Kael moved like a creature possessed, driven by the cold fear that he was already too late.
The sun was fully up now, but the light brought no warmth.
Every gust of wind was a reminder that he was running against time and the subtle, potent magic of the Druids.
He ran the border roads, avoiding main highways where the omnipresent Lycan surveillance would immediately flag the presence of the "Alpha-Slayer."
His path was a brutal line drawn across the map, aiming directly for the distant coastline ruled by the Sunstone Pack.
He paused only to study the ledger Meridas had given him.
The pages were more than just a list of names; they were a roadmap of the Agenda's actions.
The geometric symbols beside the Sunstone symbol detailed the method of destabilization internal betrayal driven by economic collapse. Lysandra wouldn't be assassinated by magic; she would be ruined by her own Pack's desperate actions.
As Kael entered the deep wilderness separating the territories, he found the first chilling signs of the enemy.
He didn't see them. He smelled them.
The faint, unmistakable scent of Cinderwood and Ash, the Druid signature, was laid lightly over the moss and pine of the forest floor.
It wasn't a dense, tracked path it was a series of small, meticulously placed markers.
They were moving with ghost-like efficiency, placing specific magical foci in the environment.
They aren't tracking me.
They are tracking the collapse.
The Druids weren't focused on Kael.
They were focused on the land itself, preparing the stage for Lysandra's ruin.
He knew from old Pack warnings that Druids manipulated the natural order.
They would be seeding the Sunstone Pack's territory with magical catalysts designed to turn a minor economic hardship into a devastating, internal disaster.
Kael followed the faint scent, the trail leading him away from the direct coast road and toward a high, remote pass.
It was a subtle misdirection, the kind of maneuver a true tracker, not an assassin, would use.
He reached the summit of the pass a
wind-whipped outcrop that gave him a dangerous view of the valley below.
The scent of Cinderwood was strongest here, clinging to the granite.
He knew they had passed through recently, leaving something behind.
Scrabbling at the rocks, Kael found a small, carved piece of driftwood not natural, but shaped with a Druid's rune, embedded deep into the stone.
It pulsed with a faint, cold energy that spoke of complex magic.
This wasn't a marker for themselves; this was a magical relay, designed to communicate with the next phase of the conspiracy.
Kael realized the horrific truth
the Agenda had planted an agent inside the Sunstone Pack a Lycan who was now waiting for the signal transmitted by this relay to enact the betrayal.
He smashed the driftwood with a sharp stone.
The small artifact crumbled into grey ash, the energy dissipating instantly.
It bought him minutes, maybe hours, but the signal might already be through.
Kael pulled out the tracking wafer, placing it against the granite.
It pulsed violently, confirming that the magical activity was moving rapidly toward the coast.
He was now close enough to smell the salt air
and closer still to the danger.
He had to abandon the long, cautious run and risk everything on a desperate sprint into Sunstone territory.
He had to find Lysandra, bypass her security, and convince her that the person she trusted most was about to deliver her Pack to the very conspiracy that now wanted him dead.
He shifted, letting his power fuel his speed, and plunged down the eastern slope, the ocean air filling his lungs.
He was no longer running to the truth.
He was running with it, determined to use the lie that ruined his life to save another.