hapter <b>40 </b>


    ATASHA’S POV


    The rain had finally stopped, but the air inside the war tent still felt damp, thick with


    something I couldn’t name. Maybe it was dread. Maybe it was exhaustion. Either way, it clung to everything.


    Cassian sat at the long, worn table, one arm resting beside a spread of blood–stained maps, while the other remained bandaged tightly across his torso. I had already healed him earlier in the carriage, there shouldn’t have been any wounds left.


    Yet he had Mendez wrap him in fresh bandages anyway, right in front of everyone. I wasn’t sure if it was for appearance, strategy, or simply habit. And to be honest, I didn’t want to ask. Not now. Not when the air was still thick with the stench of blood and smoke, and we had bigger problems to face.


    A map of the northern bordery spread out in front of him, weighed down by daggers and empty mugs. He hadn’t said a word since he ordered the reports. I stood behind him, half- hidden beneath the hood of a cloak, the shadows swallowing most of my face. He hadn’t told me to leave, so I didn’t. Not that I would’ve listened.


    Mendez stood near the mes, flipping through blood–stained pages of a field report. His voice was cold, but his words made my stomach knot.


    “We’ve confirmed twenty–eight fatally wounded,” he began. “Three lieutenants were poisoned -the samepound that was traced to the Demon Fang traps. One died this morning. Two are still alive but declining. Antidote efforts haven’t worked so far.”


    He looked up briefly, then continued.


    “We have twenty more injured,cerations, burns, crushed limbs. Minor cases for now, but that number will climb before dawn if another wavees<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    Cassian didn’t look up. “It will.”


    Mendez gave a short nod of acknowledgment, then flipped the page.


    “The children… They’re stable. No surface injuries, thanks to the treatment provided by Lady Atasha,” he added, ncing my way briefly. “But they’re severely underweight. Bones showing. Muscle mass nearly gone. Some of them haven’t spoken a word since rescue. Others flinch when approached by adults.”


    My chest tightened.


    “They were fed and given clean clothing, just as ordered. They’re resting in the adjacent tent,


    :


    <b>79 </b>


    55 vouchers


    but…” He hesitated. “They haven’t lowered their guard. Even while eating, they nce at the ps. They eat fast. Too fast. Like they’re scared someone will take it away.”


    Cassian finally looked up. “Continue,” he said, tone unreadable. “She saved them. She deserves to know everything.”


    Mendez didn’t hesitate this time.


    “We suspect they’re remnants of smaller packs and viges, scattered ones that were attacked during previous raids by the Demon Fangs,” he said. “At least, that was the original theory. Now… we’re not so sure.”


    He pulled out a folded piece of parchment and set it on the table. “We found traces of something unusual in their blood. Something not native to this region. I’ll need more time to determine exactly what it is, but it wasn’t natural. Whatever it was, it was being administered slowly.”


    “What are you suggesting?” Cassian asked, voice low.


    “I don’t think those kids were just kept there. I think they were being prepared. Conditioned.” Mendez’s expression hardened. “There’s a ck market for this sort of thing.”


    Cassian’s jaw clenched.


    “very?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.


    Mendez nodded. “Yes. It’s an undergroundwork that deals mostly in fae and witches, but children with werewolf blood, especially those with Alpha lineage, are rare and highly valuable. They fetch a high price. Even higher if they’re young and malleable. Witches tend to prefer them for their sacrifices.”


    My blood ran cold.


    “We’re starting to believe those children weren’t just victims of Demon Fang raids,” he went on. “It’s possible someone else was behind the attacks and used the chaos as a cover to collect the children.”


    “And


    my


    father kept them,” I said, the words heavy and bitter, like ash settling on my tongue. It was sinking in now. Cassian had probably known about the children all along. That had to be the reason he pushed me to steal the map in the first ce. He wasn’t just after a location. He knew what, or who, was hidden there.


    Mendez didn’t say anything at first. Then, finally, he spoke.


    “Collin ck is just one of several Alphas we’ve long suspected of engaging in ck market dealings with witches,” Mendez said. “We had intelligence pointing to his involvement in


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    <b>79 </b>


    55 vouchers


    trafficking rare items, artifacts, herbs, forbidden potions, but we had no idea it extended to children. That part was hidden from us.”


    He paused for a moment, his jaw tight, eyes fixed on Cassian before shifting briefly to me.


    “Now, with what we’ve uncovered… It’s clear this operation runs far deeper and darker than we ever anticipated. This is.. Is on a scale we didn’t


    prepare


    for.”


    I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. My throat felt tight, like something was lodged inside it. Beneath the heavy cloak, my hands clenched into fists, nails digging sharply into my palms. I couldn’t tell if it was from rage or shame. Maybe both.


    I turned my head away, not wanting anyone to see the expression tightening my face. “I didn’t know,” I said quietly. “I didn’t notice anything.”


    Back when I was still in the pack, I kept my head down and did everything expected of an omega. I gathered firewood, hauled water, and spent long hours scrubbingundry. I wandered the territory often while collecting herbs, sometimes even passing through the outskirts near the restricted zones, but still, I never saw anything that raised suspicion.


    Or maybe… I just didn’t want to.


    Cassian said nothing. He just leaned back in his seat, eyes narrowing at the tent p like he was already nning what to do next.


    After what felt like forever, he finally spoke. “Bring the wounded into the tent. Atasha will heal them.”


    Mendez gave a nod and turned to leave, but just as he reached the tent p, a soldier burst inside, breathless, eyes wide with rm.


    “We found another body,” he said. “This one wasn’t killed by the Demon Fangs.”


    Cassian stood instantly. “What do you mean?”


    The soldier swallowed. “It’s a man. Northern soldier. Throat slit clean. No signs of struggle. And this was left on his chest…”