Chapter 70: Chapter 70 – The Pack Starts Choosing Sides

Chapter 70 – The Pack Starts Choosing Sides

POV: Kael

By the end of the week, the tension inside Blackmoor stopped hiding itself.

At first it had existed in quieter ways. Conversations cutting off when I entered a corridor. Guards hesitating half a second too long before following orders. Advisors suddenly choosing their words more carefully around me. Small things that individually meant nothing but together built a pattern impossible to ignore.

Now it was becoming open.

And that was worse.

I walked through the western corridor just after sunrise with Darius half a step behind me, listening to the sound of raised voices echo faintly from one of the lower chambers. The argument stopped the moment the wolves inside realized I was approaching, but not before I caught enough to understand the subject.

Liora.

Again.

Every conversation eventually circled back to her now. The wolfless Luna. The attacks. The poison. The failed ceremony. The instability spreading through the fortress since her arrival.

Fear always needed somewhere convenient to settle, and people preferred blaming visible problems over invisible ones.

"Should I remove them from duty?" Darius asked quietly once we passed the room.

"No."

His expression tightened slightly. "They were openly questioning you."

"They were questioning the situation," I corrected.

"That’s not better."

No, it wasn’t.

I kept walking without slowing.

The fortress had started dividing itself without anyone formally declaring sides. Wolves loyal to the elders had become more confident speaking openly in council meetings. Others stayed neutral publicly while quietly shifting resources and information behind closed doors depending on who they believed would come out ahead once everything finally collapsed.

And beneath all of that sat the real problem.

Seraphina.

No matter how unstable things became, no one ever accused her directly. Not openly. Wolves feared her too much for that. Even the elders who disagreed with her treated her carefully, like they understood crossing certain lines inside Blackmoor came with consequences they couldn’t survive.

Which meant everyone searched for easier targets instead.

Liora had become the easiest one.

I stepped into the strategy chamber and stopped near the central table, my gaze shifting automatically toward the map spread across it. Patrol markers covered most of Blackmoor’s territory now, especially near the eastern borders.

Still nothing.

My jaw tightened slightly.

Isolade had disappeared too cleanly.

That bothered me more with every passing day.

The last confirmed sighting placed her near the southern pass after Ivy escaped custody, but after that she vanished completely, and wolves didn’t vanish inside Blackmoor territory unless someone powerful wanted them hidden.

Which meant one of two things.

Either she already escaped beyond the borders—

Or someone inside the fortress was protecting her.

Neither possibility sat well with me.

"She hasn’t contacted anyone we know of?" I asked without looking away from the map.

Darius crossed his arms. "Not directly."

"Meaning indirectly?"

"We intercepted two messages yesterday moving through the eastern wing." He paused briefly. "Neither carried names."

Eastern wing.

My expression hardened slightly.

That part of the fortress answered more to the elders than to me lately, especially since Valerius practically started living near Seraphina’s private chambers.

I was getting tired of pretending not to notice it.

"And Valerius?" I asked.

Darius already knew why I was asking.

"Still visiting Seraphina regularly."

"Alone?"

"Not always."

That answer pulled my attention fully from the map.

"Who else?"

"We don’t know yet," he admitted. "They’ve been careful."

I stared at him for several seconds before looking back toward the strategy table again.

Careful.

That word annoyed me lately.

Everyone inside Blackmoor had suddenly become careful around me, as if they sensed something shifting underneath the surface and were trying to position themselves before it broke apart completely.

Unfortunately for them, I was doing the same thing.

"Keep watching the eastern wing," I said finally. "Quietly."

Darius nodded once.

"And Liora?" he asked carefully.

That question carried more meaning than the words themselves.

I knew rumors had already started spreading about her training. Some wolves saw it as admirable. Others saw it as proof she was unstable, desperate, dangerous.

Most simply didn’t understand why a wolfless Luna would suddenly need combat training at all.

I understood.

Which was exactly why I hadn’t stopped her.

"She continues training," I said calmly.

Darius frowned slightly. "Even after the injury?"

So he knew about that too.

Of course he did.

Information traveled through Blackmoor faster than blood through open wounds.

"She can make her own decisions," I replied.

"That’s not what the council believes."

I looked at him directly then.

"Since when did I start asking the council permission to protect my mate?"

Darius said nothing after that.

Smart.

The doors opened before the silence could stretch further, and one of the council attendants stepped inside quickly.

"The elders are waiting."

Of course they were.

I let out a slow breath before moving toward the chamber doors again.

The council meetings had become unbearable recently. Not because they lacked intelligence, but because nobody spoke honestly anymore. Every discussion carried layers beneath it now. Hidden agendas. Careful manipulation. Quiet positioning disguised as concern for the pack.

Today wouldn’t be different.

I already knew that before entering the room.

The council chamber fell silent the moment I stepped inside.

Elder Maris sat near the center beside Valerius while several others lined the curved table surrounding them. Seraphina wasn’t present physically, but that meant nothing anymore. Her influence sat in every corner of the room regardless.

I took my place without speaking.

The silence lasted barely three seconds.

"The patrols are overstretched," one of the elders said immediately. "Half our resources are focused internally instead of at the borders."

"Then redirect them," I replied.

"That becomes difficult when instability inside the fortress keeps increasing."

There it was already.

I leaned back slightly in my chair. "Say what you actually mean."

The elder hesitated only briefly.

"Morale is weakening," he said carefully. "The wolves are unsettled."

"Because someone attempted to murder their Luna," I said calmly. "Or have we forgotten that part?"

A few expressions shifted uncomfortably around the table.

Good.

They should feel uncomfortable.

Valerius folded his hands together slowly. "This situation extends beyond the poisoning now."

I looked at him coldly. "Then explain it to me."

"The fortress has changed since her arrival."

Not Liora.

Her.

Interesting choice.

"The attacks increased," another elder added. "The visions. The disturbances during the ceremony. The instability among the guards."

"And now the Luna secretly trains armed combat while pregnant," someone else said sharply.

My gaze shifted toward the speaker immediately.

Elder Renwick.

Old. Loyal to tradition. Predictable.

"And?" I asked.

His expression hardened slightly. "It creates fear."

"No," I corrected calmly. "Fear already existed. This simply gives cowards somewhere convenient to point at."

The room tightened instantly after that.

Maris spoke before Renwick could respond. "Nobody is accusing your mate directly."

I almost laughed.

"Really?"

Silence answered loudly enough.

Because that was exactly what they were doing.

They just preferred disguising it as concern for Blackmoor instead of admitting openly that the wolfless Luna frightened them.

Not because she was weak.

Because too many strange things kept happening around her.

One of the younger council wolves finally spoke carefully from the far end of the chamber. "The pack needs stability right now."

"And you believe removing her provides that?"

"No," he admitted cautiously. "But many wolves believe your judgment has become compromised where she’s concerned."

There it was.

Finally honest.

I sat quietly for several seconds, studying each face around the room carefully.

Some avoided eye contact immediately.

Others held my gaze intentionally.

Choosing sides without speaking it aloud.

My attention shifted briefly toward the empty seat Seraphina normally occupied during formal meetings.

Still absent.

Still controlling the room anyway.

And somewhere beyond all of this sat another problem clawing steadily at the back of my thoughts.

Isolade.

Too quiet.

Too hidden.

The longer she remained invisible, the less I believed this chaos was accidental.

Someone was protecting her movements.

Someone inside these walls.

The realization had started settling into something colder over the past few days because every path eventually circled back toward the same people.

The elders.

Valerius.

Seraphina.

And whatever game they were all still pretending I couldn’t see clearly.

"You’re distracted, Alpha," Renwick said suddenly.

My gaze returned to him slowly.

"Am I?"

"The pack is fracturing while you focus entirely on one woman."

That sentence shifted the room immediately.

Several wolves stiffened.

Others looked relieved someone finally said it aloud.

I leaned forward slightly, resting my forearms against the table as I held his gaze.

"One woman," I repeated quietly.

Renwick didn’t back down.

"You are prioritizing her above Blackmoor itself."

The accusation settled heavily through the chamber.

Not emotional.

Political.

Dangerous.

Because once wolves started believing their Alpha placed personal attachment above the survival of the pack, leadership weakened quickly.

Renwick knew exactly what he was doing.

Unfortunately for him, so did I.

"And if I am?" I asked calmly.

That seemed to unsettle him more than anger would have.

Valerius narrowed his eyes slightly. "Kael."

"No," I interrupted without looking at him. "Let him finish."

Renwick straightened in his seat. "The wolves see what’s happening. Since Liora arrived, the fortress has become unstable. The council divided. Guards uncertain. Resources stretched thin." His voice hardened slightly. "And still your attention remains fixed entirely on protecting her."

I stared at him for a moment before answering.

"You think she caused this?"

"I think your attachment to her is affecting your decisions."

A quieter murmur spread through part of the chamber.

Agreement.

Cowards always became braver once someone else spoke first.

I leaned back slowly again, my expression remaining calm enough that several wolves looked more nervous because of it.

"You mistake restraint for weakness," I said finally.

"No one said weakness."

"You implied it."

Renwick opened his mouth again, but I continued before he could speak.

"The difference between me and everyone else in this room," I said quietly, "is that I know exactly what threatens Blackmoor."

Silence settled immediately.

Because that wasn’t an emotional statement.

It was a warning.

Valerius watched me carefully now.

Maris too.

Good.

Let them listen.

"You all keep searching for the nearest problem because it’s easier than facing the real one," I continued. "Liora did not divide this fortress. The fractures already existed long before she arrived."

Nobody interrupted me now.

Not even Renwick.

"And if wolves are beginning to panic," I added calmly, "perhaps they should ask themselves why certain people inside Blackmoor seem more interested in controlling fear than ending it."

That landed exactly where I intended.

Several expressions changed instantly around the table.

Careful now.

Watching.

Calculating.

I let the silence stretch before speaking again.

"Then perhaps," I said coldly, "the pack has forgotten who keeps it alive."