Aire walked inside the council room first after dinner with the three Alphas behind her.

Her steps slowed slightly the moment she noticed Torak already standing near the center table.

He looked up immediately, and for one brief second, the entire room quieted strangely.

Torak stared at her longer than necessary.

The last time he had seen her properly, she had been half-conscious after collapsing under the tree.

Tonight she looked better.

Her silver-white gown flowed softly around her legs as she walked further inside the chamber. Her unnaturally long hair rested loose down her back.

Something about her had changed recently, and Torak noticed it. It wasn’t physical, though.

Nate moved slightly closer beside her automatically the moment Torak’s stare lingered.

Xander walked toward the council table instead. "Torak," he called calmly.

Torak finally looked away from Aire.

Xander’s expression remained serious now. "Present the maps."

Torak nodded once.

The atmosphere shifted instantly afterward.

Torak crossed toward the massive table before unrolling several parchment maps carefully across the surface.

The room darkened visibly the moment the documents appeared beneath candlelight. The smell of iron and old blood still clung faintly to some of the papers.

Aire felt her stomach tighten immediately.

Torak placed several metallic objects beside the maps next. One small syringe rolled slightly across the wood before stopping near the edge of the table.

"These were recovered from the eastern borders," Torak explained quietly.

Aire moved closer slowly.

The moment she reached the table, the smell hit her properly. She could smell the burnt flesh, the blood, and the fear.

She felt the fragments of emotions clung to everything there. There was too much emotion, and too much pain attached to the documents provided by Torak

Her pulse quickened faintly.

Torak noticed her hesitation. His brows furrowed. "You do not need to force this tonight," he said unexpectedly.

Three Alphas looked toward him instantly.

Torak ignored them completely. His eyes remained on Aire.

Aire swallowed softly. "I’m alright."

That was a lie, but everyone in the room let her keep it.

Xander stepped beside the table slowly. "If you can see what happened," he said carefully, "we may finally understand how deep this reaches."

Aire looked down at the maps silently.

She hated this. She hated the power itself. Every time she touched the past now, something inside her felt less stable afterward.

As if pieces of her remained behind each time. She couldn’t tell Xanden about it. He wasn’t a fae, and he would surely not understand it

Nate sensed the fear immediately through the bond. His hand brushed lightly against the small of her back.

Aire exhaled slowly. Then finally, she placed both palms carefully against the maps.

The entire room went still.

Aire drew in one shaky breath before shutting her eyes. At first, nothing happened. She was only greated back with silence.

She slowly heard just her own heartbeat and suddenly, she felt pain. Sharp pressure slammed violently behind her eyes.

Aire gasped softly.

Her fingers twitched against the parchment immediately.

Darkness flickered behind her vision, and she immediately felt too many emotions, and too many memories attached to everything at once.

They weren’t hers.

Her breathing became uneven instantly.

Suddenly, she jerked her hands back sharply.

Her eyes opened immediately afterward. "No." Her voice came out softer than she intended.

Aire shook her head quickly. "I can’t."

The pressure behind her eyes still burned violently.

Xander stepped closer instantly. "Aire."

She looked toward him helplessly. "I can’t separate it." Her voice trembled faintly now despite her efforts to control it. "There’s too much."

Nate moved first.

He gently guided her backward toward one of the chairs near the table before settling her down carefully.

"Breathe." He told her.

Aire’s fingers shook faintly against her lap.

"I hear all of it at once," she whispered weakly. "The fear... the pain... the dying..."

Nate crouched beside her immediately.

"You stop when it becomes too much."

Xander shook his head once. "Aire."

Nate looked sharply toward him.

Xander ignored the warning from Nate glare entirely.

He moved directly in front of Aire before crouching slightly so she would not need to lift her head fully to look at him.

"You’re trying to feel everything," he said quietly.

Aire swallowed softly.

Xander continued calmly. "Don’t do that."

She frowned faintly.

"The emotions will drown you first if you let them."

Alaric moved silently behind her then.

Aire startled slightly when his fingers gently gathered her long hair.

She turned faintly toward him.

Alaric’s voice remained soft. "Hold still."

He carefully twisted her unnaturally long silver hair into a loose knot behind her head. The cool brush of his fingers against her neck made her breathing steady slightly.

He rested both hands against her shoulders afterward.

"Focus only on one thing," Xander continued gently.

Aire looked back toward him.

"Not the fear." His gaze softened slightly. "Look for intentions."

The room fell silent again.

Torak watched them quietly from across the table.

A strange strong feeling moved through his chest watching the three Alphas around her like this. They were careful with her in ways powerful men rarely were with anyone.

He understood the feeling more than he wished to admit.

Aire closed her eyes slowly again.

Nate remained crouched beside her chair with one hand resting lightly against her knee.

Alaric’s hands stayed steady on her shoulders while Xander’s voice guided her calmly through the darkness.

"Do not chase the memories."

Aire exhaled shakily.

"Let them come to you." He said.

The room faded slowly around her. The fire disappeared first, then the council chamber, and the storm.

Suddenly, cold air hit her skin.

Aire’s brows furrowed faintly.

Darkness surrounded her. No, it was an underground. Torchlight flickered weakly against stone walls somewhere below ground level.

Voices echoed nearby.

Aire moved carefully toward the sound instinctively.

Then, she froze.

Alpha Ashmere stood near a massive stone table.

Aire recognized him immediately.

His silver-black robes fell sharply around him while several maps spread across the table before him.

But he was not alone.

A woman stood nearby dressed entirely in dark fabric. She looked so elegant and calm. Her face was partially hidden beneath shadows.

And beside her, a human man stood.

Aire’s heartbeat quickened immediately.

The human wore military clothing beneath a heavy cloak.

Ashmere spoke quietly. "The eastern routes remain the weakest."

The human nodded once. "We’ve already begun underground placements just as you advised."

Aire’s stomach tightened violently.

The soldier reached toward the table before unrolling another map.

Her vision sharpened suddenly. She saw silver markings stretched beneath the entire forest routes.

Her pulse spiked instantly.

"The shipments arrive in six days," the human said.

Six—

Aire’s thoughts stopped briefly.

No. That vision was not current, it was in the past. She moved closer a bit, to see the date on the document.

Her power had dragged her further forward.

Six days from then would be three days from now.

Ashmere studied the maps carefully. "And the dosage barrels?"

The human smiled faintly. "Already hidden within the grain shipments."

Aire felt cold all over.

The woman beside Ashmere finally spoke softly. "What about rescue patrols?"

The human answered calmly. "We plant secondary silver mines beneath the forest floor."

Aire’s breathing quickened violently now.

"If wolves attempt retrieval," he continued casually, "the explosions will tear them apart before they can shift."

Screams suddenly echoed through Aire’s vision.

The scene shifted violently, into the future.

She saw how human soldiers disguised as traders crossed through eastern territory roads beside grain carts.

She saw silver gas spreading through forests, explosions beneath the earth, and more blood, fire, and screaming.

Standing far away beneath the trees, Alpha Ashmere watched everything happen silently from the shadows.

Aire gasped violently.

Her eyes snapped open.

The council room slammed back around her instantly. She jerked upright in the chair so quickly Nate grabbed her immediately before she fell.

"Aire."

Her breathing turned ragged instantly.

"The eastern park," she said hoarsely.

Nobody understood immediately.

Aire grabbed the edge of the table tightly. "Evacuate it now."

Torak straightened sharply.

Xander moved closer immediately. "What did you see?"

Aire looked at him with genuine horror in her eyes now. "Human dosage silver traps."

The room stilled.

"A lot of the beneath the forest floor."

Torak’s expression changed instantly.

Aire’s breathing shook violently now. "They buried them underground, along the rescue routes, and patrol paths." Her voice cracked faintly. "The eastern territories are bait, as most wolves resides there."

Silence swallowed the chamber completely.

Alaric’s hands tightened slightly against her shoulders.

Nate looked deadly calm now.

Torak stepped forward immediately. "Where exactly?"

Aire squeezed her eyes shut briefly trying to hold onto the vision before it faded fully.

"The lower eastern woods first." Her voice trembled. "Near the trade crossings."

Torak was already reaching for the maps again.

Xander’s face had gone cold enough to terrify lesser wolves.

Aire looked toward him slowly afterward. "There’s more."

Aire’s fingers trembled faintly against the table edge.

She swallowed once. Then finally whispered the words that shattered the room entirely. "Ashmere is helping them willingly."