The clearing stilled as if the forest itself were holding its breath. A hush rippled through the leaves, and Saphira swore the air shifted–cooler, taut with


    tension.


    She watched Finn, his body eerily motionless, the shock hitting like frost. His jaw hung ck, and though his eyes were fixed on her, they felt… distant. As if part of him had retreated inward, unwilling to believe what she’d just said.


    Her voice had been soft, but firm. A stone dropped into still water. “It’s Ruby.”


    The silence stretched.


    Saphira felt her heartbeat thudding in her chest–not out of fear, but anticipation. The moment teetered. She could feel the weight of Finn’s memory pushing against his restraint.


    He blinked slowly, like surfacing from a fog. “What do you mean it’s Ruby?” His voice came raspy, edged in disbelief.


    Niks stepped beside her, his presence anchoring. His hand brushed the edge of her back in subtle reassurance–fingers warm through the fabric of her shirt. She didn’t lean into him, but she didn’t pull away either.


    Niks stepped beside Saphira, his hand resting near the curve of her back. “She came in saying her name was Megan. imed she was banished from her pack after a scandal–some affair with a mated wolf–and sent to the Matchmaker. Said she matched quickly and parted ways in two days.”


    Finn frowned, the lines on his face shifting into something darker. “But that’s not how it works…”


    Niks nodded once. “Exactly. Even if we hadn’t known her face, her story reeked of fabrication.”


    Saphira saw it then–the realization hit Finn like a thrown de. His entire body snapped tight as if a current jolted through him.


    He snarled and spun, striking the nearest tree with a clenched fist. Bark exploded outward in jagged splinters, and a sharp crack rang out–bone or wood, it was hard to tell. He didn’t so much as wince.


    “How dare she-” His voice was thunder, splintering the fragile calm of the woods.


    Amara flinched, stepping in with a tentative hand to his arm. “Finn-”


    He recoiled. “How dare she show up here like she’s wee! Like we’re just going to forget what she did-”


    Saphira’s muscles twitched, but she didn’t move immediately. She knew that tone, that pain. It matched hers once. The ache of betrayal twisted her gut, but she couldn’t let it pull her down now.


    She inhaled through her nose–controlled, quiet–and stepped forward. Her boots met the earth with deliberate calm.


    “She doesn’t know we’re alive,” she said, her voice the edge of a de wrapped in silk.


    Finn stopped mid–breath. His shoulders stiffened, his fury frozen in ce.


    “She’s here for something,” Saphira continued, gaze never leaving him. “Not guilt. Not closure. The Elders have their hands in this, I can feel it.” Her throat tightened briefly, but she forced the words through. “We use her. Before she understands what she’s walked into.”


    Niks nodded, cool andposed. “And when we’re done–if revenge still matters–we take it then.”


    Saphira shifted her gaze to Niks. There was no smile, no flicker of triumph, but her expression softened just enough to let the shared understanding settle between them. It lingered–an unspoken pact made with eyes alone.


    Finn’s breath slowed, the fire in his eyes dimming to glowing embers. His fists fell to his sides, his hands shaking now with restraint rather than rage.


    “Sorry,” he muttered, the word dragged from his throat like gravel. “I just… she tried to kill me. In her eyes–in theirs–I died. Then she med you.” His voice cracked. “Like I was just–gone. Like it didn’t matter.”


    Saphira’s spine straightened. That lie that betrayal–still haunted the corners of her mind, but she tucked the feeling behind the rity of what had to vome next. They couldn’t afford to bleed over old wounds.


    Niks moved closer, his voice low. “Channel that,” he urged. “Don’t let it own you. Use it. Focus.”


    Finn dipped his head in silence, his brows drawn together.


    Then he looked at Saphira. There was still hurt behind his eyes, but something quieter now–seeking.


    “How do you feel about her being here?”


    Saphira held his gaze, jaw tightening as a familiar storm rose in her chest. Rage, confusion, and that gnawing ache of betrayal–but under it all, something colder. Strategic.


    Saphira drew in a slow breath, letting it settle low in her chest before she spoke. The words came quiet but clipped, like she’d <b>rehearsed </b>them in her head


    even if she hadn’t.


    “I was shocked,” she admitted, arms crossing protectively over her chest. “But then… I just kept listening. Watching her. I haven’t let myself feel it yet. Not properly.” Her gaze dropped to the patch of moss beneath her boots, heartbeat ticking faster than she liked. “But one thing I do know–she won’t destroy what we’ve built. Not again.”


    Her voice stiffened on thest sentence, a quiet bite hidden beneath it. Something in her tone made Niks nce sideways at her, the corner of his mouth twitching in affirmation.


    *I agree,” he said simply, one hand resting lightly on his belt, the other brushing a leaf off his shoulder. “Whatever she’s doing here, it doesn’t change who


    we are now<b>.</b>”


    Anastasia shifted closer, her eyes searching Saphira’s. “What do you need?”


    Saphira lifted her chin, holding eye contact. She felt the weight of her pack’s attention but didn’t flinch. “Eyes,” she said. “On her. Constant. We all know she’s here for a reason. It’s time we find out what.”


    Niks nodded again, more sharply this time. “I’ll alert both groups already out. This could be strategic–too clean to be coincidence.”


    Amara scoffed gently, tugging at the edge of her sleeve. “Well, things have officially escted.” Her tone dipped wry, but tension curled behind her eyes. “I can try to get close. Pretend to warm to her. It won’t be hard… she wants to be seen.”


    Saphira blinked at her, something cold prickling in her chest. The idea of Amara leaning into Ruby’s orbit made something coil tight around her ribs.


    “That could work,” Niks said.


    “I’ll do it too,” Anastasia added, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I’m new to the pack–she might see that as leverage. It could help.”


    Saphira swallowed hard, nodding once. The movement felt mechanical. Her mind churned–not with suspicion, but something harder to pin down.


    She’d barely had time to breathe in the reality of Anastasia being hers, her mother. A fragile truth she hadn’t dared hope for. And now, Ruby was here. A shadow from the past, brushing up against something Saphira didn’t want poisoned.


    She stared at Anastasia–at her gentle expression, her quiet strength–and the jealousy surged so suddenly it almost knocked the breath from her.


    I don’t want her touching this. Twisting it. Not this.


    But she said nothing.


    Instead, Saphira turned to the others, her expression carved into calm. “Let her think she’s being weed. Let her feel safe.” Her gaze narrowed, fire licking under her words. “We’ll see what she does with that.”