The War That Begins in the Mind
The attack did not come with claws or steel.
It came with doubt.
The first sign was silence.
By midday, messengers who had left the basin at dawn had not returned. No howls carried news. No wolves arrived seeking council. The forest felt hollow, as if sound itself had learned to avoid us.
Cassian noticed it first.
"This is wrong," he said quietly. "Information does not simply stop."
Lucien's eyes swept the treeline. "They intercepted them."
"No," Alaric replied. "They replaced them."
The words sent a chill through me.
I felt the chains stir, not pulling, but tightening as if warning me to brace.
"They are controlling the narrative," Cassian continued. "By nightfall, half the territories will hear a version of today where you are the aggressor."
Lucien snarled. "Lies."
"Effective ones," Cassian said calmly. "The most dangerous kind."
As if summoned by his words, a lone wolf emerged from the eastern path. He walked slowly, hands visible, posture deferential but tense.
"I come under truce," he called.
Lucien stepped forward instinctively, but I raised my hand.
"Let him speak," I said.
The wolf bowed deeply. "I am a courier from the Riverbound pack."
Cassian frowned. "You left before dawn."
"Yes," the courier said. "We were… delayed."
The pause was subtle.
Alaric's gaze sharpened.
"What message do you carry," I asked.
The courier swallowed. "A warning."
He looked around the basin, then back at me.
"The High Council has declared you unstable," he said. "They claim your power causes uncontrollable dominance surges in those around you."
A murmur rippled through the wolves nearby.
"They say," the courier continued, voice trembling slightly, "that Alphas who remain near you will eventually lose control and turn violent."
Lucien laughed harshly. "That is absurd."
"Is it," Cassian asked quietly.
Lucien turned sharply toward him.
Cassian held up a hand. "I am not agreeing. I am acknowledging effectiveness."
The courier shifted nervously. "They also say the council here is a trap. That you gather wolves only to bind them later."
The murmurs grew louder.
I felt it then.
Not panic.
Memory.
This was how the Sovereign Lunas had fallen.
Not through open war.
Through isolation.
"Who delivered this message," I asked.
The courier hesitated.
"That matters," Alaric said coldly.
"A Council Executor," the courier admitted. "He said this warning was mercy."
Lucien's dominance flared dangerously. "They poison minds and call it mercy."
I exhaled slowly, forcing the anger down.
"They want us to fracture without touching us," I said. "To make fear do their work."
Cassian nodded. "And it is already starting."
A female Beta stepped forward, arms crossed tightly. "You cannot deny that strange things have happened since she arrived."
Lucien spun toward her. "Watch your.."
I stepped forward.
"Speak freely," I said.
The Beta hesitated, then continued. "Dominance spikes. Alpha reactions. The vow. The pressure we felt yesterday."
Several wolves nodded reluctantly.
"I am not accusing," she added quickly. "I am asking if this is sustainable."
The question hung heavy in the air.
Cassian studied the reactions carefully. "This is why the High Council chose this tactic."
"Because it forces us to question ourselves," I said quietly.
"And each other," Alaric added.
The courier cleared his throat. "There is more."
I met his gaze. "Say it."
"They claim," he said softly, "that the Sovereign bloodline does not restore balance. That it erases individuality. That all wolves eventually become extensions of the Luna."
Silence fell.
Lucien stared at me, tension visible in every line of his body.
"That is a lie," he said.
"Yes," Cassian agreed. "But it is a dangerous one."
I closed my eyes briefly.
The chains inside me were steady. Not tightening. Not pulling.
Anchored.
"They fear losing relevance," I said. "So they paint me as a force that consumes."
I opened my eyes.
"They are not attacking my power," I continued. "They are attacking trust."
A distant howl echoed faintly through the forest.
Not from one of ours.
Lucien stiffened. "That was a warning howl."
Alaric nodded. "A pack withdrawing support."
Cassian exhaled slowly. "And there it is."
The psychological attack was working.
I turned to the gathered wolves.
"You are afraid," I said plainly.
No one denied it.
"That fear is not weakness," I continued. "It is information. And it deserves honesty."
I took a step forward, letting the moonlight catch the mark on my wrist without amplifying it.
"I do not control your will," I said. "I cannot. And I would not, even if I could."
I met the Beta's gaze. "You felt pressure because power was awakened too quickly. Because bonds were denied, resisted, strained."
Lucien's jaw tightened, but he did not interrupt.
"That instability is real," I admitted. "And it will pass only through structure, transparency, and consent."
Cassian nodded slowly. "A public response."
"Yes," I said. "And a risky one."
Alaric's eyes narrowed. "They will twist anything you say."
"They already are," I replied.
The courier shifted uneasily. "The High Council will demand a response by dusk."
I smiled faintly. "Of course they will."
Lucien stepped closer. "You do not have to answer them."
"I do," I said. "Not for them. For everyone listening."
The fifth presence brushed my senses again.
Closer now.
Watching the cracks form.
He would learn from this.
I turned back to the council.
"At dusk," I said, "we address this openly. Every accusation. Every fear."
Cassian's lips curved slightly. "That removes their advantage."
"And exposes us," Lucien warned.
"Yes," I agreed. "But silence will destroy us faster."
The courier bowed deeply. "Then I will carry your response."
"No," I said. "You will stay."
I looked at the forest beyond the basin.
"They want control over the story," I said softly. "So we will speak where they cannot intercept."
Alaric's gaze sharpened. "The Moon Court."
Cassian's eyes widened slightly. "That would force every pack to witness."
"And every lie to unravel," Lucien added.
I nodded.
"The High Council wanted to erase me quietly," I said. "Instead, they will explain themselves to the world."
The wind shifted, carrying the promise outward.
The fifth presence paused.
Interested.
Calculating.
The war had moved fully into the open.
And this time, it would be fought with truth sharp enough to cut deeper than claws ever could.