The hall reeked of blood.
We had returned from the forest before dawn, dragging our wounded behind us. The servants worked in silence, carrying buckets of water and cloth to wash the blood-soaked stone. The scent clung to everything, to my hair, my skin, even the inside of my mouth.
No victory songs. No laughter. Only silence.
The pack had won, but something in the air was broken.
I sat in the shadows of the great hall, my hands raw from scrubbing blood that wasn't mine. Every breath came heavy, every muscle trembling with exhaustion. Yet I couldn't rest. The System hadn't let me forget.
[Mission: Discover the traitor who led the raiders to the border.]
[Time Remaining: 2 Days, 23 Hours.]
The words burned against my mind. A timer I couldn't stop.
I lifted my head, and across the room, I found him. Ronan.
He leaned against the high table, arms folded across his chest. His dark hair clung to his temples, damp with sweat. Golden eyes swept over the hall, reading every face, every movement.
A king among wolves. A predator among prey.
And yet I knew what twisted behind that gaze.
One of them betrayed me. One of them will pay in blood.
The thought wasn't spoken, but the cold fury in his eyes carried it.
My stomach knotted. The System wanted me to find the traitor, but if I searched too openly, Ronan would think it was me. If I stayed silent, suspicion would fall on me anyway.
I was trapped. Again.
"Lady Ayla."
I turned. A voice, sweet as poisoned wine.
Serena.
She approached with a calculated sway of her hips, her silver dress spotless despite the blood-soaked night. Her pale hair gleamed, and her eyes—ice blue, mocking—slid over me like I was filth she meant to step on.
"You fought bravely last night," she said, her smile too sharp. "I was shocked. Truly. For a moment, I almost believed you cared for the pack."
My throat tightened. She wanted me to slip. To lash out.
Instead, I smiled back. "Maybe I do."
Her eyes flickered, but her smile didn't break. "Strange. Since you were the one who suggested Ronan move the border patrols last week. Right before the raiders slipped through."
The words struck like a blade. My blood iced. She was planting seeds, right in front of the pack.
Several wolves nearby turned their heads, listening.
"That's not true," I said quickly, my voice tighter than I wanted.
But the doubt was there now, dripping through the hall like poison. Serena had thrown it, and I could see it take root.
She leaned closer, her whisper silk and venom. "Careful, dear. Even a wolf with sharp teeth can be bled dry if she's careless."
She drifted away before I could answer.
The System's voice was merciless.
[Suspect Detected: Serena.]
[Investigate Further.]
My hands curled into fists. Of course it was Serena. Her smile, her words, her venomous timing. She had every reason to strike against me. But was she the traitor, or only sharpening her knives on my name?
I needed proof.
Ronan's voice thundered suddenly, cutting through the whispers.
"Enough."
The hall silenced at once. Every wolf turned to him.
He stepped forward, his presence swallowing the air. His gaze burned across us all. "There was a traitor among us. The raiders knew our movements, our patrols. They walked through our defenses like a gate left open."
Murmurs rippled, sharp and frightened.
Ronan raised his hand, and silence slammed down again. His voice dropped low, cold enough to chill bone. "I will find who it was. And when I do, I will tear their heart from their chest myself."
His golden eyes swept the hall… and locked on me.
The weight of that stare pressed against my skin, suffocating. He didn't look away.
My breath caught, my body frozen. He suspected me already.
It was her. She's hiding something. I can smell it on her.
The thought echoed through his gaze, unspoken but heavy.
I forced myself to lift my chin. I couldn't look weak. Not here, not now.
But the System whispered again.
[Warning: Suspicion Level Rising.]
I nearly choked. Suspicion… had a level?
[Hint: Reduce suspicion by shifting doubt onto others.]
The words curdled in my gut. The System wanted me to throw someone else under the cart to save myself. But who?
Serena.
My heart pounded. If I accused her and failed, she would bury me alive. But if I stayed silent, Ronan would do it first.
The hall emptied slowly as wolves drifted away. Ronan barked orders, his men preparing to double patrols. But even as he moved, his gaze returned to me, again and again. Like a predator circling prey.
When the last soldier left, he crossed the hall toward me.
My pulse hammered. My body screamed to flee, but I stood still as he stopped just inches away.
His hand shot out, gripping my chin, forcing my face up. His eyes glowed gold in the torchlight.
"You killed last night," he said, low and sharp. "Not like prey. Not like a frightened girl. Like a wolf."
I swallowed hard. His hand was iron, his gaze unrelenting.
"You've been hiding something from me." His voice sank deeper. "Tell me what it is, or I will break you until you do."
His grip tightened, forcing a cry from my throat.
The System screamed in my head.
[Mission Update: Critical.]
[Reveal nothing. Survive everything.]
I couldn't tell him. Not about the System. Not about the missions. If I did, he'd never believe me—it would look like another manipulation, another betrayal.
But his grip burned, his gaze slicing me open. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think.
And then—movement at the corner of my vision.
The butler. His shadow flitted past the doorway, quick and secretive. Something clutched against his chest, glinting in the firelight. A scroll.
Ronan's eyes followed mine, snapping to the butler just as the man vanished.
In a heartbeat, Ronan released me and stormed forward, his voice like thunder. "Bring him!"
Wolves leapt into motion, but the butler was already gone.
And for the first time, I realized—
Maybe Serena wasn't the traitor.
Maybe it was the one no one suspected.