyes blazed. "Into my head."
"No, I didn't know about the second document. I only saw it tonight." I backed away as he advanced. "Kael, please.."
"Please what?" He kept coming until my back hit the wall. "Please believe you? Please ignore that you've been lying from the start? Please forget that you broke into my private chambers and violated my trust?"
His hands slammed against the wall on either side of my head, caging me in. His face was inches from mine, radiating fury.
"I trusted you," he growled. "I started to believe that what I felt meant something. That maybe, despite everything impossible about it, you were meant to be here."
"I am meant to be here. Kael, listen.."
"No." His hand shot out, gripping my chin. Not gentle like before. Hard. Demanding. "You listen. I've been going insane trying to understand why I'm drawn to you. Why does my wolf recognize you? Why do I dream about someone I can barely stand to be near because wanting you feels like losing my mind."
His grip tightened.
"So tell me the truth. Right now. All of it." His eyes searched mine, desperate and angry. "Who the hell are you, really?"