ra’s POV

The room fell into a heavy silence as Prisca’s words lingered, hanging in the air like a thick fog. Everyone seemed caught in the spell of her hair about the Rogue King, curiosity spacking in their eyes.

“You know the Rogue King?” Bes asked, his voice tinged with disbelief. “What’s he like? We know sa little about this person–heck, we don’t even know of

it’s a man or a woman”

“And neither do “Prisca’s voice was cool, her gare distant. “The Rogue King is a mystery wrapped inyers. To the rogues, he’s like a god. Everyone hus bheard /bthe name, but no one has seen him. I’m certain the Rogue King wants it that way. His aura of mystery–well, it only strengthens his reign. It makes

She settled next to rab, /bbher /bmovements smooth, calcted.

bTriss /bleaned forwardb, /beager. “Tell us more, then. What else do you know babout /bhim?”

“I only know rumors,” Prisca continued, her eyes narrowing. “The Rogue King wasn’t born to brule/b. Unlike us, the rogues don’t have an established

bloodline to follow-

“But neither do we, Theo cutin, his brow furrowed. “We follow our Alphas because they’re strong, not because of some royal blood.”

“True” Prisca nodded. “But even though our Alphas may not have royal lineage, they still carry the bloodline that grants them the Alpha aura. That’s

why, in our world, the strongest are always born into Alpha families. It’s destiny. Power is in their veins.”

ra could rte. Before her bAlpha /baura bwas /bawakened, she’d been just like any other powerless girl, beaten down bby /bbullies and with no way to fight back. It wasn’t until she took back her rightful name that she found her strength, her power. And sure, her btough /btraining as Gamma yed a part, but without her aura, she never bwould’ve /bbmade /bit this bfar/bb. /b

Roman huffed, impatience edging his tone. “Great, we’re getting a history lesson on werewolf inheritance. But how does any of this help us with the Rogue King!”

“I’m getting to that,” Prisca said, her eyes sharp as daggers. “Roguesb, /bincluding the Rogue King, are oftenmoners. They don’t have the muscles ar fighting skills that we do. He didn’t rise to power because he was a warrior. He rose because of his mind.”

“Wait–so, you mean he’s smart?”

Roman asked, not hiding the skepticism in his voice.

“More than that.” Prisca’s lips curled slightly. “The Rogue King is cunning, maniptive, and a strategist. There were two factions of rogues who were unhappy with his reign. Instead of fighting them head–on, he got them to fight each other. The Rogue King bhas /bbthis /bway of turning his enemies against each other and letting them destroy themselves. He’s doing the same thing to you, right now.

Athick silence swept over the room.

Roman shihed ufortably, his fingers twitching, wanting to say something, anything–but his words died before they reached his lips.

“nting a mole among us? That’s nothing new. We’ll find it sooner orter,” Prisca saidb, /bher voice cold and sharp. “But the real danger is what he’s done -he’s made you distrust each other. And that? That’s the scariest part. Rogues might not have our training, but they’ve got tricks up their sleeves. We need to be careful of their dirty schemes.”

Triss, Bex, and ra exchanged nced, the weight of her words sinking in Roman, on the other hand, crossed his arms, still unconvinced.

“That’s a lot of talk,” Roman sneered. “But how does any of this help us figure out what to do next? Should we start picking people to exclude from bthis /balliance? bWho /bstays, who goes

Prisca held his gaze. “Learn from the Rogue king. Pick ba /bbleader /bfrom this group, follow their orders without question. The leader only shares parts of the bn/bb, /bnothing more. That way, we keep the mole in the dark.”

The Gammas looked at each other.

“That’s not a bad bidea/b, Theo shrugged. “We do need a leader, and sooner orter, we’ll need someone in call the shots, I vote for Alpha Tierra Direstone Pack was the first to propose the alliance, and he has the experience.”

“Agreed,” Ber said, his eyes serious. “He’s the right choice.”

“Not to mention his ability,” Triss added, her tone respectful.

ra looked at Thorne, her smile lighting up her face. I bust him,” she said, her voice full of certainty.

Thorne met her gaze, a softness in his eyes

in his eyes that bmade /bbra’s /bheart fluffer

“Alright, lovebirds.” Theoteased, roling his eyes. “That’s 4 votes for Thorne, Roman, it’s your turn. Are you with us or not?”

Roman growled under his breath, muttering, “I don’t see what other choice have. Four against one.”

“Then it’s settled.” Theo pped his hands. “Wpha Thorne is our leader.”

ra’s brow furrowed as she turned to Thorne. “What about Direstone? Can byou /bafford to leave for so long?”

Thorne’s beyes /bremained steady, confident. “The elders can handle things. They’ll message me if anything urgentes up. But for now, our focus is on this.” He pointed to the mapid out on the table.

“Tomorrow, at dawn, we leave for Craglen Fortress. We don’t have much time, so get your soldiers ready.”

Roman frowned. “And the mole?”

“handle it,” Thorne replied, his tone t, unyielding

“bAnd /byou’re not going to tell us your n?” Roman’s bvoice /bwasced with suspicion.

“You’ve agreed to follow my orders without question. That’s how this works.” Thome said, his eyes narrowing, “I won’t repeat myself”

Roman’s jaw tightened, and he shrank back from Thome’s piercing pare

“The meeting bis /bbdismissed/b, Thorne bsaid/bb, /bhis voice bfinal/b.

The Gammas stood, fling out of the room. ra lingered behind, walking next to Prisca. As they stepped into the bhallway/b, ra froze. There, sitting on a bench, was Mi.

Mi blooked /beven more disheveled than thest time ra saw bher/b. She bwas /bchewing her bnails/b, muttering to herself in ba /bhalf–hysterical state. Words like

“Luna,” “bitch,” and “go to hell” drifted to ra’s earsb. /b

“Do byou /btake her everywhere?” ra asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Prisca sighed. “I have no choice. She needs constant supervision, if I leave her for even a second, she snaps. Honestly? bI’m /bnot sure if she’s faking it, trying to get me to lower my guard. Either bway/b, I have to keep a close eye on her.”

Turning to Triss, she added, “Gamma Triss, Ineed to talk to you. I’m considering going with you bto /bthe battlefield. My past experience with the rogues might be useful”

Triss hesitated, “n

“It’s a tricky situation.

“I’ve had a smith craft me a pair of artificial hands,” Prisca replied with a determined smile. “I can hold my own.”

Triss tumed to ra, searching for her opinion

ra thought for a moment before nodding “I don’t bsee /bwhy not. bWe /bneed all the help we bcan /bget. But keep an eye on Mi, okay?”

“Of course,” bPrisca /bsaid, her eyes bright. “Thanks for the opportunity. I won’t let y

t you d down.”

10:53 Wed, 30 Jul G

Prisca walked over to M

to

her feet. Mi giggled uncontrobly, her eye wild it med like he had truly lost her mind

Triss stared after them, letting out a long sigh “I don’t know why, but I’ve got this bad feeling about this who do you think it could hel

oming war With the l

the Rogue King, the mole.

ra clenched her jaw, her mind racing, but she didn’t say anything.

“keep thinking about Roman,” Triss murmured, her voice dropping to a whisper “He’s been acting weird, jumpy, ever since yesterday”

ra said nothing, keeping her thoughts to herself.

Prisca had told them to ignore their suspicions and work together. But how could they, when they weren’t sure who they could trust

Until the mole was uncovered, this alliance would always be fragile. And ra still carried the heavy weight of her secret–the truth about Jory and his rogue identity. It was like a ticking bomb inside her, one that could explode at any moment.

AD