Chapter 266 DANE

Aurora stood frozen outside the hallway. She looked disturbed.

I’d had enough. The whispers, the sideways glances, the tension rippling through the pack—it all pointed to one name: Alina.

Slamming the training roster onto my desk, I stood abruptly. “This ends now,” I muttered, the frustration bubbling over as I stormed out of the packhouse.

I found her by the gardens, plucking weeds with a near serene expression, as if she hadn’t been the root of every problem that had plagued us. “Alina!”

She looked up, her facial expression unchanged. “Yes, Alpha?”

“What game are you playing?” I asked, my voice merciless and razor sharp.

Alina cocked her head, pretending to be confused. “Game? I don’t understand what you mean.”

“You know exactly what I mean,” I said, closing the distance further. “Rowan. The fire. The whispers in the pack. It leads to you.”

Her laughter was light, nearly condescending. “You’re deceiving yourself, Dane. You arrested Rowan; now you are coming after me? For what? Breathing?”

“You have been playing with their heads,” I told her with fisted hands. “Stop pretending to be innocent with me.”

Alina stood, brushing dirt from her hands. “If you had proof, Alpha, you wouldn’t be here questioning me. The truth is, you don’t. You’re grasping at shadows because you’re afraid to admit you don’t have control.”

Her words stung more than I wanted to admit. “Mark my words, Alina. If I find out you’re behind this, there will be no mercy.”

Aurora was pacing her office when I got back. “She’s slippery,” I said, slumping into a chair.

“I know,” she murmured, lost in thought. “But she’s made mistakes. Everyone does.”

She pulled out a stack of papers, her eyes scanning them with laser focus. “What am I looking for?”

“Patterns,” she replied. “Connections. Alina’s smart, but she’s not flawless.”

After scanning the records for hours, Aurora’s face finally lit up.

“Here.” She pointed to a series of supply logs. “Every time something has gone wrong—missing resources, unexplained damage—Alina has always been there.”

I leaned over to study the papers. “This is something.”

“It’s not enough to prove her guilt outright,” Aurora admitted, “but it’s a start. If we follow this trail, we’ll find the truth.”

I saw Trajan and Joclyn sitting by the hearth, their voices low but urgent.

“She’s been using Rowan,” Trajan said, his jaw tight.

“Every action he’s taken has only served to cause chaos,” Joclyn nodded.

“And she is brilliant, never implicating herself, always letting another take the blame while she pulls the strings.”

“How did we miss this?” Trajan asked, frustration evident in his tone.

“She’s a master of being in the background,” Joclyn replied. “But we know now, and there we can act. This needs to go to Aurora and Dane.”

Meanwhile, while tensions increased, Piper and Warrick had been really helpful as they were working like crazy to hold the pack together.

“We need to reduce the rumors,” Piper said, arms crossed, facing a small congregation of wolves. “We’re stronger together, but this division will tear us apart.”

Warrick nodded. “If you have concerns, bring them to Aurora or I directly. Spreading whispers only helps whoever’s trying to destabilize us.”

One wolf, a young male, raised his voice shyly. “But what if Rowan really did…”

“He didn’t,” Piper cut in firmly. “And even if he makes mistakes, we deal with them as a pack. Together.”

There was the exchange of a pair of uncertain wolf glances, then Warrick stepped forward, firm but encouraging: “Trust our leaders, trust in each other—that’s how we get through this.”

Deep into the night while I was strolling, I noticed that Alina was speaking to a wolf near the edges of the village.

Their voices came low, and it would be impossible not to note a catch. “You are positive Rowan won’t say anything?” he asked, his tone edged with doubt.

Alina’s smile deepened, her confidence unflappable. “He’s too lost in his guilt to see the truth. Rowan thinks he’s to blame for everything. That’s what makes him useful.”

The wolf shifted uneasily. “But what if he talks? What if Aurora gets through to him?”

Alina let out a soft laugh, the sound cold and dismissive. “Aurora’s kind heart is her weakness. She’ll want to believe him, to save him. But I’ve left enough doubt in her mind to make sure she’ll hesitate. By the time she figures out what’s really happening, it’ll all be over.”

The wolf frowned, his skepticism written across his face. “And what of Dane? He is not the sort of man to sit and do nothing while things burn down around him, either.”

The eyes of Alina flashed, razor sharp. “Dane’s power is his weakness: too straightforward, hence predictable. He’ll come out at me quite sure I’m the only game in town. Little does he know how far ahead I am walking.”

The wolf rubbed the back of his neck; a feeling of unease slowly crept over him. “This feels really risky, Alina. What if the pack turns against you?”

“They won’t,” she said confidently. “By the time they see the cracks, they’ll be too fractured to fight back. And when the dust settles, they’ll need someone to guide them.”

She took a step closer, her voice dropping to a near whisper. “That someone will be me.”

The wolf hesitated, then asked, “And what about Rowan? What happens to him once you’ve… achieved what you want?”

Alina’s expression only darkened somewhat, her smirk still twisting her lips. “Rowan’s purpose is almost served. He’s a pawn, and like any pawn, he’ll be sacrificed when the time comes. Until then, I’ll keep him where I need him—lost, confused, and under my control.”

The wolf’s jaw clenched, and he shifted uncomfortably. “And if he breaks free?”

Alina cocked her head to one side; the smirk twisted into something almost cruel. “He won’t. But if he tries… Well, accidents happen.”

The wolf cast a glance in the direction of the village. Conflict etched itself across his face. “This is a dangerous game, Alina.”

“All games are dangerous,” she returned smoothly. “But that’s what makes them worth playing.”

For a moment, the wolf seemed as if he wanted to argue, but he kept quiet. Alina’s eyes shone bright in the frail moonlight as she stepped backward; her tone was final.

“Tomorrow, I go to see Rowan in his cell. I have one last piece to play.”

As the wolf vanished into the night, Alina stood there a moment longer, her smile slowly icing into a chill. She whispered, “Everything is falling perfectly in place.”