Chapter 244 Piper

As Warrick and I finally managed to catch our breath, the sound of Rowan’s voice brought us both back down to earth.

“They’re blind to what’s coming,” he snapped.

Warrick and I looked at one another, nodded, and angled toward the trees.

“We have to stop this,” I whispered.

But as we drew closer, Alina’s gaze sliced in our direction; the smirk twisted in her face told me she knew we were there.

Alina said nothing to Rowan, but the smirk deepened as her eyes lingered in our direction.

My heart rammed in my chest, not in fear but in frustration.

She knew we watched her and she wanted us to know that she was fearless.

I touched Warrick’s arm, gesturing for us to back further into the shadows.

“We can’t confront them here,” I whispered. “She’ll twist it to make us look like the aggressors.”

Warrick nodded, his jaw clenched in anger that he was fighting.

“Then we need more evidence,” he said. “We can’t keep chasing shadows. We need something concrete to take back to Aurora."

As we slipped back through the trees, Rowan’s voice carried once more.

“This isn’t about chaos, Alina. I want them to respect me. To see me as someone worthy of leading.”

Her laugh was soft and laced with mockery. “Respect is overrated, Rowan. Power and control are what matters. Respect follows those who take what they want.”

I could see hesitation written all over his face, even from where we were hiding.

A small spark of hope flared for a moment; maybe, just maybe, he would manage to see through her manipulations after all.

But Alina moved in closer, brushing her hand against his arm.

“Don’t doubt yourself now,” she purred. “You’ve come this far. You deserve this.”

Rowan had nothing to say, but in the silence that fell, his words resounded loud.

Soon we got back to the pack house. I entered my room and nearly punched the wall as I slammed the door shut.

“She’s twisting it all,” I growled. “She’s taking all his insecurities and using them to arm him against us.”

“We have always known that Rowan is vulnerable to this,” I heard Warrick say from behind me. I flinched, turned, and saw him leaning on the wall.

“You’re here?” I grunted and sat on my bed.

“It is not about him anymore. Alina’s been planting seeds of doubt in the younger wolves too. If we do not act fast, it can get out of hand,” he continued.

I turned to him. “What do we do? Aurora and Dane are already stretched thin. How do we fight someone who thrives on whispers and manipulation? Isn’t he innocent?”

Warrick crossed the room, laying his hands on my shoulders. “Her,” he said, “Alina is the problem and we don’t fight her on her terms. We outthink her. If Alina’s strength is in turning words into weapons, then we need to show the pack the truth. Actions speak louder than whispers.”

His words soothed something inside of me. “You’re right,” I said. “We need to focus on showing the pack what Alina really is. But how?”

We went to bed without an answer to that question.

Next morning, the answer arrived in the form of Trajan, who approached me outside the pack house.

He carried a small bunch of notes, his expression serious.

“These were left behind in the training arena,” he said, handing them to me.

I unfolded the notes, my stomach clenching as I read Alina’s handwriting.

The words were clear and damning, outlining her plans to pit the younger wolves against Aurora and Dane.

“She’s been planning this for weeks,” I said, handing the notes to Warrick. “This is the proof we’ve been waiting for.”

“We need to show this to Aurora immediately,” Trajan said.

We rushed to Aurora’s Quarters, and just as we arrived, Dane was there with her.

“I’m sorry for my outburst yesterday,” Dane said as he took Aurora’s hands.

I turned to Trajan, who whispered to me, “I don’t think this is the right time.”

“Come on… I understand you, Dane. I should be the one apologizing for refusing to listen to you,” Aurora replied.

They didn’t notice me and Trajan standing by the door, and Trajan took a few quiet steps back as he tried to pull me away. I jerked my hand away. I didn’t want to miss this amazing moment between the best couple I know.

“You don’t have to apologize, my queen,” Dane said and leaned in to kiss Aurora. I opened my eyes wide as I screamed, ‘yes‘ in my mind.

“Ahem,” Trajan cleared his throat and entered the room.

Why did he have to do that? I frowned as I followed him. I noticed Aurora’s cheeks flush as she saw us.

Aurora and Dane listened intently as I laid it all out, everything we had seen, every word we had heard.

All the notes had been spread over the table. The contents were indisputable.

“It is time,” Aurora said in a firm, even tone. “This is it, this is the proof we need to confront her. But this is something that requires strategy on how to present it. She will turn this against us if we are not careful.”

Dane nodded. “We need to call a meeting. If Alina wants to play this game in public, we’ll take the stage and show the pack who she really is.”

The meeting was set for that night.

The pack had assembled in the clearing by nightfall, their murmurs growing loud as Aurora and Dane stepped forward. Rowan and Alina stood at the edge of the crowd, their faces unreadable.

Aurora raised her hand for silence among the pack.

“Thank you all for coming,” she said, opening, “there’s been a lot of tension built up in this pack, and it’s time we aired them.”

Her eyes scanned the sea of faces until they came to rest briefly on Rowan.

“This pack is at its most resilient when unity binds us all together, and it’s been under attack for a number of weeks now. Rumors and misunderstandings have sprouted, and now is a very good time to clear the air.”

At this, Rowan shifted uncomfortably, to which Alina smiled wryly.

Dane stepped forward, holding up one of the notes.

“These were found in the training arena,” he said. “They detail a plan to divide the pack and sow discord among us. These aren’t random noises; these are calculated strategies to undermine our unity.”

A murmur of shock moved around in ripples through the crowd as he read from the notes.

Rowan’s face paled, but Alina stepped forward, her smirk faltering slightly.

“And where did these come from?” she asked, her tone dripping with mock innocence. “Anyone could have written those.”

Trajan stepped forward, his expression stern. “We found them in a space only a few wolves use regularly. And the handwriting matches other notes we’ve seen Alina leave behind.”

Alina’s smirk fell completely now, but in a split second, she had.

“Ridiculous,” she said. “You’re desperate to cling onto something because you’re terrified of losing control.”

Aurora met her eyes without blinking. “The one losing control around here is you, Alina. You bullied Rowan and others into swallowing lies because you actually fed off chaos. This pack isn’t yours to break apart.”

The struggle seemed to go on, but not before I realized how many times Rowan glanced between Aurora and Alina, his expression divided between his rage and something deeper, more painful and almost pitiful.

He wanted something besides power: acceptance, affirmation, love. And Alina took those and wielded them.

But Rowan’s hesitation wasn’t enough to stop Alina from doubling down.

“You think you’re better than me, Aurora,” she said, her voice sharp. “But you’ve ignored the needs of this pack. You’ve ignored Rowan. You’ve ignored anyone who doesn’t fit neatly into your perfect little circle.”

Aurora did not raise her voice. “I have not ignored anybody,” she said. “Neither will I apologize for leading with integrity and strength. That it should present a flaw for you is your problem, not mine.”

Suddenly, Rowan stepped forward and broke the silence with his voice.

“Enough,” he said. “This isn’t solving anything.”

His eyes flickered to Aurora and then to Alina. “I wanted to be seen,” he whispered. “But I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to destroy the pack.”

For a moment, Alina was really surprised. But in less than an instant, her expression hardened.

“And what do you want now, Rowan?” she asked in a soft but slicing voice.

Rowan said nothing. Sometimes, silence spoke volumes. As the crowd began to break apart, Alina’s eyes didn’t release Rowan’s.

Her smirk was gone now, replaced with something colder, sharper. “This isn’t over,” she whispered, saying it to no one and to everyone.