Chapter 261

ALINA

“Pity.”

There was something that I liked about Aurora: she didn’t waste words on formalities when they might get in the way.

I was on my way to disturb her again the next day; she was already in sight when I suddenly heard a sound.

Aurora’s head snapped toward the sound, her body moving instinctively before her mind could catch up.

“What’s happening?” she asked, already stepping away.

I followed, my pulse quickening as a faint orange glow lit up the horizon.

The flicker of flames danced against the sky, and my mind raced to make sense of it. This wasn’t part of any plan. The devised chaos like this only worked when it was controlled.

I soon arrived at the village center, where wolves were by now struggling to put out the fire. A big sack of hay near one of the store sheds had gone up in flame, lashing hungrily with their tongues of fire against the wooden structure.

“Get water!” Dane yelled above the noise of uproar, and his commanding appearance snapped the wolves into action.

In an instant, Aurora was at his side, her voice piercing the noise, sharp with instructions. “Form a line from the well! Move, move!”

I hung to the edge of the chaos, watching the scene unfold. The fire wasn’t huge, but it was enough to sow panic among the pack. The perfect kind of distraction.

The wolves were distracted by trying to restrain the fire, and I slipped away. My steps were deliberate, unhurried.

The storage sheds had been left untouched by the fire—suspiciously so—I went to the largest, its darkness deep and inviting. Inside, the air was cool and damp, smelling of earth and wood, filling my lungs.

I went to the back corner where a stack of old crates leaned, covered in dust. I saw one open with a practiced hand and found a small collection of letters, tucked neatly inside.

Faint light filtering through the cracks on the walls allowed me to trace the rough handwriting on the topmost letter. I scanned over words, my eyes narrowing to fit together fragments of thoughts of Rowan’s.

“Foolish boy,” I grumbled.

I tucked the most incriminating letters in my pocket, careful to touch nothing more. This place, as far as anybody who came into it would tell, would seem not to have been tampered with.

The fire had served its purpose, accident or otherwise, and I now had what I needed to stay one step ahead.

As I re-entered the village square, the fire was smothered, and the wolves, relieved, were scattering. Aurora stood with Dane, her shoulders down but her voice soft as she soothed the pack.

“Our strength is in our response,” she said, her voice level. “Tonight, we were tested, and we came through together.”

The werewolves nodded their heads toward her, softer in their response.

As the crowd began to disperse, Aurora’s eyes caught mine, and half of me expected her to start walking toward me again. But she didn’t; she turned her attention again to Dane as they spoke in undertones.

I slipped into the darkness once more, my steps lighter now. I’d seen the way Aurora commanded her pack, the way they looked to her for guidance. It was admirable, in a way. But it also made her vulnerable. In her determination to protect them, she would never see the knife until it was too late.

And I would make sure it cut deep.

Aurora’s voice cut through what was left of the murmuring crowd, the words soothing like balm on raw pack nerves.

“We will investigate this fully,” she promised, steady. “You may rest assured, we’ll find how it came about and make certain that it cannot happen again.”

Dane was standing beside her, his hand on her shoulder, in a wordless moment of support. He showed calm strength, and for one brief second, I let myself acknowledge how well they were working as a team. An unstoppable team, too strong, perhaps. A wave of bitterness curled in my chest and was swiftly pushed away.

The pack broke up slowly, everyone murmuring reassurances to one another as they went, but I hung back, watching from the edge of the square.

Aurora’s eyes scanned the crowd, her expression thoughtful and guarded. When her gaze flicked toward me, I tipped my head a little, offering a faint smile.

She didn’t return it. Instead, she turned back to Dane, leaning in to speak quietly.

I pressed further into the shadows, my fingers touching the letters buried in my pocket. The words Rowan had written swirled through my brain, hints of doubt and discontent mixed with raw emotion. They were a weapon waiting to be used, and I knew just where to place them.

I fled back to my quarters, the hum of the distant packhouse buzzing in my head, my mind whirring with possibilities. Tonight may have been a mistake, but what happened showed me cracks in the foundation of the pack, cracks I was going to exploit.

One of the letters of Rowan shook out in my hand, candlelight burning sharp lines on his hand script, and my mouth curled up while I read in it his desperation, his defeat.

“Soon,” I whispered. “Very soon.”

For all its strength, neither Aurora nor Dane saw the slightest hint.