13| The Hidden Truth

ADONIS AUGUSTUS

“I told you, brother. She was going to humiliate us!” I shoved the cards into my pocket and kicked the door open.

“Anger won’t get us anywhere, Adonis,” Adonai replied calmly. “If we’re going to fight, we need to plan. Cedar belongs to us. Didn’t you hear what Elder Harold said? She was betrothed to us before she was even born. That makes her ours. There’s no escape from that. I suppose what happened back then made everyone feel there was no need to tell us. But now that I know the truth, I’ll do everything in my power to bring her back.”

“Seriously?” I stood in front of him, blocking his path so he would stop pacing and look me in the eye. “Are we really supposed to win her back? Beg her to return and ask for forgiveness? Her father still hasn’t been proven innocent, and I won’t grant her any kind of pardon until I know the full truth about what happened to our father.”

“No one said we have to beg,” he answered firmly. “I understand how you feel, and I want to find out the truth too. But we can’t go against the Council or the traditions our forefathers held sacred.”

“You always cling to tradition, that’s why you’re conflicted right now,” I said, frustrated. “I don’t trust those elders. I’ll have someone tail each and every one of them.”

I slouched at the foot of the bed and ran my fingers through my hair. I hated doing that, it always messed up my style, but I didn’t even realize I was doing it until my fingers were already in motion.

I glanced at Adonai. He’d started pacing again, his left hand resting under his jaw as he bit his lower lip, lost in thought.

“If we’re going to get her back,” he finally said, “we need Dominus to let her go first. She has to be homeless and desperate again. That’s the only way she’ll come back.”

I scoffed and gave a dry laugh. “So what’s the plan? Sneak up and strangle him in his sleep? Declare war on Oakwood and hope he gets too distracted to protect her?”

“This isn’t a joke.” He shot me a glare. “I don’t know what kind of arrangement they’ve made, but betrayal... that’s one thing no one takes lightly. If we can’t walk into the rat’s hole, we smoke the rats out.”

“That could be fun.” I smiled coldly. “Did Icarus manage to plant someone in his house? We need eyes in there. We can’t make any moves unless we know exactly what we’re dealing with.”

I already pictured it, how satisfying it would be to watch Cedar switch sides. She chose him and rejected us so boldly, and yet... I couldn’t shake the feeling that something more was going on between them. For her to be marked and declared Oakwood’s Luna just days after arriving? That’s not ordinary. Something bound them, even if they won’t admit it. Some deal must’ve been made, and whatever it is, we need to break it.

A Luna who is constantly guarded. Restricted. Unable to leave her room without her Alpha’s permission. I thought Cedar hated living in chains. But maybe luxury and protection meant more to her than freedom. Maybe after years of barely surviving, comfort was all she ever really wanted.

“Icarus is working on it,” Adonai said. “He texted me earlier. Apparently, Deklan and Dominus don’t get along. We’ve also got two guards on the inside, one assigned to Dominus’s private guard, the other in charge of the security office in his estate building.”

“He’s done good work,” I said flatly, pulling out my cards again and shuffling without thinking.

“I’ll be seeing Mother later today,” Adonai added. “Everything that was revealed in the meeting are things we should’ve been told long ago, it’s unacceptable. We’re not children anymore, and I think we’ve proven that with the wisdom of our leadership.”

He turned to head for the bathroom, but just as he reached the doorway, a knock sounded at the door.

“I’ll get it,” I said, standing. “You need to freshen up before seeing the Luna.”

I stepped outside and found Nikko waiting.

“I bring news, Alpha. But I fear it’ll upset you,” he said, fidgeting.

“You’re already here, so speak,” I ordered, watching him closely.

“Two rogue wolves were found dead in our territory. And one of the patrol guards caught a man in the woods. His clothes were covered in blood, but he refused to speak a word.”

“Someone dares to murder and dump bodies in my land?” I growled. “Take me to him!”

He led the way, and I followed him to the pack's holding cells.

Inside one of the cells sat an old man, staring into space as if waiting for something, or someone. He looked up the moment I approached, slowly rising to his feet.

“I heard you won’t talk,” I said sharply. “Who are you, and what were you doing near my pack’s land?”

“Your grace is immeasurable, Alpha Adonis,” he replied in a voice both frail and hauntingly clear.

His clothes were torn and soaked in blood. His hands, knees, and cheek were bruised. He looked too old to swing a sword or even lift a stone. His bones were weak, his fingers trembling, his hair silver-white, matching the eerie paleness of his eyes. And yet, he stood with a strange kind of purpose, like he wasn’t afraid of death.

How could someone so fragile attack and kill two rogue wolves? 

Something about him was off. And something about the way he looked at me, like he knew me.

“I do not know what your men accuse me of,” he said slowly. “But I must speak to the Luna. I narrowly escaped death to be here today. I have known you since before you were born. I was your father’s seer, he never made a move without first consulting me. The Luna will confirm this when she sees me.”

My jaw tightened. “Who are you, and why do you need to see the Luna?”

“I must speak with her before I say anything more,” he insisted. “Tell her that Yarrow, the Seer, has returned. And I bring a prophecy.”

I stumbled back, heart pounding.

That name, Yarrow. I remembered it. 

Could the prophecy be real? And what other prophecy has this crazy man brought personally to the Luna?