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AURORA
A heavy weight hung in the air as I entered the private meeting
room.
Inside, Dane was leaning over the large oak table, his hands. bracing its surface.
His jaw was set, and a multitude of creases on his brow informed me he’d been deep in thought for quite a long period of time.
“You’re up early,” I said as I closed the door behind me.
He looked up, his blue eyes gleamed. “Couldn’t sleep. Too on my mind.”
I crossed the room and laid a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”
He nodded but didn’t relax.
“Alina’s a problem we can no longer afford to ignore, Aurora. She plants those seeds of doubt everywhere. And if we’re not careful here, it could tear this pack apart.”
I let out a heavy sigh, tugging on a chair at the table and sat down.
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“You are right, but we mustn’t take careless steps either. If we take action against her without direct evidence, all it will prove is that we’re not qualified to rule the tribe.”
Dane sat across the table, the fingers of his hands drummed against the tabletop.
“Alright, what is the plan because doing nothing isn’t working for me.
I opened my mouth to answer, but the door creaked open and Jocyln stepped inside.
She was collected as ever, apparently covered in silk, heavy weave, subtle latticework serene; her silver hair flashed like splinters in the morning light.
“I thought I might find you here,” she said, closing the door behind her. “The pack is restless. They need reassurance.”
Dane nodded toward the vacant chair beside me. “We can use. your help, Joclyn.”
She dropped delicately into her chair, turning first to Dane and then to me. “What’s the current game plan?”
I bit my lip. “We were discussing that. These manipulations of Alina are like a fire in a windstorm. The thing is that anything directly done may just bring in reverse effect until we have concrete proof of what her motives are.”
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Joclyn leaned back in her chair, a reflective look on her face. “Sometimes, wisdom is in patience. Why go head on when we can just let her unmask herself?”
Dane scowled. “And how do we make that happen?”
Joclyn leaned forward, placing her hands in her lap.
“Deceivers only truly thrive in a world of chaos. They fall behind, however, when their deceptions are brought out into the light. Create situations where she says one thing and then acts to the contrary. Talk about pack harmony while you’re behind the scenes gathering evidence of her deceptions.
I turned to Dane. “She’s already got a foothold with some of the wolves. How do we counter that?”
Joclyn smiled a little. “By being better leaders. Show them
why they chose to follow you in the first place. Strengthen your alliances, remind them of the pack’s values, and make clear that loyalty is rewarded.”
Dane leaned forward, face intent. “And Alina? How do we deal with her without making it obvious?
Joclyn’s eyes sparkled with delight.
“Give her enough rope, and she’ll hang herself. But be patient. Truth has a way of revealing its face.”
As morning wore on, our discussion turned to rebuilding trust within the pack.
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Dane talked about holding some kind of gathering in celebration of the pack’s unity and accomplishments.
“It will remind them what we have created together,” he said. “And it would give us an opportunity to keep a close eye on Alina without arousing suspicion.”
I nodded. “We will need to include everyone. It has to be all of us together.”
Joclyn added, “And don’t forget the younger wolves, they’re often the most impressionable. Show them what true leadership looks like.”
The words struck a chord, and my jaw set. “Let’s do it. But we will have to be careful.”
Dane’s lips hitched into a small smile. “Careful not my strong suit, but for you, I’ll try.”
I chuckled then, and the tension in the room lessened a fraction.
By noon, the plan was in full gear. Dane took to rallying the wolves for the gathering while I sat down with the pack leaders. to discuss reinforcing alliances.
Piper was our backbone, throwing herself with energy into pounding the event into shape. “We’ll make this the best celebration this pack has ever seen,” she said.
“Just don’t make it a pissing contest with Warrick,” I teased.
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Her cheeks colored, but she grinned. “No promises.”
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But as the day wore on, the pack dynamic shifted and that bled out into the world beyond the edges, like finally they were going somewhere.
Later that night, back in my office, there was a paper folded on my desk, displaced..
I frowned as I unfolded the paper: handwriting scattered, words scratched off with the greatest possible haste, it said…
Beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
I reread that message in my head again and again, while no name was signed, as sure as the world, this was a warning.
Things weren’t all right with this pack or, rather, with something entirely different altogether.
I stared at the note, the meaning weighing in my chest.
The words blurred together and my mind spun as different pieces of recent events clicked into place.
Was it about Alina, or was another wolf concealing their actual intentions, simply waiting for an opportune time to strike?
A light rap at the door startled me; instinctively I folded up the note and thrust it in the drawer.
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“Come in,” I said, and the voice, within its gates of teeth, seemed to issue the word as if from a solid bronze bell.
Joclyn entered, her keen vision as cutting as any razor edge. “You look harassed,” she said, shutting the door gently behind her.
I stammered over the words, extending the note back out to her. “This was left on my desk.”
Her eyebrows furrowed together while she read the words. She said nothing immediately after, heavy silence as she weighed her words.
Finally, she met my gaze. “The phrasing is deliberate. Whoever wrote this wanted to sow doubt, but it feels more like a warning than a threat.”
I nodded. “You think it’s Alina?
“It’s possible,” she said, “but Alina’s manipulations are sometimes so straightforward. This could be someone trying to warn you against a danger you’ve overlooked.” A shiver ran down my spine at the words.
“Another wolf,” I whispered, thinking of all the pack members I trusted. Was one of them keeping secrets?
“We shall have to be on our guard,” Joclyn said.
“If this has something to do with Alina, she’ll have eyes and ears everywhere, watching your every move. And if it has to do with
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another person altogether…”
She didn’t say the rest of the sentence, but the unspoken implication sat heavy in my chest.
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I joined Dane later that night at the training grounds. He was sparring with Warrick the latter’s feet moved in rapid fire cadences of energy.
Piper watched, arms crossed, interjecting corrections in equal measure supportive and exasperated.
“You’re too slow on the pivot!” she called, earning a playful glare from Warrick.
“I’m fast enough to dodge your insults,” he shot back, grinning.
Piper rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling.
Dane noticed me watching and broke away from sparring, his sweat damp brow furrowed, as he approached.
“Everything all right?” he asked, the question low enough that only I could hear it.
I hesitated, looking at the note tucked into my pocket. “I need to talk to you,” I said.
He frowned but nodded and took me to a more secluded area of the grounds. I pulled out the note and handed it to him, watching his expression turn from confusion to concern as he read it.
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“This isn’t just about Alina,” he said, clenching his jaw. “There’s someone else in on it.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I said.
Dane folded the note and tucked it into his pocket. “We’ll keep this between us for now. But we need to be vigilant. We can’t have another threat slipping through the cracks.
I nodded, feeling a surge of gratitude for the solid presence beside me. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing, Dane? Holding this gathering, trying to rebuild when everything seems so… fragile?”
He reached out and smoothed a strand of hair from my face. “Aurora, you’ve held this pack together through worse. If anyone can guide them through this, it’s you.”
His words soothed me, even while my doubts still stayed.
Weariness hunched my shoulders as the night wore deeper; I sought my quarters but found neither my sleep nor, indeed, even my head to be quiet.
I couldn’t seem to clear that note out of my mind nor Alina and that wolf hidden amongst us.
But my mind was elsewhere all the time, going back to the pack to the wolves I have protected and guided through my life and
sometimes doubted.
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They look up to me for guidance, believing in my making the right decisions.
What if I had overlooked something?
