Chapter 307

Dane

Sharp and relentless, the pain jolted me from sleep in the dead of night, as if my body were being ripped apart from within. The poison still burned through my veins, defying the partial relief the physicians' cure had provided. Aurora was the first to come to mind.

I struggled to sit up, every movement sending shocks of agony through my limbs. A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. It was Trajan, his face grim.

“She went to Orion’s pack,” he said baldly, the words slicing through the fog in my brain.

I froze, anger sparking deep inside me even through the haze of my weakness. “She went alone?”

“She didn’t want you to worry,” Trajan said, but there was no comfort in his voice.

“That’s not her call to make,” I growled, struggling to my feet. “This is about our pack, our survival. And she’s making decisions without me?”

Trajan set a steadying hand on my shoulder. “You’re not strong enough to face this yet. She’s trying to protect you.”

I flung him off, the pain little more than a sting against my surging anger. “Protect me? By leaving me in the dark? No,…”

I shoved him aside, disregarding his protests as I staggered to the chamber of the council. Wolves whispered amongst themselves, their eyes full of doubt, the air heavy with tension.

The murmurs died off as I entered. Piper and Warrick stood at the back, their faces a turmoil. Aurora stepped in immediately, her eyes wide with surprise.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she began, moving closer.

“I have every right to be here,” I returned, hoarse but resolute. “You went to Orion without me. What for?” My eyes lingered on her body; I noticed a bruise on her arm. I stepped closer, using the table to steady myself.

“What did they do to you?” I whispered, my voice low enough for only her to hear. She met my gaze.

I took a deep breath, clenching my jaw. “I am fine… I escaped, but this ends now.”

A shift of uneasy eyes between council members preceded my words: “We are wasting our time negotiating. Orion doesn’t want peace; he wants to dominate. We should have struck first and shown him the strength of this pack instead of begging for mercy.”

Aurora’s eyes narrowed. “Beg? I didn’t go to beg… I want to make sure there is no unnecessary bloodshed.”

“Unnecessary?” I shot back. “This isn’t about not spilling blood…”

Trajan stepped between us, his voice low but firm. “Enough. This isn’t helping. We need unity, not division.”

“Unity?” I scoffed. “There’s no unity in keeping the Alpha in the dark. If we’re divided, it’s because decisions are being made behind closed doors.”

Aurora’s voice rose high and sharp. “And if you weren’t so reckless, maybe we wouldn’t be in this position in the first place.”

The room fell silent, heavy with her words. I could only stare at her as frustration and guilt warred within me.

The moment I entered my quarters, exhaustion hit me like a wave. Every muscle in my body protested the lingering effects of the poison.

A knock on the door finally broke through my thoughts. “Dane?” Warrick called.

“In,” I growled, flopping onto the bed.

Warrick stepped forward, apprehension etched on his face. His gaze drifted to the crumpled note in my hand, lingering there as he nodded. “There is a spy in this pack… I’ve suspected for a while, but I…”

I arched an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you bring this up before? A spy in the pack? That’s not something you just sit on.”

How else would they know our weak spots?

I pressed a hand to my forehead. The throbbing pain intensified with each passing minute. “And you think it’s connected to this letter?”

He faltered. “I cannot be positive, but whoever wrote that knew too much. It could be someone Orion’s been working with all this time.”

His words fell heavy in my chest. A mole. One of us was a traitor.

“What are you insinuating, Warrick?” My voice was low and even.

Warrick met my gaze, his face grim. “I say we find them. Before it’s too late.”

I leaned back, closing my eyes. “And what about Aurora? She’s out there negotiating with someone who more than likely already knows our every move.”

“She needs to know,” Warrick said flatly.

I shook my head. “She’s already carrying enough. I just can’t pile this on her right now.”

The room was silent, the weight of our predicament suffocating. Finally, I muttered, “We’ll deal with this. But we can’t let it divide us.”

Warrick nodded and left. The moment the door shut, my thoughts returned to Kaida, who had poisoned me.